PI ROPE GmbH
Berbisdorfer Straße 113 | 09123 Chemnitz
Founded
September 2017
Milestones
2088 Start of series production (in November) | Development of a 29-inch mountain bike wheelset weighing less than 0.9 kg
Owner/management
Ingo Berbig
Production/research centre
Alte Strumpffabrik Einsiedel/Chemnitz and TU Chemnitz, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Workplaces
11 (1 full-time, 4 part-time, 6 mini-jobs)
Production/research focus, product range
Textile bicycle spokes | Braiding, finishing, joining technology for technical braids
Company philosophy
“We do not want to replace the steel spoke with huge quantities, but rather cultivate the manufacturing concept – the production of high-quality premium products. PI ROPE wants to develop sustainably by striving for small steps and goals that can be achieved by our own efforts (without investors).”
TEXTILE BICYCLE SPOKES?
Spokes are only subjected to tensile loads. So why not use materials that are particularly suitable for this? The idea of PI ROPES was born back in 2013 – since 2017, PI ROPE has been researching and developing a wheel system based on the special properties of textile fibres. The textile spokes are based on the high-tech fibre Vectran™. Thanks to its five times lower density compared to steel, it is possible to build a lightweight yet safe, robust and durable spoke. It is braided and assembled in Chemnitz.
Photos: Lukas Schäfer, Annett Schmieder