APPLICATIONS
APPLICATIONS
award-winning urban bicycle frame made from toughened prepreg
source: UBc gmbh/photo © UBc gmbh
Uber design house UBC GmbH (Murr,
Germany) counts among its clients Formula 1 racing teams and automakers
Porsche, Bugatti and Audi. When UBC
applied its accumulated expertise to a
completely new urban bicycle concept,
company CEO Ulf Bräutigam says, "We
gave our designers carte blanche ... telling them they could more or less ignore
the bicycle production rulebook." Called
the coren, it comes in three models: Single
Speed, Pedelec (electric version) and Fixie.
The innovative frames, with flattened top
and down tubes, were drafted by UBC
designer Christian Zanzotti, resulting in
a low overall bicycle weight of 7.7 kg/17
lb in the Single Speed version.
UBC turned to Cytec Industrial
Materials (formerly Umeco, Heanor,
Derbyshire, U.K.) to supply autoclavecure prepregs that could deliver the
necessary mechanical performance
and impact resistance. The company
chose Cytec's trademarked MTM49-3,
an 80°C to 160°C (176°C to 320°F) cure,
toughened epoxy resin reinforced with
high-tensile-strength woven and unidirectional carbon fiber, and compatible
adhesive film. UBC technicians hand
layed the prepregs in aluminum tooling,
taking 40 hours to complete one frame.
Sebastian Wegerle, UBC's product and
marketing manager, says, "We selected
Cytec's prepregs because they are reliable, have a good reputation in the
motorsport and aviation sectors, and we
were able to choose from a wide range of
fibers and resin systems to provide the
best material properties." Says UBC engineer Marco Noack, "The frame ... is manufactured in a cleanroom, in accordance
with motorsport and premium-vehicle
construction standards."
ISPO MUNICH, a sports business trade
show, recently bestowed on the coren
Single Speed its 2012 ISPO Brand New
Award.
JEC Europe 2013
Country of Honor
TURKEY
Porte de Versailles
AUTOMOTIVE
THERMOPLASTICS
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