Bonded Structural Repair of Carbon Fiber Bicycle Frames

Carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composite has become the material of choice in high-performance bicycle frames. Compared to the traditional frame building materials (steel, aluminum, and titanium alloys), composites offer greater specific strength, modulus, and vibration damping; as well as the ability to form aerodynamic tube profiles, and finely tuned ride characteristics by varying fiber modulus and stacking sequence throughout the frame. However, bicycle frames are often subject to unintended impacts -- oriented out-of-plane with respect to the tube walls -- which frequently result in structural damage of the laminated composite. Fortunately, this damage is often repairable. In this work, a single case study demonstrates how the principles of bonded structural repair developed by the aviation composites industry can be applied to bicycle frames and other thin-walled, tubular composite structures. The repair process is documented step-by-step with explanations of the underlying theory, as well as attention to practical aspects.

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Work Title Bonded Structural Repair of Carbon Fiber Bicycle Frames
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Matthew Waller
Keyword
  1. carbon fiber
  2. carbon repair
  3. composite repair
  4. bicycle
  5. carbon frame repair
  6. bonded composite repair
  7. adhesive
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Journal
Publisher
  1. SAMPE
Publication Date September 2020
Subject
  1. engineering
Language
  1. English
Related URLs
Deposited May 18, 2021

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Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Added Creator Matthew Waller
  • Updated Subject, Language, Publisher, and 1 more Show Changes
    Subject
    • engineering
    Language
    • English
    Publisher
    • SAMPE
    Related URLs
    • https://www.nasampe.org/
  • Added Bonded Structural Repair of Carbon Bicycle Frames MWaller.pdf
  • Updated License Show Changes
    License
    • https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
  • Published
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  • Updated

Version 2
published

  • Created
  • Deleted Bonded Structural Repair of Carbon Bicycle Frames MWaller.pdf
  • Added CarbonBikeRepair_MWaller_SAMPEJournal_SeptOct2020.pdf
  • Published
  • Updated
  • Updated