TIME to talk carbon engineering
TIME proudly stands apart from others within cycling. It’s what forms our motto – le Defi – and it’s what challenges us every single day. While others rush to produce disposable frames tuned solely for wind tunnels or weight scales, we remain dedicated to engineering bikes that deliver unmatched quality, distinct character, and long-term performance.
No, all bikes are not equal. Across the cycling industry, most carbon frames are built the same way — prepreg sheets, hand-laid into molds, vacuum-bagged and cured in an oven. It works. But it's not a TIME frame, and we like to do things differently. Since 1987, we've been driven by one question: how do you build the best engineered carbon frame in the world? Our answer is our own — finely tooled for each model and carried out entirely at our factory in the heart of Europe.
It’s time for us to outline exactly what the TIME difference is and how we arrive at the gold standard for carbon bike engineering. Ultimately, when you’re climbing that Col in the Alps or Dolomites or descending towards Nice for coffee on the Cote D'Azur, you’ll be thankful that TIME takes the path less travelled when creating the world’s best carbon bikes.
Braided Carbon Structures
We start with our own braided carbon structure (BCS) process — weaving up to 16 different fibres, including Kevlar and Bio-Based Dyneema®, into seamless carbon tubes, or socks, that we form into the elements of the frame. At our factory, 144 bobbins spin in unison, weaving those threads together, and within this machine we have unlimited control over the angle and percentage of every individual thread. Carbon is directional in how it functions, so this precision lets us tailor the tapestry of fibres to the lightest, strongest frameset possible for that model's purpose.
That control extends to the fibres themselves. We select and blend carbon across the full performance spectrum — from industry-standard T300 through to exotic, high-modulus M46J — choosing the right combination for each tube, and even each section of a tube, rather than accepting one generic spec. It's this proprietary blending, woven into seamless sleeves before resin injection, that gives us control over structure, strength and compliance — and it's a large part of why a TIME frame has such a distinct, recognisable ride feel.
Adding Dyneema® is unique to TIME within cycling, largely because prepreg construction can't accommodate it: manufacturers are limited to the common fibres offered by large carbon suppliers, and prepreg's high curing temperatures exceed what Dyneema® can handle. Our lower-temperature RTM process sits comfortably within that range, so we've used sustainable Bio-Based Dyneema® since it first became available. Its advantages stand out when fibres are loaded in tension — the inner layer of a structure experiences tension in a collision or frontal impact — and combined with our carbon expertise, it's the real golden trilogy of carbon bikes: stronger, lighter and more responsive, time after time. We also use forged carbon, where other brands spec heavier aluminium — around the dropouts, yokes, inserts and connection points. Our compression molding in these areas holds a 60% fibre content, allowing drilling and threading without cracking, for roughly twenty times the fatigue life of aluminium and superior resistance to impact and stress cycling.
Lost Wax Internal Mold Technology
Once our braided carbon socks are cut to length, they need to be placed, stitched together, and formed into the bike model you want to ride. This is where our proprietary 'lost wax' technology comes in, and it's the area that truly sets a TIME frameset apart from prepreg construction. It's why we can produce carbon frames that are perfect not only on the outside, but internally too.
In our specialist 'threading room', sculptured wax molds are selected, and the carbon socks are placed over them and stitched together as the frame shape is created. The wax we use has specific expansion properties, shaped for each part of each TIME model, so the mandrels let us control the inside of the frame with the same precision as the outside. Where extra strength is needed, we add further layers of carbon, and once complete, the wax mold – now wrapped in woven braided carbon – is placed inside a finely engineered external steel mold, ready for resin transfer molding. We also use intricate steel inserts in critical areas like the bottom bracket, seat stays and headtubes, for the accuracy that defines a TIME bike.
Resin Transfer Molding
With the frameset in the molds, we inject resin into the dry carbon under high pressure, between rigid and precisely engineered external and internal molds. This pushes out air pockets and eliminates voids between layers – resin can only flow, and only assume shapes where the molds allow, making RTM quality extremely high-tolerance, uniform and consistent. It's technology that's ubiquitous in aerospace and high-end automotive applications, but almost unheard of in cycling, and it's what gives our bikes the stiffness and comfort of a steel frame with all the benefits of industry-leading carbon. It’s what helps to ensure the precision, the quality and the performance of every carbon bike that carries our name.
As heat is applied, the wax mandrels melt and drip out, ready to be reused for future molds, leaving us with a perfect carbon bike frame – no resin pooling, no wrinkled fibre layers, nothing left behind but a world-leading frameset. And RTM isn't the end of the process: machining, bonding, hand-sanding and hand-painting all still lie ahead before an infant frameset becomes a finished TIME bike.
Ride Quality and Usability: Engineered to Last
Ride quality and long-term usability are our absolute cornerstones. These are things that cyclists focus on – especially when heading into those tight corners when descending Grinton Bank in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, on route to the café in Swaledale for coffee. These are the rides that form memories and which we all want to experience long into the future. That’s where our focus is when we create a carbon bike.
Many current "weight-optimized" or "aero-optimized" frames achieve their figures by sacrificing compliance, structural resilience, and rider comfort—leaving you with a fragile frame that chatters over real-world roads. Using a bigger tyre won’t resolve issues that have been poorly designed and created into a pre-peg frameset. Conversely, over decades of composite innovation, Time has established a proprietary set of structural load cases that every frame is dimensioned against. These rigorous standards ensure maximum responsiveness without sacrificing real-world durability or comfort:
Vibration attenuation — By tuning fiber selection and braid orientation, high-frequency road buzz is filtered out before it reaches your body, reducing fatigue while keeping the road feel intact.
Built to take a beating — We are not out to make the absolute lightest frame on paper. We build and create competitive-weight bikes with high impact resistance and structural integrity that can take daily abuse and stand the test of time.
Predictable handling — Structural dampening and dialed geometry deliver razor-sharp cornering. Whether descending at speed or navigating tight turns on imperfect asphalt, a TIME frame inspires absolute trust.
Why it matters
Cycling culture is not unlike the intricate web of 16 strands that gives birth to every TIME bike — a tapestry of subcultures, each with its own ambitions, its own style of riding, its own idea of the perfect ride. An off-the-peg product can't cater to that uniqueness. There will always be something you want to change, something only you would choose. That's why, at TIME, the frameset is the heart of the bike — and because we pour ourselves into that heart, we free you to build the rest of the dream around it. We are driven by one guiding principle: Le Défi — The Challenge. It asks us to never rest, never take the easy option, and to keep innovating, time after time. We blend industry-leading technology with our own invention, and a timeless style that favours quality over quantity.
All we ask of you is to enjoy the ride, long into the future — with TIME on your side.
