Earlier this year, Revel Bikes introduced their first composite wheelset. More than just another carbon fiber rim in a sea of similar options, Revel partnered with CSS Composites to work with a new material – FusionFiber.
FusionFiber has a number of claimed benefits including the ability to create a stronger, lighter, more cost effective, and better riding that’s also made in the USA by CSS Composites. But there’s also an environmental story with claims that FusionFiber can truly be easily recycled. Some carbon manufacturers have made the claims for years that carbon fiber can be recycled, but according to Joe Stanish of CSS Composites, it often involves burning off the epoxy and reimpregnating the fibers to reclaim the material.
FusionFiber on the other hand can be shredded into smaller filaments and then directly compression molded into new products that can take advantage of the smaller fiber strands.
Something like a tire lever. Throughout their development, Revel Wheels has been saving the old rims used for testing as well as scraps from the build process. To highlight the ability to reuse and repurpose FusionFiber into new products, they created a 6″ long FusionFiber tire lever.
Measuring 6″ x 1″, the lever has a small wing for hooking to a spoke on one end, and a wide, thin tip on the other. Apparently, since they’re made from FusionFiber they’re super strong, but also safe to use on composite rims like the Revel RW30. Made in the USA just like the rims, the levers will sell for $15 each and are available now.
