27 January 2022
Working with Starling Cycles and Composite Braiding, the National Composites Centre (NCC) has proven that thermoplastic carbon fibre can be used to make an electric mountain bike frame, which means it can be repaired and recycled at end of life more easily.
In addition to showing that thermoplastics are a strong enough material to be used for a bike frame, the expanded understanding of how they can be re-worked and re-used opens the door to using thermoplastics in other components across industry due to the flexibility they offer. They can also offer higher production rates (due to the lack of separate infusion process), whilst still providing the high quality of composites, potentially allowing for a reduction in costs and environmental impact.
