WHAT IS CARBON FIBER?

Carbon fiber is a cutting-edge material used in making high-performance bicycles, wheels, and other cycling components. It's made from thin, strong fibers that are bonded together to create a material that's incredibly lightweight and strong. Think of it like a high-tech version of fabric, but instead of threads, it's made of carbon atoms!

The process of making carbon fiber involves heating a precursor material, like polyacrylonitrile (PAN) or pitch, to extremely high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. This causes the material to undergo chemical changes that transform it into pure carbon fibers. These fibers can then be woven together or layered to create the final carbon fiber material.

One of the coolest things about carbon fiber is its strength-to-weight ratio. It's super strong, which means it can handle a lot of force without breaking, but it's also incredibly lightweight, which makes it perfect for applications where weight matters, like in bicycles. Engineers can use different grades of carbon fiber with varying levels of stiffness and strength to create the perfect balance for a bike frame. And, of course, carbon fiber is typically used in combination with a resin that acts as a bonding agent to hold everything together.

Just like a skilled chef carefully selects and combines ingredients to create a delicious dish, bicycle engineers carefully choose and combine different types of carbon fibers to create a high-performance bike frame. It's a complex process that requires expertise and precision, but the end result is a bike that offers an unmatched combination of comfort, stiffness, strength, and efficiency.

ALL ABOUT UNIDIRECTIONAL

Unidirectional carbon fiber is like the wine glass of the carbon material world. It's incredibly thin, stiff, and brittle - just like a wine glass that would shatter if dropped on a hard floor. On the other hand, think of a plastic cup - it's flexible and can withstand some rough handling without breaking. Carbon fiber follows similar rules - as the modulus, or stiffness, increases, the fibers become stiffer but also more fragile.

So, while high-modulus carbon fiber may sound tempting for its stiffness, it can be tricky to work with and may not be suitable for a bicycle frame on its own. It could break apart if you hit a big pothole or encounter excessive stress. A balance must be struck between stiffness, weight, strength, and durability to create a safe and enjoyable riding experience.

It's also important to note that not all unidirectional carbon fibers are the same. There are countless varieties and versions created by different composite manufacturers worldwide, each with their own unique properties such as weight, durability, vibration resistance, and more. It's like different types of paper - plain white sheets are meant for printers, colorful construction paper is great for crafts, and thick-stock durable paper is best for archival printing and bookkeeping. Similarly, different types of carbon fibers have their ideal uses based on their specific properties.

WHAT ARE LAY-UPS & SCHEDULES?

Imagine building a bicycle frame with carbon fiber sheets as your building blocks. The way you arrange these sheets, or "lay them up," is like following a recipe. It's not just about randomly piecing them together, but rather a carefully crafted plan that includes lists, charts, diagrams, and other details. This plan, or lay-up schedule, outlines the dimensions, moduli, fiber orientation, and resin content for each piece, and serves as a roadmap towards creating the final frame.

Every bike model may have hundreds of entries in its lay-up schedule, and it's not just a one-size-fits-all approach. Bike manufacturers can tweak the ply orientations, materials, and resins used to hold everything together, based on their understanding of structural relationships. This attention to detail during the design phase is what sets apart generic bikes from truly innovative and high-performance ones. It's like the carefully crafted formula that makes each bike model unique and optimized for its intended purpose.

FRAME DEVELOPMENT & SIZE SPECIFICITY

Designing the perfect bicycle frame is like a scientific art form! Engineers use advanced tools like CAD and FEA, and work closely with professional riders to determine the best fiber types, materials, and ply orientation. But it doesn't stop there! Frame size is also crucial, as each size requires its own unique tweaks to ensure an exceptional ride for all cyclists. It's like creating a tailor-made suit for your bike! Once the magic formula is found, frames go through rigorous real-world test-riding to make sure they're up to the challenge. It's all about crafting a masterpiece that delivers unbeatable performance and durability on the road - no matter how large or small your frame might be. 

UNDERSTANDING OUR TERMINOLOGY

If you’ve perused the technical details of various bike models on our website, you’ve probably seen phrases like, “UHC Ultimate ,” “UHC Advanced,” and “UHC Performance,” among others. These phrases are our designations for the unique types of carbon lay-ups used on various bike models. So what exactly do they mean? Well, for starters, “UHC” stands for “Ultra Hybrid Carbon,” and it’s our term that we’ve used for many years to indicate that our carbon frames utilize complex lay-up schedules consisting of various types of carbon fiber components, all painstakingly oriented to yield the performance characteristics we’re aiming for when it comes to each bike.

Why is it important for us to note this? Quite simply, not all brands put forth the effort to craft such complex creations. Indeed, even companies in other industries such as aerospace rely solely on simple structures consisting of unidirectional carbon fiber, for example. “UHC” represents our commitment to chasing down the very best qualities possible from the most advanced materials available. Check out the diagram below to learn more about our terminology and what makes each of our carbon fiber creations unique.