The first patented technology, IsoGrid®, is a cutting edge method of creating a stronger and lighter carbon tube wherein a thin carbon skin is fused to a carbon-kevlar skeleton while both are cured within an extreme pressure / high temperature mold. The resulting tube—with a smooth exterior and a cross-ribbed interior—is not unlike the internally reinforced construction of an airplane fuselage. As is the case with airplanes, an IsoGrid® tube’s skin-over-rib configuration creates a sleek, failure-resistant structure that is simultaneously stiffer and lighter.

While each tube is being molded, VyaTek Sports’ second patented technology, Bi/Fusion™, fuses a thin titanium sleeve at each end of the IsoGrid® tube. The resulting titanium tipped IsoGrid® tubes can be welded directly to each other. Welded carbon construction not only prevents carbon’s most common form of failure, it simultaneously avoids the weight penalty of glue and lugs (typically 20%). And it is the often-overlooked efficiency of TIG welding that allows our carbon-and-titanium Beyond frame to be a pound or more lighter than a pure carbon frame.

In order to optimize these technologies, Santana designed and produced proprietary molds that allow efficient tandem tube shapes (i.e. oval bottom tube and taper-diameter down tube) and optional integrally-fused titanium S&S/oval frame couplers. Finally, because our extra long molds can produce tubes with carbon sections of any length, Santana’s ability to customize fit and geometry is practically unlimited.