49 - Velocite Bikes and Venn Wheels Founder Victor Major

2:00 marketing hype vs marketing honesty5:30 legitimate Velocite / Venn innovations: filament winding for wheels and AI-assisted design6:15 the Velocite design process: their aero road bike, the SynDesigned to be fast in real-world use at realistic rider speeds Specific design towards integrating bottles, resulting in a concave downtube10:00 carbon fiber composite constructionCarbon fibers are only strong in one direction, so fabric orientation in the assembly is supremely importantThere is quite a bit of variability between products that are are layed up (manufactured) by handInnovation in carbon fiber construction favours automation where variability is eliminated14:45 carbon fiber construction using filament windingHere’s a video of filament winding in actionIssues with the original wet resin process and transition to a pre-preg manufacturing method24:45 why doesn’t everyone build rims using the filament winding process?27:00 on intellectual property and the struggles of enforcement31:15 the end user benefit of using filament-wound rims Easier to build up into wheels and trusted by pro wheel buildersRims are completely uniform, so they stay true longer and experience fewer failuresVery consistent end product with minimal variance in weight or mechanical properties38:30 what else can you make using filament winding?Anything tubular: lugged frame members, seatposts, potentially handlebarsMaking monocoque frames is not possible - yetPossibly non traditional bike frames too like the Ventum or the Cervelo Px series41:00 the possible future of carbon fiber construction45:00 AI-assisted rim design: the Venn VAR77 rimFirst iteration was a rim that was 42mm wide!A 30mm max width version was eventually chosen to be fastest50:30 a discussion on fork stance width58:30 the future of AI-assisted designNo software exists that can use AI to design a complete bike and rider3D-printed bikes63:00 Victor weighs in on rim vs diskLearn more about Velocite Bikes and Venn Wheels at their websites.To order a set of custom-built Venn wheels, reach out to Corey of Cognoscenti Cycles.