Delta 7 Sports has a new bicycle frame built with IsoTruss technology. IsoTruss is an isosceles triangle based pyramid grid structure that can be made from a variety of composite materials, IsoTruss tubing is made from multiple layers of carbon fiber wrapped with Kevlar cords. The lattice structure creates a very light yet very strong material that can be used in a wide variety of applications. Delta 7 Sports has used the IsoTruss tubing to produce the 2.75 pound Arantix bicycle frame, which they say is 10 times stronger than a steel frame of the same weight.
IsoTruss was invented at Brigham Young University by David Jensen with assistance from several graduate students. It’s a pretty interesting material with a very different look, instead of solid tubing, it’s an open lattice and can be used for all sorts of structures in place of steel tubing, signposts, antennas, tube frame race cars, bicycle frames and who knows what else.
Is there a use for IsoTruss in motorcycle building? Possibly, especially in some hidden areas where light weight and strength are highly desirable, but I think it’s a pretty cool new material no matter what. Interesting.
Link: Delta 7 Sports via Popular Science
Link: IsoTruss
Jar says
“10 times stronger than steel OF THE SAME WEIGHT” is a bit deceptive, as it does not speak to the performance of the material as applied to the task at hand – in this case the bicycle frame. At 2.75lbs, does this frame perform as well or better than bicycles weighing more? Or does it crumple upon first stump jump because it should be stronger/heavier – possibly heavier to the point that it is much more comparable in weight to more conventionally constructed frames….
That said, it certainly looks to be an interesting material…..
pghcyclist says
Um ok so I’m not really a motorcycle guy. But i am a career bicycle mechanic. I also build my own compostie products. This thing ain’t so hot. Trust me. Its heavy and you feel like your riding a wooden bicycle. The problem is the epoxy to carbon ratio. Complex structures like this don’t allow for the high pressure molding techniques required to force the epoxy and air bubbles out of the substrate. Nice idea but manufacturing technology ain’t quite there yet. At bicycle size this is still to difficult, but at the larger diameters required by motorcycles tubes mold complexities would be a little easier to handle.
Chris says
Hrm. Can anyone explain why this is any better than a “traditional” Trek OCLV-style carbon-fiber frame? IIRC, the bike Lance Armstrong won the ’01 Tour on had a frame even lighter than this. Granted, it was a road bike and not designed for the pounding that a mountain bike would take, but I would think you could build a frame that was quite a bit more rugged at a cost of maybe a hundred grams, which the average Joe is not going to notice on a 20-pound bike.
Open lattice construction for a mountain bike? Seriously? Has this guy ever ridden a mountain bike in the mud? The down tube and the main tube are going to be so packed full of mud after the first ride in less-than-ideal conditions that the bike will weigh an extra 15 pounds. (Yes, I know there are fenders out there, but that’s not gonna stop it all.)
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JC says
“Hrm. Can anyone explain why this is any better than a “traditional†Trek OCLV-style carbon-fiber frame?”
It’s not. End of story.
If they offered other bikes I would say it’s a marketing ploy, but this is all I see on their website.
My prediction, out of business soon if they don’t come up with a real product soon.
flumpies says
i KNOW!!! the mudis going to kill that thing. no matter what you do mud is going to be a nightmare. what does it cost? whatever it is…its not worth it. vaporware. boring. the guy who invented it never rode a bike through mud i am sure…. oh hold on my spleen hurts… 2.75 pounds…who cares, my frame weighs just five pounds and its from way back in ’96…. there! my spleen feels better!
kneeslider says
I believe the bike frame idea came around because the grad students working on the development of the IsoTruss system built one as a demonstration of one potential use, along with some towers of various sorts. The frame the students built had a plastic covering over the tubes to keep the mud out. I don’t know if the one above does the same.
IsoTruss may be better suited to signposts and towers than bikes but they’re still trying to come up with ideas. If you follow the IsoTruss link below the article you’ll see some of the other things they’ve been thinking of doing with it.
Walt says
I’d like to know how this material performs when that tubular grid takes an impact from the top, side or bottom. If if the sides of a couple of those little triangles deform or break, the stresses of riding will all be focused on the remaining structural elements. I’d be more confident with tubing, whether steel, aluminum, carbon fiber or titanium.
John says
Brigham Young University isn’t exactly the best technical college (excellent drama department, and obviously the only stop for mormon theology), and they’re not equipped.
They’re got a solid gold patent on their hands here, and they use it… for a bicycle frame.
It should be used for wind turbines, airships, airplanes, spaceships, radio towers, buildings… getting Isotruss into mass production could makes any light structure easy as pie. How many places do you think steel beams are used? They just don’t have the money or connections to scale up the technology so fast.
So we get abominations like this, blatant grabs for money utilizing the “fame” of an unknown technology. This is the equal of Nanosolar’s CIGS solar tech, and would be developed just as fast if it had come from Stanford instead of BYU.
chris says
All I can say is “cheese grator” or should I say “leg grator”
If you ride a mountain bike, you know that you will take a digger or two, and I certainly wouldn’t want that in between my legs.