Utah SAMPE Chapter​, Thursday, March 22nd, 2001​. A Powerpoint presentation given to the Utah SAMPE Chapter on the development of Trek's OCLV line of bicycles, which received huge mass market TV exposure when ridden to eight victories in the world's most viewed athletic event, the Tour de France. Carbon fibre composite bicycle frames have developed into a high volume consumer applications over the past decade, and are now dominate on high-end racing bikes.Ron Nelson of ClosedMold Composites, primary inventor of the Trek OCLV bicycle frame, explains how the integrated development of a manufacturing process and frame design lead to a successful commercial product line.Lance Armstrong has ridden Trek’s composite road bike to victory in four Tour de France events. This presentation will recap developments in all-composite bicycle frames from the monocoque-fiberglass Bowden Spacelander in 1960, through Lance Armstrong's 1999 Tour de France victory on a stock (1991 Technology) Trek OCLV Frame, to new, lower-cost and higher-performance technologies for the coming decade. The speaker, Ron Nelson, invented, developed, and designed Trek Bicycle Company's OCLV line of road and mountain bicycles and manufacturing process. This included marketing the design and manufacturing concept to the customer (Trek), negotiation of a long term licensing contract, and product/process design and development including structural testing and production setup. This product line was a $6MM business for Trek in first model year (1992), and grew to roughly $45MM by the fourth production year.​ Ron Nelson is also inventor of closed-mold carbon composite products that won gold medals in the last five Olympics and several other non-Olympic sporting good products, in addition to the last two Tour de France wins. Ron has been personally interested in the technical changes in bicycle construction since the early 70's, and recently retired as President and Co-Founder of Radius Engineering, Inc.​

1. Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering
Utah SAMPE Chapter
"All-Composite Bicycle Frames -
Past, Present, and Future"
Ron Nelson, ClosedMold Composites
(Formerly President of Radius Eng.)
Thursday, March 22nd, 2001
Salt Lake City, Utah

2. All-composite Bicycle Frames Don’t Have Metallic Lugs
• Metallic Lug Elimination Reduces Weight
• Metal Lug Tube and Lug Diameters Are Smaller
Than in an All-composite Frame
– Minimum Wall Thickness Manufacturing Requirements for
Metal Lugs and Need to Reduce Lug Weight
• Composite Structures Use Larger Space Envelopes
Than Metal Because of Lower Density
• Mismatch Results Between Optimum Space
Envelope Between the Metal Lugs and the
Composite Components

3. “Production” Bicycles Impact the Consuming and
Economic Communities
• Production Is At Least 500 a Year, If Not 1000’s
• Significant Market Impact Means Should Be
Considered in New Product Development Efforts
– Generally Safe, Strong, and Reliable, I.E. Meet US CPSC
Tests
– Product Has Met More “Hurdles” Because Production
Startup Funding Was Spent, and Independent People Spend
Money to Buy Them
– You and I Can Afford “Production” All-composite Frames
Because Production Volumes Drastically Reduce Price

4. All-composite Bicycle Product and Inventors
• 1960 Bowden Spacelander, Bowden
• Huffy Custom Frames, Bishop
• Kestrel, Trimble
• Trek 5000, Duplessis
• LeMonde, Calfee
• Trek 5500, Nelson
• Radius HIR, Nelson

5. Patent Chronology and Production Products
Inventor Assignee
U.S. Patent
Number
Patent Filing
Date
Patent Issue
Date
Earliest Filing
Date for
Associated
Patents Product Line
Nelson Et. Al. Radius
Engineerin
g
na 5/29/97 na na none yet
Nelson Et. Al. Trek
Bicycle
Co.
5624519 5/29/92 2/29/97 na Trek 5500, Trek's Line of OCLV
frames
Calfee na 5160862 5/31/91 11/3/92 3/9/89 Sold under Lemond name for a
while
Duplessis na 5080385 5/25/90 1/14/92 11/14/90 Trek 5000, Trek's 1998 line of
all-composite frames
Trimble na 4986949 11/14/89 1/22/91 6/16/88 Kestrel line of bicycles, Radius
worked with in 88'-89'
Bishop et. al. Huffy
Bicycle
4900049 10/18/88 2/13/90 na Huffy semi-custom all-composite
frames

6. 1960 Bowden Spacelander
First All-Composite Bicycle Frame

7. 1960 Bowden Spacelander
Patent

8. 1960 Bowden Spacelander
Was a Commercial Failure
• Monocoque Fiberglass
• Two Halves Joined at
Midplane
• 50 Lb.
• $90.00 Retail
• About 500 Made
• "the bicycle was a
monumental frustration ….
the whole episodes cost him
fortunes"

9. Custom Huffy Frames/bikes Cost Roughly $10,000
Development Was Marketing Driven

10. Production of Cycle Composites Inc.’s Kestrel
Frames Shook the Industry

11. Kestrel Probably the First All-composite Frame Made in
Relatively Large Quantities, >1000/yr.

12. Radius Worked With CCI From
Mid-88’ to Mid-89’
Reported That This
Machine Was Still in
Use in Watsonville
About a 1 Ago Making
Forks, Using Same
Process From 89’.

13. CCI Declined to License Radius’ Technologies Freeing
Radius to Work With Trek 1 Year Later
Jim Colegrove/Radius,
He Later Worked
At Trek During and After
Radius Transferred
Technology to Trek

14. Key Players at CCI and My Impressions
• Brent Trimble
– original inventor
• Rich Hollingsworth
– A key in making it work in production
• Bevil Hogg
– president CCI, came from Trek where he was a key in the
Trek 5000 product
• Tom French
– V.P.?, co-owner prior to Schwinn sale?
• Preston Sandusky
– longtime engineer and current owner?

15. Calfee Frame Got Publicity Just As the Trek 5500 Was
Being Introduced

16. Stunningly Simple
Design Concept and Process

17. Similar to Old Brazed Lugged Steel Frame

18. The Trek 5000 - 1988 Model Year Frame
Very Similar to Kestrel in Construction
4,828,781 Duplessis
Duplessis Patents Are
Nearly Identical to Trimble
Patents.

19. Rear Triangle Secondarily Bonded Contrary
to Patent Application and Different From Kestrel

20. Trek 5000 Looked Similar to Kestrel

21. Inside of Trek 5000 Filled With Parasitic
Materials to Aid Molding

22. Improvement in Quality of Trek 5500
Is Obvious and Very Pronounced

23. Trek 5500 OCLV Produced in Higher Quantities and Lower
Costs Putting Kestrel Out of Business
Trek’s John Burke,
Tom Albers, and Bob Read made
a big commitment on the new product
line only a couple of years after the
commercial failure of the Trek 5000. It
required a clear strategic vision and it paid off.

24. Nelson Et. Al. Patent for OCLV
Product Line Assigned to Trek Per License

25. Radius-Trek Development & Licensing
Contract Signed July 90’ and Production Started in September 91’
……..Only 14 Months to Develop and Implement
Brand New Product and Manufacturing Process…….

26. Trek 5500 OCLV Key Engineers
Committed to Project
Dimitrije
Milovich
Ron
Nelson
John
Short
Rest break during “Product Testing”
on Desolation Ridge, Above SLC, Utah
Proud Radius Engineers
With One of the First Frames
In Waterloo
Late Bob Read of Trek Bicycle
The “Heart & Soul” of New
Bike Project

27. Trek OCLV 5500 “First Assembly”
Was Exciting Moment
John Short “Mingling”
With Production Personnel

28. Preplied Quasi-isotropic Prepreg Die Cut Into Multiply
“Preform” Shapes for Loading Into Mold

29. Quasi-isotropic Die Cut Preforms
Are Pushed Into Mold

30. Bladder Molded Head Lug Cross Section Is
Typical Construction
Bladder Inflated Bladder Deflated
Mold
Mold Mold
Mold

31. Socket Joint Key to Overall Manufacture
“Butt Line” Designed for Positive
Precise Positioning During Frame AssemblyTaper in Plug Designed to
Prevent Shear Failure
“Socket” “Plug” on Molded
Lugs Only
Taper Angle Has to Be Less
Than a Critical Value

32. Monostay Yoke Bladders
Thin Thermoplastic
Bladder

33. Layups Via Finite Element Analysis at Radius
(Pierre Minguet – EIFEL, Mountain Bike Swingarm Too)

34. Milovich & Nelson Surprised and Happy
After Lance’s August 1999 Tour Win

39. Rigid (9900/9800) and Rear Suspended (9500) Mountain Bike
Models Introduced 2nd Model Year

40. Fischer Bike Line Owned by Trek

42. Significant Cost Reductions and Performance
Improvements Can Be Made to 1991 Technology
“holy smoke…those aren’t marcelle waves…
…those are Horseshoe Waves!”

43. Deadly Red-Hot “Horse Shoe” Waves
Fiber Paths Convoluted

44. Successor 1997 Technology
Termed High-Interleave-Ratio Construction
This Patent Owned by
Radius Engineering, Inc.
New Design Flexibility Allows Sockets
In Lugs for Lower Cost and
Curved “Plugged” Tubes
Public Nelson Et. Al.
Patent Application

45. Illustration of 1991 OCLV Technology
8 or 12 plys at
0/+45/90 degrees
Mold
Die cut
preforms
Mold
“Net” side
preform
“Lap” side
preform

46. 1991 Technology – Cont’d
Full Thickness Multiply Preform “Pushed” Into Female Cavity
Tending to Form Wrinkles
Mold
Mold
Mold
Bladder
“Net” side
preform
“Lap” side
preform
“Lap” side
preform
“Net” side
preform

47. 1991 Technology – Cont’d
Seam at Overlap Between Two Halves
“Net” side
“Lap” side
Seam
“Lap”

48. 1991 Technology – Cont’d
Sockets on Lugs Difficult Because
Overlaps Machined Away
Overlap Material
Removed to Form
Round Socket
Socket Side
Of Joint
Plug Side
Of Joint
Socket Side
Of Joint
Socket Side
Of Joint

49. 1997 Technology “Pulls” Flexible One or Two
Ply Preforms Over Male Shape Reducing Wrinkles

50. Core Removal Step in 1997 Technology
This Patent Owned by
Radius Engineering, Inc.

51. 1997 Technology Produces
High-Interleave-Ratio Construction
Interleave Ratio Is Length of “Seam”
(Path From Inside Part to Outside of Part
Without Crossing Fibers) Divided by Part Wall Thickness

52. Exceptionally High Compressive Strain Delivered in
Frontal Load Test of 1997 Technology Head Lug

53. 1997 Technology Construction Big Improvement
Over 1991 Technology
• Fundamentally Different Structure
– Structurally Weak Crack-prone "Laps" Joining Lug Halves
Eliminated
– Near Seamless Construction Significantly Lighter and Stiffer
• Fiber Waves and Wrinkling in the Lug Walls
Essentially Eliminated
– Major Source of Fatigue Cracking and Lug Failure

54. Big Improvement Over 1991 Technology – Cont’d
• Carbon Lugs and Components 25% Lighter While Being 10%
Stiffer
– Demonstrated in Side-by-side Testing of Batch Runs of Lugs
Made With Old and New Construction
– Due Primarily to Elimination of Laps Between Part Halves
and Laminate Wrinkling.
• As-molded Pinhole Surface Defects and Laminate Wrinkle
(Folds) Induced Resin-rich Surface Defects Are Effectively
Eliminated

55. Big Improvement Over 1991 Technology – Cont’d
• 35%-50% Cost Savings in Prepreg Materials Alone
– Much Lower Scrape Rate and Lighter Finished Component Weight
– Old Complex Preform Shapes Produced Large Scrape Rates
– New Simpler Shapes Allow Near Zero Cutting Scrape
• Fewer Tools and Presses For Given Production Rate
– One Half to One Fourth the Number of Tools and Presses
– Part Lay-up Occurs Separate From Molding
• Allows Greater Design Flexibility
– Plug and Socket Joints to Be Configured and located As Needed
– Fiber Orientation and Laminate Wall Thickness Tailored Throughout
Lug

56. • As Dr. Dan Said "Those Aren't Marcelle Waves…Those Are
Horseshoe Waves“
• Small Marcelle Waves Are Known to Reduce Strength
Substantially, But These Waves Aren’t Small
• Specific Strength Is up 10% while Specific Stiffness Is up 30%
– Easier to Control and Improve Stiffness More Than to Improve
Static Strength
– Fiber Waviness elimination Explains Higher Stiffness
Big Improvement Over 1991 Technology – Cont’d
No more Horseshoe waves

57. 50% Cost Reduction in All-Composite Frames
in Next 2-3 Years
• Frames Will Be Lighter, Stiffer, and Stronger Than
Trek's Current OCLV Line
• More Durable, and Far Less Prone to Experiencing
Cracking
• Lower End Retail Move to Roughly $700
– Quadruple Sales Volume?

58. Next 2-3 Years – Cont’d
• Large Price Reduction in All Composite Frames
Problem for Large Bike Companies
– Multiple Product Lines Defined by Different Frame Materials
– Improvement in One Product Line Not As Important As Effect
on Company As Whole
• Cheaper All Composite Frames Could Wreck Havoc
With Existing Aluminum Product Lines
• So a New Low Cost All Composite Line Would
Cannibalize Allot of Existing Sales

59. Within a Decade Another 50% Cost Reduction
In All-Composite Frames
• The Holy Grail 
You Can Buy an All-Composite
Framed Bike in Wal-Mart!!
• Cost Reduction Through
– Change to a Non-prepreg Form of Material
– Automated Process Designed to Eliminate Hand Labor

60. Bicycle Racing Shortly After Invention of Wheel
Circa. 1972 Omaha Nebraska ABLA Road Race
Junior Division
Senior Division
(=<Cat 2)
Ron N.
Kelly B.
Blackwell
Baldwin

61. Award Winning Closed-Mold Composite
Sporting Good Products

62. Olympic Gold Medal Product

64. Award-Winning Closed-Mold Composite
Sporting Good Product

66. This presentation will recap developments in all-composite bicycle frames
from the monocoque-fiberglass Bowden Spacelander in 1960, through Lance Armstrong's
1999 Tour de France victory on a stock (1991 Technology) Trek OCLV Frame, to new,
lower-cost and higher-performance technologies for the coming decade. The speaker,
Ron Nelson, invented, developed, and designed Trek Bicycle Company's OCLV line
of road and mountain bicycles and manufacturing process. This included marketing
the design and manufacturing concept to the customer (Trek), negotiation of a long term
licensing contract, and product/process design and development including structural
testing and production setup. This product line was a $6MM business for Trek in first
model year (1992), and grew to roughly $45MM by the fourth production year.
Ron Nelson is also inventor of closed-mold carbon composite products that
won gold medals in the last five Olympics and several other non-Olympic sporting good
products, in addition to the last two Tour de France wins. Ron has been personally
interested in the technical changes in bicycle construction since the early 70's prior to his
winning the Nebraska State Road Racing Championship in 1975. Ron is currently
president of ClosedMold Composites, and recently retired as President and Co-
Founder of Radius Engineering, Inc.
Abstract

67. Disclaimers
(i.e. Ron practicing his legal writing skills)
• The information contained herein is correct to best of my knowledge, and I
would appreciate corrections on names, dates, etc.
• Much of the information contained herein is based on my personal memory, and
some errors are to be expected under such circumstances.
• The people and business entities mentioned herein have not been contacted
regarding this presentation, and therefore neither explicitly nor implicitly endorse
any of the information contained herein.
• Notwithstanding said references to people and business entities contained
herein, many important and sometimes colorful people involved in the
hereinafter described activities have been omitted in the need for brevity,
and I apologize to those people hereto.
• The product names and trade names used herein are the property of their
respective owners.
• It is this author’s belief and informed opinion that this document and associated
presentation contain no proprietary information, and that all information,
documents, references, technical know-how, or other innuendo contained herein
are either; generally known to the public, or known to those skilled and practiced
in the applicable technical arts discussed herein, and notwithstanding the
foregoing may have been disclosed to individuals not bound by secrecy
obligations by a potential owner of said proprietary information.