CBS Welcomes Time Bicycles
It’s late February and an odd time to begin offering a new bicycle line, but starting this month, we are proud to offer and represent Time bicycles. We’ve always loved the aesthetic and history behind Time bicycles and have watched closely as professional cycling heros such as Johan Museeuw, Tom Boonen, and Paolo Bettini have ridden Times to important victories.
What is it about Time that we love so much? Why consider a Time bicycle? Here are some reasons:
1. Resin Transfer Molding (RTM): Resin Transfer Molding is a manufacturing technique for building composite tubes. While not specific or proprietary to Time, the use of RTM requires a manufacturer to design, tool, and house a carbon fabrication method completely different than a traditional “fabric and bladder” system. Time boasts RTM as a way to produce a more consistent, more tune-able, tubeset with greater options for tuning the zones of the frame to the specific tasks required.
2. Tube consistency: Rather than using fibers that have been “pre-impregnated” with resin and then laid over a mold, RTM, at a high level, takes spools of fibers, weaves them into a “sock” like shape, and then pulls up to 7 sock layers over a mandrel to form a tube. Once each layer of woven material has been pulled over a mandrel, the complete tube is put under pressure and the resin is introduced. The result: consistent resin penetration along the length and depth of the tube walls via a manufacturing system that can be consistently repeated.
3. Tube variability: The use of RTM allows fibers other than carbon fiber to be woven into a tube. For instance, the use of Kevlar in the steerer of Time’s Multi-diameter forks helps to reduce compression clamping of the stem. Additionally, the use of Vectran, a specific damping fiber with an intended use to create better comfort, can be used and spec’d based on the intended use of the bike. For example, the VXS, uses nearly twice as much Vectran in the frame compared to the VXRS Ulteam.
4. Modular-mentality: In addition to creating a pleasant overall visual aesthetic as Time decals their frame, fork, seat post, headset, stem, and bottle cage to match, the presentation of the system as a module creates weight savings along the entire system. On many Time frames, the use of the Translink Integrated Seatpost increases the rigidity of the frame and shaves 35 grams. Time’s Quickset headset system isolates the adjustment of the headset to the top bearing cap and helps to shave up to another 30 grams from the frame. Time’s Safe + multidiameter fork increases the steerer diameter at the crown to 33mm (from 28.6mm at the stem clamp zone) and allows Time to use less material in less critical areas and helps reduce up to 55 grams.
5. Lifetime warranty: Unlike many carbon frames, Time warranties their bicycle frames for life.
We will offer every model in the Time line-up from the top of the line VXRS Ulteam to the entry level Edge First. Our VXRS Ulteam demo is on the way and will be showcased at the Seattle Bike Expo on March 10 and 11. For more information about Time bicycles, please call or email us.
Posted: February 25, 2007 by Cascade Bicycle Studio