The focus on drive train design has seen a search for both efficiency and aerodynamic gains, seeing Renold and Great Britain Cycling Team work on a programme to give the British riders their best opportunity to maintain their leading position in world cycling competition.

 

The relationship with the Great Britain Cycling Team goes back to 2011, when the Great Britain Cycling Team approached Renold to see if they could come up with a world-class solution for their track cyclists. The rich history of Renold and a mutual relationship with the University of Bristol was the catalyst for this partnership forming.

The chains developed are based on the same technology platform as Renold's Synergy brand industrial transmission chain. This chain is widely regarded as the performance leader in industrial applications, having unrivalled wear and fatigue performance.  Synergy is the perfect foundation for a track cycling chain.

Detlef Ragnitz, Engineering Director at Renold added: “British Cycling came to us with some very interesting and specific challenges. Elite athletes make extreme demands on the chain. We looked at our technology portfolio to see what might be a good fit. Our synergy technology platform is very strong and durable, it has inherently low friction and gives us long life in industrial applications. In Industrial applications, greater efficiency means reduced carbon footprint. In cycling, it means more speed!â€'

The developed chain was previously used to great effect by the Great Britain Cycling Team on the track in both the London and Rio Olympic Games.

Tony Purnell, British Cycling's on the need to improve drive train efficiency said: “Any loss of drive train efficiency means that some of the power from the riders legs gets wasted into heat, so it absolutely makes the bike quickerâ€'.