From:www.soarcomm.com
In case you didn't see it at the Interbike Expo in Las Vegas, The IsoTruss frame is made from strands of carbon fiber that are cured in place to form a load-bearing, tubular-shaped grid. The tubes are then built into a conventional hardtail, which should give new meaning to the term: "Whistle while you work"--at least as far as cross-country racers go. The price of the complete bike from Arantix is $11,995, and they will only build 200 units for the '08 season. If all of the wild-looking bikes sell, that works out to a bit less than 2.4 million dollars. Not bad for a startup company, based upon technology co-developed at Brigham Young University.
Here is the official story:
IsoTruss Technology and Design Overview
IsoTruss was developed at BYU under the direction of Civil Engineering Professor David W. Jensen (Director of the Center for Advanced Structural Composites).
IsoTruss open lattice structures are made up of three-dimensional (3-D) pyramid-shaped trusses formed by combining two-dimensional (2-D) trusses, such as the kind commonly used in architectural design. The pyramid-like structure of an IsoTruss lattice utilizes the well-known geometry of a triangle with two equal sides (an Isosceles Triangle) to create a form with a superior weight-to-strength ratio. Hence, the name IsoTruss comes from the "iso" in isosceles, while "truss" comes from the architectural design known as trusses.
The fusion of 2-D trusses into the 3-D pyramid-shaped forms found within an IsoTruss structure enables Delta 7 Sports to build bicycle frames that bend less, twist less (torsion) and flex less (axial stiffness) than metal bike frames of comparable weight.
And, this is more about the bikes:
Arantix Mountain Bike Information and Specifications
With the IsoTruss technology and design, Delta 7 Sports has created one of the strongest and lightest mountain bikes in the world, with a "hard-tail" (no shock absorbers) frame that weighs approximately 2.7 pounds and sports the unique and extremely strong see-through IsoTruss design.
Each Arantix Mountain Bike frame takes approximately 300 hours to build, as Delta 7 Sports workers weave single carbon fiber strands in a precise manner and order to create the open lattice IsoTruss structure of each frame tube. Each bundle of carbon fiber strands is then constrained within a helical wrapping of Kevlar string designed to tightly bind the carbon fibers together before the tubes are baked at 255 degrees Fahrenheit for four hours. The ends of the baked tubes are then machined to specific measurements and diameters before being joined with molded carbon fiber lugs into a completed frame.
"In total, each completed Arantix frame is built with 1,672 linear feet of carbon fiber," said Tyler Evans, program manager of Delta 7 Sports. "That's longer than five and a half football fields, or by comparison, a single strand that long would reach to the top of the tallest building in the world, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan."
Delta 7 Sports is now taking orders for its custom, hand-built Arantix Mountain Bike, at prices starting at $11,995 (USD) in small, medium and large sizes. The company only plans to build/deliver 200 bikes in 2008.
Each complete Arantix Mountain Bike includes
· An Arantix IsoTruss carbon composite frame,
· Fox F100 RLC front suspension,
· Complete Shimano XTR drivetrain ( i.e. shifters, brakes, crankset, cassette, chain, etc.),
· Shimano XTR wheels with Kenda Karma DTC tires,
· Crank Brothers Four Ti Egg Beaters pedals,
· RaceFace Next SL carbon fiber handlebar with two LizardSkins Lock-On grips,
· L.H. Thomson Masterpiece handlebar stem and seatpost,
· Chris King NoThreadSet headset,
· Selle Italiá Kit Carbonio saddle, and
· Complete LizardSkins Arantix frame skinset.
Individuals interested in custom-building their own mountain bike, can also order an Arantix Mountain Bike frame by itself from Delta 7 Sports for $6,995 (USD).
For additional information about IsoTruss, please visit www.isotruss.org
and, for the bikes, try: www.delta7sports.com
|
|