Vertebrae Ceramic Components

Free samples at Eurobike 2011

Dr. Leslie Brown — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:59:35 +0000

	For 2011, we are again represented at Eurobike. There will also be 50 free 2″ samples of vertebrae up for grabs in the clear colour.
We have organised to have the new Vertebrae anubis on display at Eurobike 2011, mounted on an all-new show bike built by A2J at the Carbon Sports / Lightweight tent on press day (30th August). We will also have a few different lengths of vertebrae housing on demonstration for you to touch and feel at the German Carbon Group stand (THM-Carbones booth in Hall A2 booth 205).

Vertebrae Anubis Update

Dr. Leslie Brown — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:26:32 +0000

Just a quick update on the Vertebrae Anubis situation. We now have 10,000 individual vertebrae in stock with another 10,000 pieces en route. Although this may surprise some people, the major delay has been the production of our custom PEEK liner, not the ceramic parts.

Note that this product is intended for use exclusively with campagnolo 11 speed systems, as no modification of the ergolevers is required.

We will have 2 or 3 Vertebrae Anubis gear kits ready for purchase by the end of next week, hence we’ve now changed the item status to ’available’ on the products page. Consider this a pre-release; obviously the first kits will go to the first initial buyers. I know that some of you have been waiting a whole year for this product to be released, so I expect the first few Vertebrae Anubis kits will be snapped up pretty quickly.

Vertebrae Anubis coming soon!

Dr. Leslie Brown — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:28:12 +0000

Just a quick update:
Thanks very much for the continued interest in Vertebrae Anubis! Actually there is some good news!!

We have had 25,000 black ceramic pieces made up already for some time now (enough for 53 gear kits).

We are going to release our own slimline 0.7mm gear polymer-coated stainless steel cable housing and proprietry teflon liner so it works together as a fully-functioning system with truly ultra-low friction.
It has already undergone testing in Tenerife, Spain.

I am currently working on Vertebrae Components here in Australia over the next month, then I will be going back to Tenerife on July 18 and I think we can expect it to be ready for sale by the end of July (finally!). The main wait now is just for the teflon liner to be sent to us…

Dr. Leslie Brown (Mat. Sci.)
www.vertebr.ae | Precision braking & shifting
+612 9570-1634
(note my spanish mobile is switched off at the moment)

Mechanical properties of 96%, 99.5% alumina and ZTA.

Dr. Leslie Brown — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 23:44:57 +0000

It’s that time of year again, so you can expect to see more frequent Vertebrae updates! Here’s some detailed information about all three materials used in the construction of vertebrae ceramic cable housing, namely: 96%, 99.5% alumina and ZTA. We’ve included both the mechanical and thermal properties in a tabulated format.

96% Alumina Material Properties

Property	Units	Test	Value
Density	gm/cc	ASTM-C20	3.72
Crystal Size	Microns	Thin-Section	6
Flexural Strength (MOR), 20 °C	–	–	358 (52)
Elastic Modulus, 20 °C	GPa (psi x 10⁶)	ASTM-F417	303 (44)
Poisson’s Ratio, 20 °C	–	ASTM-C848	0.21
Compressive Strength	MPa(psi x 10³)	ASTM-C773	2068 (300)
Hardness	GPa(kg/mm²)	KNOOP 1000 gm	11.5 (1175)
		Rockwell 45 N	78
Tensile Strength, 25 °C	MPa (psi x 10³)	ACMA TEST #4	221 (32)
Fracture Toughness K(Ic)	Mpa m^1/2	NOTCHED BEAM	4-5
Thermal Conductivity, 20 °C	Wm degrees K	ASTM-C408	24.7
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion	1 x 10^-6/degrees C	ASTM-C372	8.2
Specific Heat, 100 °C	J/kg*K	ASTM-E1269	880
Thermal Shock Resistance, (delta)Tc	degrees C	NOTE 3	250
Maximum Use Temperature	degrees C	NO-LOAD COND.	1700

99.5% Alumina Material Properties

Property	Units	Test	Value
Density	gm/cc	ASTM-C20	3.90
Crystal Size	Microns	Thin-Section	6
Flexural Strength (MOR), 20 °C	–	–	379 (55)
Elastic Modulus, 20 °C	GPa (psi x 10⁶)	ASTM-F417	370 (54)
Poisson’s Ratio, 20 °C	–	ASTM-C848	0.22
Compressive Strength	MPa(psi x 10³)	ASTM-C773	2600 (377)
Hardness	GPa(kg/mm²)	KNOOP 1000 gm	14.1 (1440)
		Rockwell 45 N	83
Tensile Strength, 25 °C	MPa (psi x 10³)	ACMA TEST #4	262 (38)
Fracture Toughness K(Ic)	Mpa m^1/2	NOTCHED BEAM	4-5
Thermal Conductivity, 20 °C	Wm degrees K	ASTM-C408	30.0
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion	1 x 10^-6/degrees C	ASTM-C372	8.2
Specific Heat, 100 °C	J/kg*K	ASTM-E1269	880
Thermal Shock Resistance, (delta)Tc	degrees C	NOTE 3	200
Maximum Use Temperature	degrees C	NO-LOAD COND.	1750

ZTA Material Properties

Property	Units	Test	Value
Density	gm/cc	ASTM-C20	4.05
Crystal Size	Microns	Thin-Section	2
Flexural Strength (MOR), 20 °C	–	–	450 (65)
Elastic Modulus, 20 °C	GPa (psi x 10⁶)	ASTM-F417	360 (52)
Poisson’s Ratio, 20 °C	–	ASTM-C848	0.23
Compressive Strength	MPa(psi x 10³)	ASTM-C773	2900 (421)
Hardness	GPa(kg/mm²)	KNOOP 1000 gm	14.4 (1475)
		Rockwell 45 N	85
Tensile Strength, 25 °C	MPa (psi x 10³)	ACMA TEST #4	290 (42)
Fracture Toughness K(Ic)	Mpa m^1/2	NOTCHED BEAM	5-6
Thermal Conductivity, 20 °C	Wm degrees K	ASTM-C408	27.0
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion	1 x 10^-6/degrees C	ASTM-C372	8.3
Specific Heat, 100 °C	J/kg*K	ASTM-E1269	885
Thermal Shock Resistance, (delta)Tc	degrees C	NOTE 3	300
Maximum Use Temperature	degrees C	NO-LOAD COND.	1500

New Vertebrae labels double as frame protectors

Dr. Leslie Brown — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:08:51 +0000

The new Vertebrae labels double as frame protectors. These prevent any damage to your frame caused by cable housing rub. We now have them available in three colours: clear, black and yellow. If there’s a colour you’d like see, please contact us for a special order…

Vertebrae high-purity 99.5% alumina ceramic product release

Dr. Leslie Brown — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:41:43 +0000

	We’re proud to release the newest edition of vertebrae manufactured from high-purity alumina (99.5%). Retail price for the brake or gear kits is €140, while this is an €80 premium option for the complete kits.
The 99.5% alumina composition exhibits both a greater compressive/tensile strength and stiffness when compared to the standard 96% alumina version. It adds a greater margin of safety, especially towards the application of ceramic brake lines.

Vertebrae Anubis - SNEEK PEEK

Dr. Leslie Brown — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:37:38 +0000

Numerous customers have recently enquired about Vertebrae Anubis cable housing as our expected delivery date came and went. Apologies to everyone for the delays & lack of updates regarding this product. This is just a confirmation that we have been busy behind the scenes and we are still working on it…

The special black anubis vertebrae were delayed in production; here are some photos of the current prototypes…

The other main reason for the delay is that we chose to go with a high-performance PEEK liner, another world first for bicycle cable housing (more on PEEK’s unique properties below). Because of that decision, we now expect Vertebrae Anubis to be ready at the end of November [2010] and we firmly believe it will be worth the wait. We don’t want to take orders until it is 100% in stock and ready to ship. When it becomes available, we will update the product page to include anubis as an selectable option.

This linear aromatic polymer is semi-crystalline and is widely regarded as the highest performance thermoplastic material currently available. PEEK has repeating monomers of two ether and ketone groups, hence the name.

What sets PEEK apart from fluoropolymers is the fact that PEEK polymer retains its mechanical properties at extremely high temperatures (continuous service temperature of 500ºF/260ºC). Thinwall PEEK is more flexible and kink resistant than aluminum tubing. PEEK is naturally tan in color and can be pigmented black.

In other related news, our high-performance 99% alumina version should also be available to the public before the end of 2010.

Cycle Sport mag ad

Dr. Leslie Brown — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 19:00:03 +0000

Fax your order to Vertebrae!

Dr. Leslie Brown — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:39:54 +0000

We’re pleased to announce that you can now fax us your order and pay directly by credit card or direct deposit via IBAN.

Simply download this orderform (in pdf format), print it out and fax it to our Australian fax number: 61 (0)2 8569-1597. Once you have printed our order form, all you need to do is indicate the items you would like to purchase (don’t forget to tell us your preferred colour choice as well as any other important options).

This is a convenient option for any international customers who do not have a paypal account and would like to purchase any of Vertebrae Components’ products. Australian customers are advised to contact us via email and we will then provide you with our Australian bank details. Please note that American Express cards are not accepted at this time.

Download updated assembly and installation instructions:

Dr. Leslie Brown — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:00:30 +0000

Vertebrae gear and brake housing assembly and installation instructions now available to download online in pdf format.

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