NTPT™ and the ‘Institut für Forschung und Entwicklung von Sportgeräten’ (FES) have recently collaborated to develop the next generation of track cycling disc wheels for the German Olympic Track Cycling Team using NTPT’s revolutionary Thin Ply Technology. Reducing rotating mass is absolutely critical for maximum performance in the velodrome, and the switch from traditional prepregs to lightweight Thin Ply materials has delivered an impressive improvement of the disc wheel’s stiffness to weight ratio of more than 25%.
NTPT’s Thin Ply Technology delivered several key benefits for the FES engineers as they optimised the design of the highly dynamically loaded disc wheels. The most valuable advantage is the higher design variability, allowing more degrees of freedom for ply fibre angles, to achieve the ultimate stiffness, strength and mass reduction. This high definition laminate design also provides pseudo-ductile failure behaviour which is essential for the rider’s safety in case of a crash. NTPT™ also supplied its Thin Ply Prepregs as ATL preforms, significantly reducing the lay up and manufacturing time for the new wheels.
More than 20 world track cyclists will use the new stiffer and lighter FES and NTPT™ disc wheels as they go for gold at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.