Corima Aero+MCC bike wheel

Hexcel customer Corima S.A. won a JEC 2010 innovation award for a new concept all-carbon fiber bike wheel.  The AERO+ MCC is a 100% carbon fiber wheel for road bikes produced using a complete composite process.  The wheel rim is made of HexPly® UD prepreg and Primetex® taffeta weave carbon fabrics that are wrapped around a PU foam core. The hub and spokes are also made from carbon fiber prepreg. Some of the components are over-molded and others are adhesively bonded using structural epoxy adhesive. The result is a very high performance wheel that weighs in at only 1,000 grams for a pair.

The low density of carbon fiber in the HexPly® prepreg is a significant advantage, ensuring accurate weight distribution and providing a very light rim with good rotation inertia.  Very high levels of stiffness are achieved, enhancing performance and the mechanical properties of the UD carbon prepreg make it possible to use only 12 spokes for both the front and rear wheels, making this a unique aerodynamic design.

The Aero+ MCC took two and a half years to develop and was launched onto the market in May 2010.  Hexcel and Corima have worked in partnership for over 20 years and Corima has benefited from Hexcel’s experience in carbon fiber, weaving technologies and prepregs to develop groundbreaking solutions in composites for high performance bikes.

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