AX-Lightness showed off their new Alpha carbon road frame at the 2010 Eurobike showJames Huang
The Alpha’s carbon bottom bracket shell features direct press-fit cartridge bearings for the matching Morpheus crankJames Huang
Chainstays aren’t especially huge but AX-Lightness CEO Axel Schnura says he can replicate the ride feel of nearly any frameJames Huang
Dropouts are all carbon fibreJames Huang
The AX-Lightness AX6000 fork uses unusually widely set blades that are supposedly more aerodynamic than narrowly set onesJames Huang
The AX-Lightness Morpheus crank features a barely-there 380g claimed system weight (arms, spindle, bearings and cups) plus interchangeable inserts to adjust the effective crankarm lengthJames Huang
The Morpheus crank drops directly into the new Alpha frame but for standard threaded shells, there are also external-bearing cupsJames Huang
The AX-Lightness Zeus stem uses uninterrupted carbon fibres that run from tip to tail along with incredibly minimal hardware. Claimed weight is 60-70g depending on lengthJames Huang
Claimed weight for the AX-Lightness AX3000 brakes is just 130g for the pairJames Huang
A single leaf spring provides the snap in the single-pivot AX3000 brakesJames Huang
AX-Lightness showed off their 69mm-deep carbon tubulars at this year’s Eurobike showJames Huang
AX-Lightness’s 69mm-deep carbon tubulars are built with special narrow-flange Tune hubsJames Huang
The sidewalls on the 69mm-deep AX-Lightness wheels are slightly concaveJames Huang
Tune’s Mag 150 hub anchors the rear wheelJames Huang
Carbon fibre reinforces the flanges on the Tune front hubsJames Huang
AX-Lightness’s shallow 24mm carbon tubulars are just the thing for when the road turns skywardsJames Huang
A sub-1,000g wheelset weight is impressive for dedicated road hillclimb wheels, let alone AX-Lightness’s stunningly feathery Premium MTB tubular modelsJames Huang
AX-Lightness say their SRT CC mountain bike rims weigh just 230g apieceJames Huang
Some companies offer just one full-carbon saddle flagship in their ranges – AX-Lightness have fiveJames Huang
Rather than glue separate carbon rails into a carbon shell, AX-Lightness simply wrap the fibres around into a big loopJames Huang
How light do you want to go?James Huang
AX-Lightness’s minimal skewers use tiny machined aluminium handlesJames Huang
German lightweight component specialists AX-Lightness debuted their first road frame, dubbed the Alpha, at this year’s Eurobike trade show and it’s not just another featherweight carbon chassis.
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AX-Lightness CEO Axel Schnura is instead touting the Alpha’s tunability, claiming that he can not only create fully custom geometries from the tube-to-tube construction but also alter the tube shapes, diameters, fibre types and layup schedules to yield a wide range of stiffness and ride feels.
Other companies already claim to offer such services but Schnura says he can precisely replicate the feel of other companies’ frames based on an extensive database of in-house test data.
Say, for example, you love the ride and personality of a particular high performance frame but its stock geometry doesn’t suit your proportions. According to Schura, he can build his Alpha to ride and handle exactly the same but with a custom tailored fit.
Aside from the custom tunability, several design features also stand out on their own. The Alpha uses an 85mm-wide bottom bracket with integrated cartridge bearings pressed directly into the carbon shell while just behind, the moulded-in carbon chainstay bridge is subtly embossed with the ‘AX’ logo.
The alpha’s carbon bottom bracket shell features direct press-fit cartridge bearings for the matching morpheus crank: the alpha’s carbon bottom bracket shell features direct press-fit cartridge bearings for the matching morpheus crankJames Huang
The Alpha’s carbon bottom bracket shell features direct press-fit cartridge bearings for the matching Morpheus crank
Carbon fibre dropouts – with a replaceable derailleur hanger – link to drastically flattened seatstays, lending some vertical flex to the rear end without overly affecting drivetrain efficiency in the process. In addition, the seat tube is ovalised at the bottom bracket and both the front derailleur mount and all cable housing stops are crafted from carbon fibre, too.
The matching AX6000 fork bears a unique design as well, with radically bowed-out legs that leave heaps of room in between the blades and wheel. According to Schnura, this extra space allows air to flow cleanly around the fork legs without being subjected to the aerodynamic interference of the spinning wheel in between.
The ax-lightness ax6000 fork uses unusually widely set blades that are supposedly more aerodynamic than narrowly set ones: the ax-lightness ax6000 fork uses unusually widely set blades that are supposedly more aerodynamic than narrowly set onesJames Huang
The AX-Lightness AX6000 fork uses unusually widely set blades that are supposedly more aerodynamic than narrowly set ones
With all this being said, Schnura’s company name is ‘AX-Lightness’ after all, and the Alpha chassis is extremely light. When paired with Schnura’s own Morpheus carbon crankarms, AX3000 carbon single-pivot brakes and Daedalus seatpost, total claimed frameset weight is an unreal 1,650g (3.64lb) – barely heavier than many high-end framesets before adding any parts.
Naturally, such a machine would only be complete with other items from the AX-Lightness collection. One sample build includes a Zeus carbon road stem and AX4000 handlebar, Premium Road 42 carbon tubular wheels, Phoenix bare carbon saddle, a Campagnolo Super Record transmission and Continental Competition tyres for a total claimed weight of just 4.2kg (9.26lb) – and that’s with a Nasdorowje carbon bottle cage, too. Yikes.
AX-Lightness showed off their 69mm-deep carbon tubulars at this year’s eurobike show: ax-lightness showed off their 69mm-deep carbon tubulars at this year’s eurobike showJames Huang
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AX-Lightness showed off their 69mm-deep carbon tubulars at this year’s Eurobike show
