Since 2018, the Santa Cruz Syndicate have been racing and developing prototype versions of
Santa Cruz Reserve rims that use
carbon nanotubes to increase strength. The technology is called
NAWAStitch and it's essentially a layer of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes in-between the layers of carbon fiber and at right angles to them. The idea is to "stitch" the carbon fiber layers together to prevent them shearing apart, or cracks developing in the rim. NAWA refer to this layer as "nano-Velcro".
NAWA is a company headquartered in France with a second location in Dayton, Ohio. They use
vertically aligned carbon nanotubes for ultra-capacitors, battery electrodes and carbon composites, like these rims. They claim that in their own tests, "NAWAStitch-reinforced carbon fiber composites have shear strength increased by a factor of 100 and shock resistance by a factor of 10." Apparently, this results in a rim that is "not only more resistant to strike damage... but has far greater shear strength too. NAWAStitch has the potential to dramatically reduce the number of wheel failures experienced by the team over a competitive season by 80%."
According to Nic McCrae, Senior composites engineer at Santa Cruz, "NAWAStitch has made the wheels much stronger, we believe by increasing the buckling resistance of the inner surface of the rims during high compressions [from an impact]... We’ve had far fewer wheel failures as a result. What’s more, NAWAStitch does not affect the way wheels respond to the riders’ inputs... our Reserve wheels are without doubt the strongest rims on the circuit."
The rims have been in development with the Santacruz Syndicate since 2017 and raced on since 2018. NAWA becomes an official "key partner" of the team in 2021.
The rims are competition-only for now, but the aim is to use NAWAStitch in mass-production Reserve wheels in the future.
Composite Unidirectional Nano Tube
Fox Air Release Technology
Our consumables are minimal as we now have reusable vacuum bags and breather has virtually no reuse limit. Our composites guys are well catered for PPE. The air is changed via hepa filters many times per hour. We use a prepreg process so they’re not exposed to the same quantity of chemicals as a vacuum infusion or wet layup scenario. The first time a (gloved) hand touches a ply is when it comes out of the plotter. There’s also a vacuum trimming and finishing station that prevents contact between workers and dust generated during those steps.
The boss’s father in law died from asbestosis, so we’re pretty fanatical about OHS here. I am a systems engineer and even though we don’t do much soldering on-site, we have a really elaborate ventilation system to prevent any lead or flux fumes from getting into our bodies or the environment. Same goes for the paint shop.
All electricity consumed on site is generated by solar panels (80%) and multiple micro wind turbines (~20%), feeding into a huge battery bank. All water used on site is collected from rain. The bitumen and even a good proportion of the concrete used to build the site was recycled. We’re a pretty small company, so it’s relatively easy to have a minimal negative ecological and social/community footprint.
We called them... "Bourbon Cantaloupes". Why I don't know, that was before my time.
things wheels do: get smashed into hard, sharp things.