Do you know what Teflon was originally developed for? That black coating in our pans that prevents scrambled eggs from sticking? As corrosion protection in uranium enrichment and as a coating for rocket engines. But that's not all. Teflon has now become an integral part of the kitchen and our everyday lives as a non-stick coating and can even be found in our shoes and jackets as a Gore-Tex membrane. This is a classic case of technology transfer and the aerospace industry is always at the forefront of development.
Aviation is now also set to play a role in the development of mountain bikes: With a new frame material. The new frames are supposed to be lighter than titanium frames, less susceptible and more comfortable than carbon and even recyclable - at least that's what the French company Caminade claims to have achieved. Sounds almost too good to be true. But we were a little surprised when we read the press release. Because the name of the material is: aluminium!
Lightweight construction through precision calculations
But you have to take a closer look. Because not all aluminium is the same and extremely light frames can also be built from aluminium with the right dimensioning and alloying of the material, as Liteville, for example, proves time and again. This is exactly where Caminade comes in. The basis for the frame is formed by aluminium tubes specially optimised for this application by the aviation company Aviatube. The connecting pieces between the tubes are manufactured by a specialist company using a 3D printing process based on exact calculations of the required wall thicknesses from so-called Scalmalloy, an alloy of aluminium, magnesium and scandium that Airbus has patented specifically for 3D printing.
In collaboration with Aviatube and the 3D printing company Poly-Shape, Caminade claims to have used precise calculations to develop an aluminium bike frame that is lighter than its conventional titanium counterpart. Unfortunately, we do not yet have any exact (frame) weights or prices for the bikes. We are looking forward to the first tests.
Click here for the Website of Caminade.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
