British Superbike Case Study

Summary
Stuart Canvas were approached by a racing team in the British Superbike series, to see if they could help them with a recurring problem. They were concerned that the tyres on their heated tyre racks were losing heat during transit and so approached Stuart Canvas Products to see if they could help design a bespoke cover for the rack.

Challenges
There were a number of concerns in covering the heated tyres that had to be solved by the Stuart Canvas team.  The main priority was to stop the heat being lost, however several other considerations had to be taken into account;

• The cover would have to withstand temperatures of up to 100 degrees
• Tyres would still have to be accessed quickly for fast change over, without letting in cold air
• Tyres would have to be visible, again to help with access
• To be robust enough to withstand multiple loading and unloading onto the transporter
• As the cover would be highly visible, it had to comply with team brand colour requirements

Stuart Canvas Solution
Stuart Canvas were able to deliver a completely bespoke cover, enabling complete coverage to provide a temperature controlled environment for the tyres. By having a personalised cover designed to provide the perfect fit – the hot air was kept in, and the cold air kept out.  Stuart Canvas used materials that can withstand high temperatures. The high quality and durability of the materials ensures it also has a long life and can withstand multiple loading and unloading’s from the team. Stuart Canvas are able to produce bespoke covers in a wide range of colours to suit branding. They are also able to print logos onto material if stronger branding is required.  A clear PVC was used at the front of the cover, so that tyres could be easily viewed, and therefore selected prior to opening the cover – ensuring a quick turnaround time with minimal heat loss. To further aid speed, hook and loop fastenings were designed for rapid opening and closing.

Outcomes
The team were delighted with the covers, and went on to win the 2016 BSB Championship in a series where tyre temperatures are critical and the margins of victory are usually fractions of seconds!