A preform for fabricating a wheel rim and a method of making a preform is provided. The preform includes a main section and at least one secondary section, each section being formed from composite materials, such as triaxially braided composite material that includes fibers oriented in at least three directions. The main section forms at least part of a lateral section of the preform and the secondary section forms at least part of a radial portion of the preform, the radial portion of the preform being generally perpendicular to the lateral section of the preform. The preform is fabricated from a plurality of composite layers, at least some being custom composite layers having a plurality of axial fibers interwoven intermittently with substantially consistent first and second sets of biased fibers. In some embodiments, the preform is initially fabricated in an intermediate configuration prior to being moved to a final configuration.

The invention relates to a bicycle wheel made of a fiber composite material, including a rim, a plurality of spokes, and a center, wherein the spokes each have a first and second spoke section extending between the rim and the center, wherein the first and second rim section have a curved shape in a laminated state and the two rim sections extend straight in a pretensioned state.

A preform for fabricating a wheel rim and a method of making a preform is provided. The preform includes a main section and at least one secondary section, each section being formed from composite materials, such as triaxially braided composite material that includes fibers oriented in at least three directions. The main section forms at least part of a lateral section of the preform and the secondary section forms at least part of a radial portion of the preform, the radial portion of the preform being generally perpendicular to the lateral section of the preform. The preform is fabricated from a plurality of composite layers, at least some being custom composite layers having a plurality of axial fibers interwoven intermittently with substantially consistent first and second sets of biased fibers. In some embodiments, the preform is initially fabricated in an intermediate configuration prior to being moved to a final configuration.

A carbon fiber wheel rim is disclosed. The carbon fiber wheel rim is corresponding disposed between two braking elements, and includes a rim body and a reinforcing layer. The rim body is made of a carbon fiber composites material. The reinforcing layer is disposed on a surface of the rim body, wherein the reinforcing layer is made of a fibrous veil having an isotropy.

A method for making the composite material wheel rim includes the steps of: configuring a plurality of inner lining chunks individually to the desired position where the spokes are to be mounted to allow the inner lining chunks to be integrated with an inner annular portion of the wheel rim, next, integrating the formed inner annular portion with an outer annular portion of the wheel rim to form a semi-finished wheel rim, and then, creating the requested threaded holes for connecting the spokes in the inner lining chunks of the inner surface of the semi-finished wheel rim subject to the requested amount and angles of the spokes. By the present method, the semi-finished wheel rim allows drilled, threaded holes subject to needs to fit different types of wheel hub units to increase the yield rate and reduce the inventory of the wheel rims.

A method is provided for producing a bicycle wheel made of a fiber composite material, including laminating, in one piece and in one step, a rim, a plurality of spokes each including a first spoke section and a second spoke section, and a center having a first center disc and a second center disc, wherein all fibers for the rim, the spokes, and the center are laid in mold parts in the one step; curing the laminated rim, spokes, and center to form the bicycle wheel; and removing the formed bicycle wheel in said one piece from the mold, wherein the spokes are laminated and cured such that the first spoke section and the second spoke section have a substantially straight shape.

A manufacturing method and structure of a carbon fiber rim is revealed. A metal strip is formed by heating a metal substrate to a moldable temperature and then extruded molding. The metal strip comprises two side walls, a connecting wall and an inner rim wall to form a space surrounded by the side walls, the connecting wall, and the inner rim wall. Next, two terminals of the strip are connected to form a circle as a rim frame's embryo. The two side walls, or the two side walls and the inner rim wall of the rim frame's embryo are milled to form plural through holes and become a rim frame. Afterwards, the surface of the rim frame is roughened and covered with a trimmed carbon fiber cloth having a predetermined shape. After heatsetting and surface treating, a carbon fiber rim having a light weight and a strong structure is obtained.

This invention is related to a lightweight process of manufacturing a bicycle's rim and a rim structure manufactured thereby. A rim frame comprising an inner frame, a cladding part, and a support part between the inner frame and the cladding part. The inner frame and the support part are milled to form plural through holes uniformly distributed thereon. The areas occupied by the through holes is 35% to 85% of a total surface of the inner frame and the support part. Moreover, a proper distance is formed between the adjacent through holes in the process, and a carbon fiber layer covers the outer surface of the rim frame. Therefore, the weight of the bicycle's rim is decreased, and the carbon fiber layer can stably attach on the rim frame to increase the structural strength of the rim.

Carbon fiber bicycle wheels are formed from parts cut from carbon fiber cloth and then joined together to form a rim, sidewalls, spokes, flanges and a center tunnel on which the flanges are mounted. The parts are then assembled, bonded together, and cured to form a wheel. During assembly, the spokes and the wheel are placed in tension by moving the flanges outwardly on the center tunnel after assembly and then bonding them in place to stiffen and strengthen the wheel. The spokes of the drive side of the rear wheel are specially shaped to accommodate torque transfer forces generated by pedaling.

A connection between a face portion (12) and a hub portion (14) of a composite wheel (10). The hub portion (14) comprises a generally disc shaped hub plate (16), and the face portion (12) comprises a plurality of spokes (18). The connection comprises an annular hub ring (22) surrounding the hub plate (16), the hub ring (22) comprising a plurality of layers of reinforcement fibers extending in an at least generally circumferential direction about the hub ring (22). The connection also comprises a first plurality of layers of reinforcing fibers (24) extending in a generally radial direction R relative to an axis of rotation of the wheel (10), and along a front face of each spoke (18), across a front edge (26) and an inner annular surface (28) of the hub ring (22) and across a front face (30) of the hub plate (16); and a second plurality of layers of reinforcing fibers (32) extending in a generally radial direction R along a rear face (33) of each spoke (18), across a rear edge (34) of the hub ring (22) and across a rear face (36) of the hub plate (6). The connection further comprises a third plurality of layers of reinforcing fibers (36), the third plurality of layers (36) of reinforcing fibers overlaying the first and second (1) layers of reinforcing fibers (24, 32), the third plurality of layers of reinforcing fibers 36 extending in a direction between +30 degrees and +60 degrees to the radial direction R; and a fourth plurality of layers of reinforcing fibers (40), the fourth plurality of layers of reinforcing fibers (40) overlaying the first and second layers of reinforcing fibers (24, (32), the fourth plurality of layers of reinforcing fibers (40) extending in a direction (20) between 30 degrees and 60 degrees to the radial direction R.