Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Carbon bikes

Does anyone know what happens to old carbon bikes that are no longer serviceable. How are they disposed of and are they bio degradable. Just wondered me being a bit of a greenie. 

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

Add new comment

9 comments

Avatar
Boatsie | 4 years ago
0 likes

Nice point bro,
Big power stations per instance.
If China were to recycle the coal burn fumes from their coal burning power stations, old technology that's been known many years suggests..

Electrified water gases 2H2, O2.
Oxygen released to atmosphere.
Clean air allowing solar arrays to electrify water.
2H2 fumed combined with coal burn fumes produces ethanol; Simple alcohol; racing car fuel. China's enough coal stations to supply 74% of planets internal combustion engines needs.
Yet then balance that and other needs become apparent. Easier to avoid unneeded toxicity.
Hence my blah blah blah

Use your brain.
I'm missing cycling time writing loads of ship.
I had a beautiful house; Same house today. In my walls is 2 tribes of bee and were a small tribe of mice. On the stove top was a pot of bees wax. The mice had moved in and shitted everywhere so I fed them healthy food scraps and placed next to a shallow bowl of water.  Shit disappeared and soon after I'd noticed a pyramid of crap in the bees wax pot.  Everyone was happy.  Occasionally one of my 2 bitchs would terminate a mouse that exceeded there allowed boundary and in the garage was a hay bale bedding a lonely rat that ate the veggies outside.  A balanced system.  Like mice and men if we swim deep we might get eaten.
Then I helped a dickhead.  Some English fuckwit that wanted a better life immediately.
He started terminating the mice,  that pissed them off and hence breeding became an issue of survival.  I finished them off.  Dickhead also stole my truck which I'd been selling to him at a gift of about $100 weekly which is near nothing compared to his boost of income nearer a grand.
Pharmaceutical giants are doing similar to many men.  Some still prefer the unwanted: water,  rest,  sweat it out.

I wouldn't notice a small piece of shit in my living room yet with more and more wreckages,  apparent becomes upon view.
Hence until some fellow understands how to make a bathroom to discard old carbon fiber parts and so forth..  Alloy is a mutual like amongst many and can be built to accommodate our many tasks.

So what's life like here?  Same as many as you.  Some days I like.  Some days I find difficult.
When the local warship destroyer was launched,  I went to watch with 2 descendants of Sir Lancealot.  Anyway,  old school mate rocked up in a cop boat,  told us we have to use buoyancy vests because kayaks are vessels.  Wasn't a problem.  About a 400metre paddle.  Young mate fell in.  Coppers retrieved him.  2 months later a 4.5 Great White was photographed playing ambush attack practice;  clear of water surface. Grandma (widow of RSM WO1 D. James) past away,  a rare tropical cousin of Great White washed ashore during the colder months of GB in GB. Then on my birthday weekend a big Great White was photographed 25 feet from the cliffs of Dover.  When I travelled to Ukraine,  an 11 foot Tiger was photographed swimming along our coast,  cooler waters during the cooler months.  The heavens opened up when I left Kiev,  flooding the streets and some of the metro subway.
I'd ordered and paid full to buy a ballistic grade Kevlar weave kayak Hull and deck.  Big girls have big playfulness. Yet I never received such vessel.  My brother I've never met broke his nose and closed his business. I bought a couple of second hand vessels after and then another couple of secondhand weather kept catamarans.  They're all stored inside.  During a full moon king tide (perfect ambush conditions)  I went paddling,  felt a bump,  now need to fix a mild delamination of the weave.  Looking forward to a sail cat and a shading tramp during summer.
We share this planet.
The bloke I attempted to buy a kayak from wrote that he respects the elders,  got off lightly and opened my eyes to why composites are usable rubbish.  The second hand boats bought will last years being stored inside..  They'd be toxic trash sooner if left outside.  Plastics is evolving.  There are nice strong plastic boats being built.  Don't last as long if treated kindly yet recycle 100%.
I king,  yet such beautiful aboriginal man isn't recognised by our tax system.  When in England,  I queen.  When in Wales,  the name of the honest royalty is written on a small bridge in southern Wales. Yet.. Every spoken Welsh?  Shoe my butt.
Why would I prefer alloy over composite..  Basic survival.  The D level exists.  Go exists.  When Pharaoh ever drops command 'Go Devil' we might be appreciated upon commandment 10 with 7 deadly sins.  The Pharaoh via Moses allowed us commandments 10 and amongst such is 'they shall knot kill. '
My knot skill is crap,  I ain't even that great with a blow dart or an arrow.  To benefit my acceptances of knot dances I do what I do to obey wisdom from experience. 
That's why alloy is close enough to perfect.. Carbon fiber is with spoilt brats and bullied men that think winning is first over line.
Our children will want a playground,  not a living room filled with shit..  That magnificent meal you ate last night is now shit.

Here's a picture of a 20+ year old high grade alloy bicycle. Doesn't get special treatment.  Gets wiped down after rainy rides and that's about it.  The rear bearings went and the front wheel was replaced.  Freewheel. Etc.  I can't remember washing her..  Just wipe after rain.
Yet light as,  strong as.  Will climb 5-6% on them cogs(that light),  won't buckle on big jumps (that strong)
The bloke's me.  Been dead twice since becoming an adult.  Sick of people destroying something we need; Earth.

Here's my Facebook page.
https://m.facebook.com/Boatsie74

Family Welsh too.  Thought you guys might like the video of the local river..  A swimming dragon exists.

I wouldn't worry too much..  Mistakes are made.  My family was second carriage to church every Sunday during founding of Melbourne. 
Innocent men were slaughtered,  innocent women had spears thrust within,  innocent children were decapitated using blunt sporting mallets. Is industry that important?
Titanium is strong as,  shape able if studied how to and a material which would bring riders friendly recognition in case you ever need such.
I like budget alloys..  I only commute.  They're perfect.

I've only seen small sections of a huge dormant army. Computers are nowhere near frequency. Men are natural. The smaller men impressed me with naked flight covering 20miles in seconds. I don't expect you guys to believe me. I did what I did, soon after survival a Tibetan monastery petted a tiger. To better my chances of sitting at home and doing nothing during a sweep should a Pharaoh ever give command to do such, I'll stick with alloys thanks.

Maybe I'm an idiot, maybe I ain't. I don't care neither bro.. Ever told a child not to touch the hot plate?

Avatar
Canyon48 | 4 years ago
0 likes

CFRP is really nasty to recycle, there's nothing you can do with it really. It's possible to get the actual fibres out by burning the CFRP (thus releasing carcinogenic resin), but even those fibres are then useless as they are broken up and short.

It will be a big challenge for the aerospace industry in decades to come.

Avatar
Griff500 replied to Canyon48 | 4 years ago
0 likes
Canyon48 wrote:

CFRP is really nasty to recycle, there's nothing you can do with it really.

OK, game over! Except of course that the likes of Airbus, Boeing and BMW already have targets to recycle 95% by 2025, and a host of processes on the brink of commercial viability, including pyrolysis, solvolisis and microwave breakdown. Oh, and you can't burn it as you suggsst to recover carbon as carbon itself burns. (Perhaps you have heard of coal?) Any thermal processing needs to be done in an inert environment to prevent burning. This is a today issue for Boeing, with the 777 which uses some carbon fibre components being withdrawn from service.

Avatar
Canyon48 replied to Griff500 | 4 years ago
1 like

Griff500 wrote:
Canyon48 wrote:

CFRP is really nasty to recycle, there's nothing you can do with it really.

OK, game over! Except of course that the likes of Airbus, Boeing and BMW already have targets to recycle 95% by 2025, and a host of processes on the brink of commercial viability, including pyrolysis, solvolisis and microwave breakdown. Oh, and you can't burn it as you suggsst to recover carbon as carbon itself burns. (Perhaps you have heard of coal?) Any thermal processing needs to be done in an inert environment to prevent burning. This is a today issue for Boeing, with the 777 which uses some carbon fibre components being withdrawn from service.

The targets are no way near being met by the big aerospace companies - I work at one of the big aerospace companies in composite design. There's a big scrap bin for all the waste carbon that goes straight to landfill... Unfortunately  7

The problem with the thermal processes (at the moment) is it requires so much energy to do that it's not really worth it, the recovered carbon is useless to the aerospace industry as it can't be used in aerospace applications - clearly of some use to automotive though.

I must say, microwave processing is totally new to me!

I also had no idea Boeing is currently recycling carbon for use in the automotive industry, seems the big European aerospace companies have some catching up to do.

 

Sadly, it remains that there are no current processes for the general public to recycle carbon  7

Avatar
Griff500 replied to Canyon48 | 4 years ago
0 likes
Canyon48 wrote:

Griff500 wrote:
Canyon48 wrote:

CFRP is really nasty to recycle, there's nothing you can do with it really.

OK, game over! Except of course that the likes of Airbus, Boeing and BMW already have targets to recycle 95% by 2025, and a host of processes on the brink of commercial viability, including pyrolysis, solvolisis and microwave breakdown. Oh, and you can't burn it as you suggsst to recover carbon as carbon itself burns. (Perhaps you have heard of coal?) Any thermal processing needs to be done in an inert environment to prevent burning. This is a today issue for Boeing, with the 777 which uses some carbon fibre components being withdrawn from service.

The targets are no way near being met by the big aerospace companies - I work at one of the big aerospace companies in composite design. There's a big scrap bin for all the waste carbon that goes straight to landfill... Unfortunately  7

The problem with the thermal processes (at the moment) is it requires so much energy to do that it's not really worth it, the recovered carbon is useless to the aerospace industry as it can't be used in aerospace applications - clearly of some use to automotive though.

I also had no idea Boeing is currently recycling carbon for use in the automotive industry, seems the big European aerospace companies have some catching up to do.

/

I suggest you read up on the work being done for example by ELG (a European company developing recycling for Boeing). Contrary to what you say about energy use, their pyrolysis process uses a fraction of the energy used to produce virgin fibre, (30MJ/kg as opposed to 250) and the resulting product when used in non woven mat is claimed to be of equivalent quality. (Clearly then not suitable for aircraft structural parts relying on woven mat).

Back to bikes, and several years ago, Specialized, Trek, and others trialled a take back scheme for carbon frames, tapping into the aerospace processes. At the time, volume of scrap bikes, and sale for finished product, were inadequate. Basically, they were trying to run before the aerospace industry could walk. It seems reasonable to assume that once processes mature, they will kick off again. Metal recycling is 100 years old. We've only been trying to recycle carbon fibre for 10!

Avatar
Boatsie | 4 years ago
0 likes

Thanks regarding question.
Glad you think.

Avatar
Drinfinity | 4 years ago
1 like

A lightweight durable item like a bike that saves 100s of tonnes of carbon from vehicle emissions over its lifetime I would put fairly low on the list of concerns.

Browsing the internet whilst choosing your bike, and posting about it on here, will have released more than a kg of C.

Putting it in landfill - it will still be there in x years time, but it will be a tiny % compared to the disposable nappies in there. Or you could turn it into novelty trophies as prizes for cycle events (seen many a seat post go this way). Or paint it yellow and hang it outside a pub to show support for a passing bike race. Plumb it into your heating system as a radiator (I’ve not done this, but I did see a radiator made into a bike do a CX race).

Avatar
Griff500 | 4 years ago
0 likes

Not biodegradable, but as there is only 1kg of carbon fibre in a bike, it's impact for example on landfill is often overstated. eg what weight of plastic packaging does your family dispose of over the 10+ year lifetime of a bike.

Currently only a small percentage of carbon fibre does get recycled, typically into various types of building material, insulation and fillers. If you do a Google you will find that everybody and his dog is working on CF reuse and there are some innovative ideas out there, ranging from recovering fibres for use in new CF structures, to combination with plastics in 3d printing processes. This is undoubtedly an area we will get better at.

Bear in mind also that recycling of a metal framed bike is not without an environmental impact.

Avatar
srchar | 4 years ago
1 like

CFRP isn't biodegradable - it's plastic - and it's a challenge to recycle into a useful material.

Recycled carbon fibre can only really be used in non-load bearing applications, such as cosmetic pieces on car dashboards.

Latest Comments