CARBON TRACK TANDEM BICYCLE DIPLO

Built in December 2021.

On the 3 rd of December 2021, at the OAKA Olympic cycling track, the first custom carbon track tandem to be produced in Greece was delivered to Paralympic champions Christos Sandalakis and Sotiris Breta. Made entirely in Greece, to the standard of champions. The planning, design and fabrication of the frame was implemented at the facilities of the FIDUSA company, in Rhodes.
The athletes and their coaches contacted Giorgos Vogiatzis at the beginning of March 2021 and asked him to build them a special track bike, for their competitive obligations in Greece and abroad.
Our champion Christos Sandalakis and his pilot Sotiris Bretas compete on the track in the Tandem Men’s 2nd Handicapped category. The high goals they have set and the distinctions they have achieved so far were, they thought, being limited by the equipment they had used until then.
The physical differences of the two athletes require special and personalized constructions for their maximum performance based on the stiffness and low weight of the frame.
The construction of "DIPLO", as the new model is named, began with the study of the forces exerted by each of the athletes so that both during the acceleration and during the competition, the athletes and the bike have absolute coherence.
Building such specialized carbon fibre bike frames requires:
1. Knowledge and use of special 3D design programs.
2. CNC equipment to fabricate the moulds for lay-up of the carbon tubing.
3. Specialized staff with knowledge and experience in the application of carbon fibre lamination.
4. A custom made jig for the accurate placement of the tubing to fit the biometric proportions of each rider so that the tubes can be cut and placed with millimetre precision at the predetermined angles.
The last stage of construction is completed in the specially designed area of the paint shop by
painting the frame and fork with quality paints and varnishes.