Innovations

Optimal Balance is the genetic blueprint of Argon 18’s DNA.

Stiffness, light weight and comfort-you can have it all! Optimal Balance is the genetic blueprint of Argon 18’s DNA.

When a bicycle carries the Argon 18 name, it has to be light, rigid and comfortable.  It must be a stiff bike that delivers a comfortable ride that lets you perform at your best on the most challenging roads. For a bike to be worthy of your dedication & hard work, it must present an optimal blend of these three qualities.

This is exactly what Argon 18’s Optimal Balance is all about.

Just as you do, we have notions of what a dream bike should be. Many years of development experience along with intense research and innovation efforts are all directed at that elusive goal. Every design and technical innovation we produce is aimed at providing riders with bikes on which they’ll feel comfortable, confident and fast.

Optimal Balance: issues and solutions

The frame must be rigid

• The frame and fork tubes transfer the rider’s energy to the rear wheel, transforming it into forward motion, particularly during accelerations. Here, lateral rigidity means high performance.
• This rigidity must be distributed throughout the frameset in a well-balanced way. This is what makes the ride consistent and predictable in all circumstances and more particularly, at high speed. Rigidity means accurate steering.
• Too much rigidity, however, usually leads to a bike with a leaden, dead feel. Accelerating quickly requires excessive power and forces the rider “into the red zone’’ too often.  This situation leads to lower performance overall.
• Optimal Balance fine-tunes rigidity for each area and function of the frame and fork, giving every Argon 18 outstanding ride qualities without compromising weight or comfort.

The frame must be light

• A frame and fork must be as light as possible. Low weight means easier, faster climbing and quicker acceleration.
• That said, the frame is but one part of the complete bike; a light frame doesn’t necessarily equate a light bike.  Component and wheel choices largely dictate overall weight.  HOW IMPORTANT ARE 100 OR 120 GRAMS ON A 6 OR 7 KG BIKE?   If low weight is achieved at the expense of properly  distributed stiffness, with resulting loss of power, poor tracking in turns and descents and a mushy feel overall, isn’t it better to choose a lighter wheel or tire, saving rotational weight where it matters most, while preserving  desirable ride qualities?

While Argon 18 frames are designed to be as light as possible given these considerations, our designers have never believed in “low weight at any cost” as the primary guiding principle for frame building.

Optimal Balance was developed to ensure that the weight and strength of the fork, main and rear triangle are balanced into a harmonious unit without negative impact to stiffness and comfort.

The frame must be comfortable

• Let’s face it: even for the most hardened racer, the comfort (or discomfort) a rider feels on a bike will have a lot to do with the enjoyment and performance achieved on most any ride.  But what makes a bike comfortable?  Is it compliance that absorbs and dissipates road vibration or should the bike provide feedback on what’s happening at the asphalt-rubber interface?

• It’s important to remember that much of a bike’s comfort depends on proper rider positioning; Argon 18 AFS geometry plays an important role in this.
• Argon 18 bikes filter out the undesirable, fatigue-generating vibrations while still allowing the kind of feedback from the pavement that increases rider awareness and safety, particularly at high speed, when reaction time is limited.
• The different frame sizes and their respective proportions favor easy, proper positioning for all riders. Optimal Balance means optimal comfort without compromising light weight and rigidity. 
  

Optimal Balance: a design philosophy, a guiding principle at Argon 18

Developing bikes that exhibit an Optimal Balance of performance qualities is the top goal at Argon 18; it’s why we exist.  This philosophy guides us in every aspect of our R&D process and drives everything we do.  This is reflected in the company’s organizational structure; company CEO and founder Gervais Rioux personally leads the R&D team and is involved in the development and subsequent evolution of every Argon 18 model, constantly innovating while minding the details and raising the performance bar.

In order to guide its development work, the team relies on collaboration with the most knowledgeable riders:

1.  Professional athletes who race-test our prototypes to the limit. This testing follows a strict protocol.
2. You!  Thanks to the Argon 18 Tour, you can road-test our latest models on familiar roads.  Many riders have made the best of this opportunity and their comments and assessments have been duly noted and reported to our R&D staff.

Optimal Balance: technical innovations for high performance