After two years in development, Fourteen Cycles has unveiled the revamped Gramlight road bike that brings a 740g frame to all manner of riders.
It’s designed to be race efficient without being so rigid that it’s resigned to number pinning days. That’s even with using high modulus fibers all the way through, letting the form create the damping needed to make the ride comfortable.
“It gives you a really comfortable ride,” said Puck Ananta, Operations Director for Fourteen Cycles and a registered California licensed mechanical engineer “It absorbs vibrations and there is no flexing in any way. We designed it for pros, but wanted something everyone could ride in multiple situations. It’s got good stiffness for competitions yet the bike is still very responsive.”
“The monobox was actually the first thing to be designed, with aerodynamics in mind. This specific shape and structure captures the vibrations and distributes it away from the seatpost, making for a really stable ride.”
So, what’s the Monobox?
It’s the triangular section at the seat tube, top tube and seatstay junction. The carbon layup and curvature of this junction is “the foundation to the frame’s stability” and ability to reduce vibrations. Throughout the entire frame, it’s 100% Torayca T1200 hi-mod fibers, with tube shapes designed using FEA to help keep the weight down without creating a noodle.
The seatstays are a bit flattened to enhance the effect.
From there, the chainstays are oversized and box shaped to be ultra stiff.
The BB junction has a one-piece carbon shell that leads to a slightly hexagonal downtube.
The downtube maintains a fairly consistent width all the way to the headtube, and the top tube flares at the front to take full advantage of the head tube’s width.
The frame was designed specifically for use with the ENVE carbon fork, so the lines and width of the frame match up nicely. The fork is included with the frameset and uses integrated bearings to complete the flush appearance.
The frame uses internal routing for mechanical and Di2, minimizing drag and maintenance. The claimed weight of 740 grams is for a small, unpainted frame without hardware. Custom paint is available, which changes price and finished weight, but things start out at $2,200 USD for the frameset (frame, ENVE fork, carbon seatpost clamp and headset). It’ll be available starting April.
