Carbon-fibre composites—lightweight, incredibly strong, and highly fatigue-resistant—have transformed industries where traditional materials can’t keep up. Their unique ability to flex under load and return precisely to shape makes them ideal for high-performance applications.
When Sam Pearce designed the first shock-absorbing Loopwheel in 2011, he looked to two fields that rely on this exact behaviour: prosthetic running blades and archery bows. Both must endure millions of flex cycles while staying perfectly consistent. By partnering with local bow makers KG Archery, we adapted this proven carbon composite technology to engineer the Loopwheels springs.
What are Carbon-Fibre Composite Materials?
A composite material is made by combining two or more substances to create a material with properties superior to its individual components. With carbon-fibre composites, very thin strands of carbon—stronger than steel by weight—are embedded in a resin matrix, typically epoxy.
This structure produces a combination of qualities that is difficult to match:
- High strength-to-weight ratio: Extremely strong while remaining light.
- Stiffness: Resists bending and deformation under load.
- Fatigue resistance: Maintains performance even after repeated stress cycles.
- Corrosion resistance: Does not rust, degrade, or weaken in moisture.
- Vibration dampening: naturally disperses energy rather than transmitting it.
- Tunability: Engineers can control the fibre orientation, thickness, and resin content to create predictable performance characteristics.
Because of these properties, carbon-fibre composites have become the material of choice in advanced sports equipment, aerospace structures, medical aids, and mobility devices.
A Brief History of Carbon-Fibre Composites
Although early forms of carbon fibres existed in the late 19th century, modern carbon fibre as we know it today emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. Advances in polymer chemistry and high-temperature processing dramatically increased strength and stiffness.
By the 1970s, carbon-fibre composites were adopted in aerospace engineering, where their weight-saving benefits could dramatically improve fuel efficiency and manoeuvrability. Over the following decades, as production methods improved and costs gradually fell, carbon fibre entered consumer products—from sports equipment to wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs. Today, it is considered a premium engineering material and appears wherever high performance, low weight, and reliability are critical.
What’s the story with archery bows?
In 1962, a young Nottinghamshire lad called Keith Gascoigne started an apprenticeship as a bowyer, learning how to make bows using traditional methods and woods. He started his own bow-manufacturing business KG Archery in 1991 and soon after produced the Paragon, the world’s first all carbon bow handle. The Paragon carbon handle with KG Carbon Limbs went on to win Silver and Gold medals in the Paralympic Games in Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, and Gold again in Athens 2004.
Specific Benefits for our applications
Carbon-fibre composites reduce weight and increase durability. Carbon structures naturally disperse energy rather than transmitting it, whether this be into the archer’s hand, or, in the case of wheelchairs, into the person seated in the wheelchair, thus providing superior vibration dampening.
Just like Loopwheels springs, a bow limb must flex and return energy efficiently. Carbon-fibre laminates provide rapid energy storage and release, and minimal torsional twist.
Manufacturers can layer fibres at specific angles to optimise performance for different bow type, allowing more customisation than traditional materials. This is how we engineer different spring rates in our Loopwheel springs and ensure they are always consistent. It took many iterations to get just the right amount of flex and stiffness into Loopwheels and produce three different suspension rates for our Urban, Extreme and LT models (stiff, regular and soft).
Carbon-fibre products can be more expensive initially, but their extended durability and reduced maintenance often lower overall lifetime costs. When used for assistive devices, they improve quality of life, a benefit that goes beyond financial considerations.
What about carbon fibre wheelchairs?
There’s a really great article about the use of carbon fibre in wheelchairs by Canadian manufacturer Motion Composites. It’s on their website: https://www.motioncomposites.com/en_intl/support-and-education/technology
It describes the clinical advantage of carbon fibre wheelchairs, and explodes some myths (for example that carbon fibre performs poorly in cold temperatures or that it chips easily: these are just not true now!)
Conclusion
Despite their differences, archery and assistive technology share crucial needs: devices that are strong, stable under stress, dampen vibration, and are durable. Carbon-fibre composite materials provide a level of control and optimisation that older materials just cannot match.