Carbon fibre bike with improved stiffness
THE Vekta aero-road bike is made using a specific lay-up process and 80% ultra-high modulus unidirectional carbon fibre.
Reap Bikes, a UK-based manufacturer of carbon fibre bikes, has launched a new vehicle with a full monocoque frame and improved aerodynamics and stiffness.
The Vekta aero-road bike is made using a specific lay-up process and 80% ultra-high modulus Toray M40J unidirectional carbon fibre which the company says is a higher percentage and grade than most manufacturers use.
Reap says that the bike made using carbon composite moulds rather than machined alloy moulds, avoiding the differential in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). ‘An alloy mould expands with temperature at a greater rate than the carbon fibre product inside it, losing some fidelity, a press release said. ‘Our carbon composite tools have a lifecycle of around 300 frames, versus 3 000 for the alloy tools used in mass production, but we know that the difference in outcome easily justifies the cost and effort.’