Carbon components that are meant to go off-road are not something new. Companies have been producing them for years, including Loaded Precision. In the past, Bike World News has featured Loaded’s aluminum Precision X-Lite Ti stem, which performed well on a cyclocross rig, but is light enough to run on the road. We also announced their official move into road and cyclocross products, with the launch of their Napalm Carbon road bars. To round out the rest of the build kit, Loaded Precision has the Napalm Carbon stem and the X-Lite Ultra Carbon seat post. For those that like to roll in the dirt, they have a full line of carbon wheels and bars to lighten up your rig without sacrificing durability.
What puts Loaded Precision carbon a step above the rest is the materials they use, and how they produce their components. For materials, they only use top grade, unidirectional nano infused carbon with nano-elastomer infused resin. So what does this all mean? Well, first off, the unidirectional carbon retains it’s maximum strength in the direction of the fibers. This will be important a little later on when we talk about production methods. The nano-elastomer infused resin bonds the layers of carbon together, but also adds ultra-high dampening to help prevent cracking. This means that when you and your bike takes a tumble, there is a better chance your carbon bits are going to come out unharmed.
The production methods help take the above benefits to a whole new level. For the unidirectional carbon mentioned above, Loaded Precision takes multiple layers of it, and places them at various angles to maximize the strength in all directions. For example, one layer might be at 0 degrees, the next at 30, then 45. The number of layers and their direction will vary based on the component where the carbon is being laid, but Loaded Precision has done their homework to make sure the layup will be stiff and durable, yet comfortable. Once that carbon is bonded together, they use a proprietary Carbon Knitting Technique to add even more strength to the carbon. Think of it as stitching the layers of carbon and resin together to make it even more resistant to delamination, increasing impact damage tolerance, and higher ballistic impact loading, or a direct strike impact. Again, what this means for the rider is a stronger component that will hold up better when things go south.
One other production method that helps increase the strength and decrease the weight of some of their products is 1-piece molding. You might not know it, but many brands will mold together two or three pieces to make theirr handlebars. This inherently produces a joint that can fail. Other brands will add extra material to strengthen these spots, but this adds weight. Loaded Precision has moved to a single piece construction method, meaning there are no joints to fail, and no extra material added. That leaves you with a lighter and stronger component.
To find out more about Loaded Precision and ever expanding line of durable carbon and aluminum components, head to their website.
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