Tiny Carbon Fiber Pyramids Used For Lighter & Stronger Bike Frames

less is more-The Arantix frame uses an open
            
               -lattice design to add strength and shed weight

weight : 2.75 lbs.(Average)

Size available : 16, 18 and 20.5 in.

IF A SIMPLE POLYGON can hold up a pharaoh's tomb for 4,500 years,




By Andrew Liszewski

While the Egyptians applied their pyramid building skills to making tombs, it turns out that simple shape can be just as useful for less grandiose objects, like bike frames. Delta 7 Sports has recently unveiled their Arantix Mountain Bike which relies on the IsoTruss carbon fiber and Kevlar open lattice tube design. While it might look unusual, the frame pictured above weighs just 2.75 pounds and is as strong as any other frame on the market.

The IsoTruss technology actually uses a series of small pyramid shaped structures that are all connected together to form a tube. The pyramids are made of hand woven strands of carbon fiber that are bundled together and wrapped in Kevlar. All in all, each bike frame includes 1,672 feet of carbon fiber and takes about 300 hours to build. As a result Delta 7 Sports only plans to produce about 200 of these frames in 2008.

A complete Arantix mountain bike starts at $11,995, but you can also order just the IsoTruss carbon composite frame for $6,995