Carbon-fibre frame famine could be ended by carrots
A SCOTTISH company has developed a composites material made from carrots and is soon to roll out production of high-end 'biofibre' fishing rods. CelluComp of Fife said the material, called Curran, could
also be used to make carbonfibre style bicycle frames.

Dr David Hepworth of CelluComp said:“We're extracting cellulose material from the cells, deconstructing them to pieces that are microscopic and bonding it with a special resin in a way that can be moulded together and is more damage resistant
than carbon fibre.”
Curran is currently being
trialled on fishing rods. A rod,
weighing just ounces, requires
fibre pulp from up to 2kgs of
carrots. It went on sale in
January.
Last year, Johan
Museeuw's frame
business introduced the bike
world to carbon-fibre frames
strengthened with flax.
Museeuw said: “It might not
be too long before bikes made
completely from flax are
produced.”
He didn't say anything about
carrots. However, a wag known
to BikeBiz quipped: “Will I need
to keep a carrot-fibre frame in
the fridge?”.
There's clearly scope for many
similar jokes, and ones featuring
rabbits too, but Curran is no
laughing matter, as it could
transform the composites industry.
Carbon fibres used in modern
composites are derived from oil;
Curran's biofibres are Green.
Right now CelluComp is
mixing the carrotfibres
with carbon-fibres – it's
currently an 80:20 mix – but
Dr Hepworth believes the
technology can be developed
so all the fibres used are biofibres.
There could also be
composites made from turnips,
swede and parsnips.
Dr Hepworth said: “If we can
replace just a small percentage
of carbon fibres in products the
effects on the environment could
be significant and wide-ranging.”
www.cellucomp.com