The bicycle rim brake fatigue testing machine is mainly used for rim and brake testing. It uses a large rotating wheel as the driving wheel to drive the rim under test, and can conduct "dynamic w ...
The bicycle rim brake fatigue testing machine is mainly used for rim and brake testing. It uses a large rotating wheel as the driving wheel to drive the rim under test, and can conduct "dynamic walking tests", "brake performance tests", and "wheel static pressure tests". It is suitable for brake tests on "carbon fiber frames". It is controlled by an industrial control computer and can print test results with a micro printer. The load application uses a stack of weights for direct pressure, which more realistically simulates the test environment and conditions. (The fixture is designed based on the samples provided by the customer.)
Technical parameters
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Load | 0–2000 N (direct pressure) |
| Obstacle Angle | 45° |
| Power Supply | 380V ±10%, 50Hz, 5.5kW |
| Speed Adjustment Range | 0.05–35,000 m/h (adjustable) |
| Rotation Direction | Supports forward and reverse rotation |
| Tray Lifting Range | 50–200 mm |
| Absolute Error of Measured Travel | ≤ ±0.5 m |
| Travel Control Range | 0.05–99.9 km |
| Absolute Error of Measurement Time | 0.1 s |
| Main Unit Dimensions | 2900 × 1200 × 2500 mm |
| Control Cabinet Dimensions | 950 × 450 × 330 mm |
| Machine Weight | Approx. 510 kg |
Core Test Objective
The core purpose of this equipment is to verify the comprehensive durability of the rim brake system under simulated real-use conditions.
The main subjects and purposes of the investigation include:
1. Rim sidewall wear resistance: Verify whether the thickness of the rim's braking surface (brake side) exceeds the safety limit after repeated friction, which may lead to a decrease in rim strength or rim failure.
2. Brake pad (brake lining) wear resistance: Verify the wear amount, shape change (whether steps appear) of the brake pad after long-term friction, and whether it hardens/glassifies due to high temperature, resulting in a decline in braking performance.
3. Compatibility of rims and brake pads: Verify whether a specific rim and brake pad combination generates abnormal noise, vibration or brake performance degradation during long-term use.
4. Rim thermal fatigue performance: Simulate the high temperature generated by continuous downhill braking to verify whether the rim (especially aluminum alloy or carbon fiber rims) develops cracks or delamination after repeated thermal expansion and contraction.
5. Brake caliper durability: Verify whether the moving parts of the caliper (such as the left and right arms and springs of V-brakes) become stuck or have reduced rebound force after repeated opening and closing.
Applicable Standards
1. International Standards:
ISO 4210-4: Bicycles - Safety requirements (Part 4: Test methods for braking) - It includes braking performance tests, but the specific method for rim brake fatigue often refers to component standards.
ISO 4210-7: Bicycles - Safety requirements (Part 7: Wheels - Test methods) - Indirectly involves the strength of rims under braking loads.
2. Chinese National Standards:
GB 3565: Safety Requirements for Bicycles (corresponding to ISO 4210).
GB 17761-2024: Safety Technical Specification for Electric Bicycles (with requirements for rim brakes).
3. European Standards:
EN 14764/14766/14781: Standards for urban/mountain/road running bikes (all referring to the braking requirements of ISO standards).
4. Japanese Industrial Standards:
JIS D 9301: Bicycles - Braking performance and durability.
Purchasing Suggestions
If you are considering purchasing this type of equipment, the following points need to be given priority consideration:
1. Clearly define the test subjects:
Aluminum alloy rims: Standard configuration is fine. The key points are wear measurement and cycle count.
Carbon fiber rims: It is necessary to choose models with high-precision temperature monitoring and control, and it is best if they have the function of real-time temperature curve recording to analyze the thermal failure process.
2. Selection of Control Mode:
Constant force control: Maintaining a constant clamping force of the brake pad on the wheel rim. This method is simple, but the braking torque will vary with the coefficient of friction (such as brake pad wear, high-temperature vitrification).
Constant torque control: By using feedback from the torque sensor, the clamping force is adjusted to maintain a constant braking torque. This method is closer to the intention of "maintaining a constant braking force" in real cycling and is the preferred choice for high-end research and development.
3. Degree of automation in wear measurement:
Manual measurement: After a certain number of tests, the machine is shut down and the rim thickness is measured manually with a caliper. This method is low-cost but inefficient and prone to human error.
Online automatic measurement: Equipped with high-precision laser displacement sensors, it can monitor the thickness change or radial runout of the rim brake edge in real time without stopping the machine. The data is more accurate and can be used to draw wear curves.
4. Heat Dissipation and Cooling:
If the test objective is to simulate a long downhill (such as the long downhill in the Alps), the equipment itself should not forcibly cool the wheel rims (unless it is intended to simulate natural air cooling). It is necessary to clearly define whether the cooling method of the equipment is natural cooling or forced air cooling to avoid interfering with the test results.
5. Safety Protection:
The wheels rotate at high speed, and during the test, there may be dangerous situations such as brake pad detachment and rim burst. A fully enclosed high-strength protective cover must be equipped, and it should be interlocked with a door lock.
6. Data Collection and Analysis:
The software should be capable of real-time plotting of temperature-time curves, braking torque-time curves, and wear amount-cycle number curves.
It should be capable of setting multiple safety thresholds (such as upper temperature limit and lower torque limit), and automatically shut down for protection when the limits are exceeded.
