Maxxis wheels out marine waste-based bicycle tires

Taipei – Taiwan-based tire maker Maxxis International is launching bicycle tires incorporating polyamide derived from marine waste, the comapny has announced.

As of July, all tire carcasses within Maxxis' Metropass and MetroLoads bike tire series, as well as its MTB wired tires, will be equipped with Seawastex polyamide.

Manufactured by Taiwan-based Formosa Chemical & Fibre Corp. (FCFC), Seawastex is produced from waste finishing nets.

The materials company produces polyamide 6 via chemical recycling of old fishing nets as well as “ghost nets” recovered from the ocean, said Maxxis.

The polymer is then spun into sustainable cords for the tire industry via subsidiary Formosa Taffeta.

The “high-quality nylon threads”, stated Maxxis, have “exactly the same properties as new material.”