A more sustainable future for the bike industry? Hunt introduces recyclable carbon fibre to new gravel wheelsets and plans to implement tech more widely "over time"

Wheel manufacturer Hunt has announced its latest gravel wheelsets will be made using fully recyclable carbon fibre.

The performance wheel brand said its H_Cyclo technology will be used in its updated 40 Carbon Gravel Race wheels and an all-new dynamo-equipped 40 Carbon Gravel Dynamo wheelset, something Hunt says is "the next step in reducing environmental impact while continuing to serve riders with high specification performance wheels that improve the riding experience".

And while the recycling is limited to two gravel wheelsets for now, Hunt says there are plans to implement the technology across more of its carbon range "over time".

> Hunt introduces recycled carbon fibre to its wheel range: would you pay just a little more to help the planet?

Explaining how it's done, Hunt notes that the traditional carbon fibre manufacturing process for rims and components sees pieces of carbon fibre pre-preg injected with an epoxy resin and laid within a thermoset mould, the process generally resulting in a higher strength-to-weight ratio than other carbon production methods such as thermo-plastic resin processes.

However, on the down side, the thermoset process with carbon fibre and epoxy resin is a one-time use chemical reaction, or it was until Hunt developed its H_Cyclo technology to use a solution called CleaVER to separate carbon fibres and resin using heat and agitation, so that both components can be re-used.

Hunt reports it was designed initially to enable the recycling of large format glass fibre wind turbine blades to create new, smaller format products — and says the "implementation of recyclable H_Cyclo resin has no impact on the structural integrity or strength-to-weight attributes of the carbon layup, making the technology ideal for precision, high-performance rims".

> How green is your carbon bike? And why your next one could be made from recycled carbon fibre

The brand also says it will cover the collection of products at end-of-life, in order to "make the process seamless and no-cost for riders, should their wheels become unusable in an accident or crash".

"Updated to reduce environmental impact", the 40 Carbon Gravel Race wheels have been around for a while. Priced at £1,099 and weighing 1.4kg they are compatible with tyres ranging from 29-60mm, although the 25mm internal rim width is optimised for 40mm rubber, a wheel Hunt says will offer a "comfortable, compliant ride feel without sacrificing durability".

It has been upgraded with the Hunt's H_Ratchet 40T DBL hubset and the brand reports the 40 Carbon Gravel Race was ridden by Cecily Decker to victory at The Rift Iceland, Bighorn Gravel, and a third place at SBT Gravel, something Hunt says is proof of the wheels' "performance and durability in the hardest gravel races".

The dynamo-equipped version is new to the range and sees a SON 28 Dynamo generator front hub to power lights and electronics, Hunt marketing it as a "fully recyclable ultra distance-capable gravel wheelset". It shares the same rim width and compatibility figures as the non-dynamo equivalent, but "offers increased durability" with four additional front and rear spokes to adapt to the heavier loads a bike featuring the wheels is likely to be used for.

Riders will have the option to purchase the 40 Carbon Gravel Dynamo as a single front wheel with the SON Dynamo front hub or full front and rear set. The dynamo wheelset weighs 1.8kg and is priced at £1,489, both models available now on Hunt's website.