- We are potentially on the cusp
of a big step forward in the evolution of road bikes.
And if it happens,
it's gonna be the result
of the wonder material, Graphene.
Now at the moment
only one bike brand in the world
is producing frames out of this material,
and it's these guys-- Dassi.
It's a boutique British brand
that currently make less than a hundred frames per year.
And this one,
their Interceptor,
is their one and only Graphene bike.
But--
what is it that makes Graphene such a wonder material
and why
is it potentially gonna revolutionise bike technology?
Well, hold on tight,
because it's time for some science.
(relaxed dance music)
This unlikely looking spot
is the home of Perpetuus,
a carbon technology specialist,
and perhaps the largest producer
of Graphene in the world--
extracting over 400 tonnes of the stuff per year.
The actual extraction itself goes on just in here.
But before we see it
we need to get some protective gear on.
(relaxed dance music)
Probably not what you were expecting, huh?
First question then,
what actually is it?
Well,
Graphene is what's called an allotrope of carbon,
carbon itself being an incredible substance
that can vary in form
from this lump of graphite
to a diamond.
Now both have the same atoms
but completely different properties,
this one being incredibly soft
and the diamond, of course,
being one of the hardest natural substances known to man.
And actually,
perhaps counter-intuitively,
the Graphene comes from this
almost worthless piece of graphite ore.
And that's because
the Graphene is a two-dimensional,
single atomic layer of carbon atoms
that are arranged in a lattice pattern
that only when layered up,
give you this graphite here.
And to actually extract the Graphene from this graphite,
you need to do what's called "chemically exfoliate" it,
and for that
you need a reactor like this one, and plasma.
The longer the graphite spins in there,
and the more aggressive the chemicals used,
then the higher the quality your Graphene will be.
This is what you get out.
This is Graphene.
Now, it doesn't look like much
so why is it so incredible?
Well, firstly, it kinda goes without saying
but it is incredibly thin.
True Graphene is just one atom thick,
so that's like,
a millionth of the diameter of a human hair.
But yet despite that,
it's also incredibly strong--
200 times stronger than steel in fact.
And then thirdly, it's also incredibly conduct-
one of the most conductive materials out there.
But yet,
in this unprepossessing form of black powder,
you can't really do much with it.
Graphene is impossible to isolate in sheets
that are large enough to really be of any use.
We're talking like, nano-meters here,
not like, entire TV screens.
So instead,
this is used as an additive
to make turbo-charged composites.
Let me explain.
So, this Graphene here has been
functionalised with silicone.
So that means that in the reactor,
it was extracted with a plasma that has siloxane in it.
And that means, that, it is in fact,
super hydrophobic.
So if we demonstrate using a beaker of water,
and we add
a teaspoon of Graphene into it,
you'll see that it will not mix.
Not in any way.
And so you can see that in certain applications,
like maybe paint or tyres or electronics
that super hydrophobic-ness is gonna be incredibly useful.
And then, to contrast it,
we have this which has been functionalised with oxygen.
It's called Oxygen-Doped Graphene,
which is kinda cool,
and you'll see that if we add a teaspoon of this one
it mixes almost immediately.
And this is the stuff that we're gonna use
in structural carbon fibre.
This is for bike components.
(relaxed dance music)
Change of scene now
and we've moved into one of Perpetuus' labs.
I have in front of me two pieces of carbon fibre.
One with Graphene
and one without.
And the one with Graphene has had
an Oxgen-Doped Graphene actually mixed with the resin
and then impregnated into the carbon fibre.
And we're gonna very quickly see
the difference between the two.
So, if I hold them up to the light,
you'll see that in the Graphene-impregnated carbon fibre
almost no light permeates through it.
Where, as in the normal carbon fibre,
all those areas of light are actually potential weak spots
because there's no fibres there, only resin.
Whereas this one,
because the Graphene is dispersed evenly
throughout the resin,
it's a much more uniform piece of material.
And that is because the Graphene itself
is actually improving the strength of the resin,
because it chemically bonds to both the resin
and also the carbon fibre.
So those bonds are acting like little hooks
and they increase the so-called
'interfacial sheer strength.'
So to put it another way, hopefully more simply,
on this one--our traditional carbon fibre--
we have two components.
We've got a resin and we've also got a carbon fibre,
whereas on this one,
it's bonded together so we have one uniform
and much stronger piece of material.
But then,
it gets even cooler,
because actually, this resin here
is significantly lighter.
Because of the incredible surface area of the Graphene
it actually reduces the density of the resin.
So you use the same amount of resin
and it actually makes the carbon fibre stronger,
but it can weigh up to
50% less.
Now you see why I'm getting excited, right?
(relaxed dance music)
Knowing what we now know about Graphene
and just what it can do,
what is its future in cycling?
Well, having spoken to the founder of Dassi, Stuart Abbott,
he has clearly got some pretty big plans.
Firstly, reduction in weight.
Now this frame is currently a feathery 700 grammes
making it among the lightest out there.
But he's confident he can get that weight down
to just 350 grammes.
That would put it, at like,
half a kilo lighter than just about
every other super bike out there.
And then,
that 350 gramme frame could be an aero frame.
Now currently, carbon engineers have to resign
themselves to the fact that they have to add mass to a frame
when they want more complicated tube shapes
such as aerodynamic ones.
But with Graphene,
there would be no such penalty.
And then your featherweight frame would be robust as well,
because of the incredible impact-resistance
of Graphene carbon fibre like we've already seen,
then your bike could potentially be more impact-resistant
than a carbon frame weighing four times as much.
And if that's not enough,
things then get really clever.
Because Graphene is a conductor,
Abbott is currently planning a bike
with built-in circuitry and sensors.
So you'll be able to collect all manner
of rider telemetry like power, and torque and so forth
and then be able to map out
what your perfect custom bike would be.
Not to mention, in fact, having built-in Di2
and EPS wires as well.
Yeah, how cool is that?
Now, if you think I'm getting excited,
you would be right
because this is really exciting.
To bring us back down to Earth slightly though,
how long are we gonna have to wait
for this technology to reach the mass market?
Well, probably quite awhile.
If this is version one of Graphene,
we need to realise all the possibilities that it offers
and then develop it for the mass market.
But, this could very well be a glimpse into the future.
I, for one, just hope that
that 3-kilogram bike becomes a reality
before I am too old to enjoy riding up hills.
Now.
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