Time has been producing its carbon frames in France for more than 20 years. In this day and age, when most suppliers source their frames from the Far East, this is a clear commitment to the location - and a strong argument for many racing cyclists who are concerned about the origin of their bikes. The French company started building carbon frames in 1993, when a former engineer from carbon pioneer TVT moved to pedal manufacturer Time to set up a frame production facility. Since then, the frames have been completely manufactured in the production facility in Vaulx-Milieu near Lyon, from laminating the tubes to painting. The process used to produce the tubes is called "Resin Transfer Moulding" (RTM). In this process, carbon fibres are braided into tubes and shaped in metal moulds, resin is injected under high pressure and then cured in an oven. Time sees the advantage of this process over the usual prepreg variant, in which carbon fibre mats soaked in resin are processed, in the break resistance of the tubes.
Our test racer, with Campagnolo's top Super Record groupset, rolls on Mavic's Ksyrium SLS wheels, handlebars and stem from Time are part of the frame kit. The Fizik saddle comes from Italy, the Rotor cranks from Spain - making the bike a purely European product that costs the French a whopping 6,545 euros. The frame set costs around 4,000 euros on its own.
The results from the test lab are impressive - even if the riding stability could be a little higher so that athletic riders also have safety reserves on fast descents. Visually, the red accentuated French bike offers a lot and clearly stands out from the mediocrity with its integrated seat post, angular tubes and monostay rear triangle. While riding, the Time NXrs is pleasantly neutral, with a riding position somewhere between sporty and race-like.
Price complete wheel 6,545 Euro
Price frame set 4,163 Euro
Weight 6.8 kilos
Reference/Info www.time-sport.com; www.shocker-distribution.com
Frame sizes** 49,5, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59 cm
Seat/steering angle 73/73,5 °
Seat/top tube/head tube 515/565/165 mm plus 10 mm headset cap
Wheelbase/caster 980/53 mm
Stack/Reach/STR*** 562/390 mm/1.44
EQUIPMENT
Fork Time
Steering bearing Time Carbon Quick Set
Brakes/gears Campagnolo Super Record
Bottom bracket Rotor 3D (50/34 t.)
Wheels/tyres Mavic Ksyrium SLS/Mavic Yksion 23C
Handlebar/stem Time RTM Integral/Time RTM
Saddle/post Fizik Arione/Time integrated
MEASURED VALUES & INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Weight of complete wheel 6.8 kilos (without pedals)
Frame/fork/steering bearing weight 1.048/362/54 g
Standardised weight frame set**** 1.488 g: 2 , 0
Steering head stiffness 83 Nm/°: 2 , 7
Lateral stiffness fork 50 N/mm: 1 , 7
Bottom bracket stiffness 56 N/mm: 1 , 7
Comfort frame 222 N/mm: 2 , 7
Comfort fork 91 N/mm: 4 , 3
* The frame set accounts for 40 per cent of the overall score and the features for 60 per cent. These ratings include individual grades, which we have only partially printed for reasons of space. The grades are calculated up to the final grade with all decimal places; however, for the sake of clarity, all grades are given with rounded decimal places.
** Tested frame size greased.
*** Stack/reach: projected vertical/horizontal measurement from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube; STR (stack to reach): 1.36 means an extremely race-like riding position, 1.60 an extremely comfortable riding position. A typical sporty position is in the range of 1.44 to 1.49.
**** Adjusted weight for frame size 57 cm and fork steerer length 225 mm.
