Dyneema®Carbon

Bio-based UHMWPEF®: Lighter, Stronger, Smarter

UHMWPEF® has been making headlines in cycling media for several years, yet few manufacturers have successfully integrated this advanced material into their products. This is largely due to the constraints of traditional prepreg carbon manufacturing — where brands are limited to common fibers supplied by large carbon producers, and the high curing temperatures required for prepreg frames exceed the recommended thermal threshold for UHMWPEF® fibers. In a commodity-driven industry focused on profitability, specialized or costly materials with limited demand often remain underdeveloped.

Sunremo is different.

Because we weave our own braided carbon structures (BCS), we have been able to experiment with sustainable Bio-Based UHMWPEF® fibers since they first became available from DSM. Moreover, the lower resin temperature used in our Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) process falls comfortably within UHMWPEF®’s recommended range.

UHMWPEF® fiber is 15x stronger than steel

At the same weight, UHMWPEF® fiber offers 15 times the strength of steel, with a tensile strength reaching up to 43 cN/dtex. It is so lightweight that it floats on water, and it also possesses a high modulus — providing exceptional resistance to deformation.

Compared to conventional HMPE fibers, bio-based UHMWPEF® reduces CO₂ emissions by 29 metric tons per ton of fiber produced. This reduction is equivalent to: The CO₂ released from charging 3.7 million smartphones, or The amount of CO₂ absorbed by 480 tree seedlings grown over 10 years.

Why Sunremo Uses UHMWPEF®?

Incorporating a Carbon/Bio-Based UHMWPEF® hybrid layer into our frames allows us to enhance structural strength without sacrificing stiffness or adding weight.

Bio-Based UHMWPEF® is integrated into the woven BCS sleeve at key junctions — such as where the head tube, down tube, and top tube intersect. In these braids, Bio-Based UHMWPEF® makes up 20–25% of the total fiber weight.

Why is it only used internally, and will it appear in future Sunremo designs?

Bio-Based UHMWPEF® excels under tensile loads. During a collision or frontal impact, the inner layers of a frame experience tension—making it the ideal placement to maximize the material’s performance.

We are only at the beginning.

This remarkable material holds immense potential, and combined with Sunremo’s deep carbon fiber expertise, we see many exciting applications ahead.