Italian custom carbon frame builder Sarto created a new Marble finish for their made-to-measure Raso aero road bike that not only looks great but imparts performance gains, too. The handmade marbled layer of carbon, initially added as an experimental final step before molding, turned out to create a beautiful and one-of-a-kind look for each frame, while boosting strength at the same time…
Sarto Marble carbon finish boosts frame strength & style
While it seems almost like this is just an aesthetic choice – and that’s essentially how it began for Sarto – the Marble finish is a structural addition to the carbon tubes themselves. Sarto describes the treatment as a “product of their ongoing innovation sessions designed to explore creative applications of carbon fibre“.
Sarto likes the sound of describing the look as Black Marble. But in fact as you could guess from that first image, black is only one of several possible colors with the new finish. The new process allows for transparent dyes in this new uppermost layer of carbon. And in fact, color does the marbled look better justice. It better highlights the variation in the fibers and how light reflects off of them.
How is it made?
Made entirely in-house, the Marble look is the result of adding an extra ultra-thin layer of Italian-made BU45 unidirectional carbon fiber on the outside of the otherwise complete carbon frame tubes. While the rest of the carbon tube-layup is governed by ultra precision to attain the desire strength & stiffness requirements of the bikes design, this more handmade layer varies from frame to frame. And thus, the resulting fiber patterning out of the mold subsequently is varied, making the finish of every frame, fork & seatpost a one-of-a-kind. Sarto calls it a “playful ‘surprise me’ element” that fits perfectly with their overall bespoke approach to frame building.
“We’re always thinking of ways we can play with the look of our frames, with elements that perhaps only we can innovate as fibre-to-finish bike makers. As we produce everything here in our HQ, we are uniquely positioned to push the boundaries of what’s possible with composite materials… Like all the composite materials we use at Sarto, the material was manufactured by one of our local partners here in Italy.”
– Sarto CEO, Enrico Sarto
The added bonus of that extra layer – even though bespoke aesthetics had been the initial goal – the Marble finish does in fact increased the strength and durability of the carbon frame, at very little additional weight. And Sarto’s testing show the thin UD fiber reinforcement also enhanced the bike’s vibration resistance, calling that “a welcome bonus“.
Sarto Marble – Options, Pricing & Availability
Initially, the Sarto Marble finish is only available now on their custom-made Raso aero road bike. And Sarto offers it in Blue, Green, or standard Black Marble. Upcharge for the Marble finish on the Raso frameset is an extra +350€ over the basic 300€ mono color paint scheme, with the colored dye options adding another +500€ on top of that. Add all of that to the 5160€ stock geometry or 7350€ full custom geo Raso frame kit (carbon frame, fork, headset, spacers, stem, handlebar, seatpost, 2 bottle cages & thru-axles).
The new look is a structural adaptation to the carbon itself, so Sarto can combine it with other paint options, too. Like this black frame that matches silver-painted marbled graphics to the downtube logo.
Sarto also can adapt the extent of Marble tube finish to each buyer’s desire. For example, if you only wanted a marbled front triangle. All of this adds up to the fact that Sarto sees this as a flexible finish option going forward on any of their carbon tubes. That suggests to us that in the future the Marble carbon finish will likely be possible on their other road and gravel bike models, as well.
For now, you can get an aero road Sarto Raso road bike in any of the new Marble finishes, with lead times of around 90 working days to craft a custom bike.
