Reading about the brake pads concerns, rim damage, etc... I wonder if there is anyone out there working with thermalplastic composites for wheels - if not a structural component then a superficial protective barrier for road debris.
It ought to give a lot more impact tolerance? Plus I would imagine one could engineer the composition so that the temperature required for reshaping is relatively low so that surfaces can be easily recreated (Without trashing the wheels) or even the braking action alone would smooth it out (no niks and scratches from debris). Wondering if anyone is going beyond thermoset composites.
Thermalplastic composites for braking surfaces?
Moderator: robbosmans
ShinyBaldy wrote: Plus I would imagine one could engineer the composition so that the temperature required for reshaping is relatively low so that surfaces can be easily recreated (Without trashing the wheels) or even the braking action alone would smooth it out
If this was to work, the temp would have to be tuned to suit the rider and their conditions. A 50gk rider who has never seen a hill and lives in a cold climate generates a lot less braking energy than a 90kg rider who heads to the alps every summer. If you tuned for the later the former wold be no better off than they are now, but if tuned for the former the latter would find their braking surface building up behind their brake pads
Nice idea, but will need some more work to make it commercially viable.
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ShinyBaldy
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Cyco wrote:ShinyBaldy wrote: Plus I would imagine one could engineer the composition so that the temperature required for reshaping is relatively low so that surfaces can be easily recreated (Without trashing the wheels) or even the braking action alone would smooth it out
If this was to work, the temp would have to be tuned to suit the rider and their conditions. A 50gk rider who has never seen a hill and lives in a cold climate generates a lot less braking energy than a 90kg rider who heads to the alps every summer. If you tuned for the later the former wold be no better off than they are now, but if tuned for the former the latter would find their braking surface building up behind their brake pads
Nice idea, but will need some more work to make it commercially viable.
tune it with adjusting the brakepads composition perhaps? it'll be for folks who are into the science and best performance anyway... doesn't seem like something that'll be mass marketed... so perhaps the brakepad composition, size can be utilized with the type of thermal plastic to work together? or maybe a thermal plastic brake pad on a theromoset rim?
