Arantix – something cool out of Utah (part 1)

This is for those folks that think Utah is nothing more than skiing, mountain biking, off-roading, and those pesky Mormons that knock on your door and quote scripture. Hey, we even had the olympics a few years ago! But here’s some big news for cyclists.

Delta 7 Sports, LLC recently unveiled its Arantix™Mountain Bike, the first bicycle to feature the patented IsoTruss® carbon fiber and Kevlar spider web-like open lattice tube design. 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.

Advanced Composite Solutions, LLC (parent company of Delta 7 Sports), has been granted an exclusive, worldwide license by Brigham Young University to develop, produce and market products utilizing the IsoTruss technology and design. The Arantix is the first ACS product to utilize IsoTruss technology.

“It was imperative that we prove we could design and produce a reasonably priced marketable product using the IsoTruss technology and design, and that’s what we’ve done with the Arantix Mountain Bike,” said Jon Adams, president and CEO of Advanced Composite Solutions. “Not only is it one of the coolest and most unique looking bikes you’ll ever see, but the IsoTruss structure of the tubing gives the Arantix frame an unparalleled strength to weight ratio. For that cycling enthusiast or weekend rider who wants the most unique, coolest-looking mountain bike on the planet – whether that’s a complete bike or a frame that they can build out themselves – this is the right bike.”

Arantix Mountain Bike Information and Specifications
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 Italié¡ 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).

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. For additional information about IsoTruss, please visit www.isotruss.org.

About Delta 7 Sports
Delta 7 Sports creates cutting-edge sports and athletics products by utilizing IsoTruss technology and designs. A division of Advanced Composite Solutions, Delta 7 Sports was formed in 2007. For more information, visit www.delta7sports.com.

Arantix and Delta 7 Sports are trademarks of Delta 7 Sports, LLC. IsoTruss is a registered trademark of Brigham Young University. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

I’ll follow up tomorrow with their FAQ sheet, as I don’t much care for long posts either.

Holiday shopping reminder: