The Time Scylon Frameset is a rare breed: it is not only designed to be aerodynamically fast, but also practically comfortable.
The first thing is how Time built this bike to be so invisible to the wind. They used computational fluid dynamics to design the ideal aero tube shapes to meld with their Grand Tour geometry. The tubes are about 40% larger than on other Times, with the material going to making the most of aerodynamics. The head tube has been widened, particularly at the bottom, where the 1 1 /8” to 1 ½” steerer meshes perfectly with the fork, head tube and downtube. The downtube is teardrop shaped, the seat tube shrouds the rear wheel, and the seat stays have been shortened and extensively shaped. The seat post is likewise designed for aerodynamics.
As Time is the rare bike company that actually weaves its own carbon-fiber, they’re better able to control not only tube shapes, but tube characteristics. They weave Vectran, a polymer that damps vibration, into their cloth. With the Scylon, the main triangle is monobloc, created out of a single carbon-fiber “sock,” and shaped around a wax form. The rear triangle is attached in two pieces, with a U-shaped end for the chain stays and a wishbone for the seat stays. Besides being better able to control stiffness and compliance with this method, the frame is also more crash-worthy.
Besides comfort woven into the design, you can further the comfort by selecting an Aktiv fork with the frame. It has small weight on a flexible rod moving inside the fork. You won’t hear it moving as there are rubber bumpers to damp any sound. It adds 200g to the bike. But what it takes away is vibration. Time found that 75% of the vibration experienced by the rider comes from the fork. When tuned mass dampers are used in cars, they help stabilize the front end. So not only are lots of vibrations never making it past the dampers, but stability has improved. This not only smoothes out the road, but increases confidence, decreases fatigue, for an overall performance improvement.
Another option with the Scylon is the Translink integrated seat mast. It’s lighter than Time’s seatpost, shaving 30g from the frame weight, and provides 3cm vertical adjustment once cut to length. Setback is 0mm. If you decide you don’t like the integrated mast, it can be cut down and an adjustable Time seatpost can be installed.
The bottom bracket standard is BB386, which, thanks to its oversized width and diameter, increases torsional rigidity. They also include their Time Quickset headset with the frame, which adjusts independently of the stem. There is room for 28mm tires between the brakes. The frame runs cables internally. Standard is mechanical, though an electric build it is an option and that includes an internal battery mount for the seatpost.
The Scylon also has a disc brake version. It adds about 500g to the overall weight of the bike, with flat mounting for the calipers and thru-axles for the wheels. Max rotor size is 160mm.
Weight for the Time Scylon frame, fork (standard, not the Aktiv), headset, seat mast, and clamp, is 1380g in the Small, including paint.
