BIKING LIGHT

IT SORTA looks like it was cobbled together with an Erector Set. But odd as it looks, the IsoTruss mountain bike is lighter, stronger and more aerodynamic than most other super-light mountain bikes on the market. IsoTruss is a building technology developed by David W. Jensen, a professor of civil engineering at Brigham Young University. Based on the reinforcing strength of pyramids and triangles -and constructed of carbon fiber and Kevlar string-it's an open tubular lattice design that Jensen developed to build lightweight but strong towers and utility poles that Utah company IsoTruss Structures is licensed to manufacture. But a team of BYU engineers, looking for new IsoTruss applications, managed to shrink the geometric, hollow structure from between 5 to 18 inches in diameter to one inch, without losing its properties. That made it useable for a bike frame. Current models weigh 3.25 pounds, and researchers say a frame weighing less than 3 pounds is achievable. Ultralight carbon bikes often cost more than $5,000. That's because the Kevlar must be threaded through the carbon by hand. But BYU's team is working to develop a manufacturing process that will automate the weaving of the Kevlar, thus cutting costs. That should make the IsoTruss bikes a lighter touch on bikers' wallets. -TG