Trek's Big Announcement Will “Change Cycling Forever”

A targeted ad campaign has been making the rounds on Reddit and social media from Trek Bikes. The ad claims that on March 19, Trek will release a new product that will “change cycling forever.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BueVOvklGWd/

So, what’s Trek up to?

Ebikes? Another anagram? We have the Domane, Emonda and Madone. How about Moaned or perhaps Enema’d? Cheated on that last one…

Based on the video, I’m betting it’s a new material. And based on that guess, I think it’s something to do with Dyneema fiber. What is Dyneema?

Dyneema is DSM’s brand name for its Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMwPE), which is a whole lot of words to say ‘really, really strong plastic’.

DSM sells Dyneema to brands in a variety of industries, from aviation to mountaineering to nautical sports. It’s also starting to get used in cycling, Specialized, Castelli, Exteondo and others use the fabric for shoes and clothing. For good reason, Dyneema is 15 times stronger than steel but has a low enough density that it floats on water. Dyneema was even used for a 30-kilometre space tether.

There are two strong selling points for Dyneema in cycling: the material’s very high strength-to-weight ratio and its very high abrasion resistance. The later is one of the biggest weaknesses of carbon fiber. DSM says a new product called Dyneema Carbon, which incorporates Dyneema into sheets of carbon will make carbon bikes better at absorbing both road vibrations and outright impacts to the frame tubing.

The ad is clearly 2 sheets of something coming together, perhaps it’s a dyneema/carbon mix? Now, whether or not that’s a trans-formative change worthy of such hype? We’ll just have to wait and see. Trek has a new page where you can sign up to get the info as soon as it’s released.

Never mind, it’s probably this: