The science behind a TIME carbon frameset
Over the past 40 years, TIME has continually strived to develop new and industry leading ways to engineer carbon fibre. Our drive is to create the best carbon bike frames in the world. However, we also understand that time stands still for no-one, and we’re constantly innovating to make your own cycling adventures the most comfortable, the most responsive and the most performance oriented possible - seeking to achieve that fine balance which equates to the perfect ride.
To consistently achieve this with every frameset requires a level of precision and engineering excellence that we believe is unrivalled. From our SCYLON, released in 2025 and engineered for uncompromising aerodynamic performance, rapid velocity, and razor-sharp steering accuracy, to our recently launched Fluidity endurance bike – perfectly balancing stiffness, comfort, and telepathic handling – each TIME frameset is looked upon as a new engineering challenge, with new and unique issues to overcome.
Our materials scientists here in Europe have always taken a wider perspective than other brands. We’ve consistently looked outwards, towards other technical industries such as the automotive and aero industries; examining and adapting to bring innovative ideas and new fibres into our production processes, as we follow our guiding principle ‘Le Defi’ (The Challenge). Yes, our pursuit of the ultimate ride is timeless and constant. And so, let’s take a moment to pause and to briefly explore with you the science behind a TIME carbon frameset, and why we believe that our bike frames are among the best in the world.
To ensure that they operate in harmony.
Did you know for example, that whilst the new 2026 Fluidity shares a name with a previous model from our back catalogue, it shares only this - alongside of course, being an excellent and industry-leading endurance road bike. Every aspect of the new model has been redesigned, refined and developed to create something quite different, and yet which carries forward the iconic TIME badge of excellence. Each area of the Fluidity has been revisited, reviewed and redesigned as an individual element in how an endurance bike should perform, how it relates to the actual cyclist and how it reacts to the environment that will ultimately test it - the endless network of roads around this vast and still quite beautiful world.
We undertook the same level of detail and challenge for our Scylon aero race bike, released last year, and it will remain so for every bike that we release into the global cycling community. Ultimately, we want to continually explore new possibilities, with new fibres such as Vectran and Dyneema – in ways that ensure that a TIME bike stands out from the crowd for its engineering, its quality and its performance. We want to create TIME machines. To create bikes that work in harmony with the cyclist and deliver on those aspects that the rider seeks: aero, strength, stiffness, responsiveness, lightness where appropriate and where it doesn't compromise strength or performance.
Strength, stiffness, and flexibility
For example, when looking at any carbon bike and how each element needs to operate – the head tube and down tube, or the seat tube and seat stays – each of these areas of the frameset has different requirements. Our material scientists take considerable time to work through each particular element, doing the math and creating working models; and then, only then, carrying out the necessary tests. In terms of the head tube, for instance, this needs to be strong and stiff, and with subtle strength along the top tube. We want the handling to be precise, and that means a particular weave of carbon in a particular thickness at that point of the frameset and braided in a certain way with specific threads.
New threads like Dyneema to add vibration dampening, and to improve impact resistance without adding bulk or sacrificing stiffness. Our Kevlar enhanced braided carbon structures add strength to the forks and impact resistance, but in a way that doesn’t detract from handling and responsiveness. And, if our tests don’t give us the data and real-world performance that we seek - then we’ll simply go back to the drawing board and work through the data and the math and weave braided carbon structures in a way that does work. All of this is carried out, each and every day, in our own factory in the heart of Europe.
For the Fluidity, whilst we required a strong and stiff headtube and top tube, for responsiveness and ride quality, we also needed to have superb vibration dampening and flexibility closer to the seat tube and stays, to provide you with exceptional comfort all day long. We wanted the Fluidity to be the most comfortable and high-performance endurance road bike in the world – and that takes the appliance of science. That takes the use of different fibres laid and woven in different ways, with different weaves and a variety of thicknesses in the numerous parts of the frameset. Each aspect has to work together, and this takes TIME – because for almost 40 years, we’ve been on a journey towards carbon road bike excellence.
Utilising the unique properties of carbon
In effect, how the braided and woven material deforms or bends differently depending on the orientation of its fibers, allows our engineers to tailor strength and flexibility as we’ve already described. Unidirectional (UD) fibre layouts offer extreme rigidity along the fibre axis, but high flexibility in transverse directions; whilst 3D or weave variations enable complex deformation control and high toughness. The braided carbon structures function in different ways when pulled lengthways along the wax molds, versus being stretched and the weave being opened up. The carbon weave needs to work in a particular direction at different points, and at a variety of thicknesses.
When you understand this, you begin to understand why we choose to weave our own braided carbon structures, and why we test so many new and technical advanced fibres such as Dyneema - because a TIME bike is engineered to be one of the best road bikes in the world. And so, here at our factory in Slovakia where engineering and innovation has always been a part of their industrial heritage – each weave, each braid, each fabric type is selected, tested and analysed for its properties and how it works in unison with every other fibre – and how it rides!
Creating a moment in time
For us here at TIME, it’s not simply the shape of the frameset that changes between models. We understand that different bikes require different processes and different weaves of braided carbon structures. Our Scylon represents the pinnacle of our vision for how a stylish, contemporary, and high-performance racing machine ought to perform. That brings its own particular challenges. It has a more racing front end than the Fluidity, with a lower stack height to bring the rider into the most efficient position.
The 72 degree head tube angle offers quick and nimble steering, alongside better straight-line stability and comfort, allowing the sportive rider to concentrate solely on their own performance. Compare this with the increased 72.5 head angle on our Fluidity, giving all-day comfort on all quality of road surfaces. Each TIME bike has been created for a specific purpose, and its detailed design reflects this.
The extra stiffness to the top tube ensures maximum power transfer, and with full cable integration, ultra-efficient power transfer, and clearance for 32c tires, the Scylon continues to promote our legendary ride quality and durability.
With every carbon bike, we set out to achieve that balance between responsiveness, strength, performance, and comfort. Thankfully, by choosing the fibres ourselves, and in weaving our own braided carbon structures – choosing the particular thickness and direction, and the pattern of the weave at each point on the frameset – you can be assured of this. In fact, we give you our iconic and timeless guarantee of excellence and the ultimate ride.
May the force be with you
Once we have an idea which fibres to select and which weave we will use on each element of the new frame, we test the forces and the strength of each area of the bike, and how it will react to the real-world forces that will be applied upon it. Detailed calculations are again made, and these inform a stream of changes that take place as the Fluidity - and all other TIME models - are created.
You may think that we simply place the carbon fibre braids into the mold in a particular way and then… voila! Out pops a new carbon bike frame. However, here at TIME, innovation and excellence are key, and it’s a far more complex process. We design and engineer our bikes with a purpose; and, to a large extent, it’s a process that has been guided by engineering excellence and innovation for nearly 40 years.
Yes, the frameset is the heart of every bike, and every frameset is born here – in the heart of Europe. Ultimately, all of this complexity is what makes a TIME bike quite unique, and it’s what places the TIME Scylon and the new TIME Fluidity amongst the world’s most technical and innovative carbon road bikes.
It’s what makes them TIME machines!
