Okay, Smartweld is where we engineer the shape of the head tube to precisely match the shape of the top and down tubes where they intersect. We also engineer the shape of the top and down tubes where they meet the head tube. We design these tubes to intersect exactly how we need them without any old-fashioned mitering or fudging, and we add material right at the ends of the tubes where they are welded together. The benefits of this are huge.

Hydroforming – the process of using hydraulic pressure to shape aluminum tubing in a mold – goes hand in hand with Smartweld when it comes to unlocking aluminum’s full potential. Hydroforming allows for radical material shaping that can deliver exceptional directional stiffness where needed, provide plenty of metal in the high stress areas and also minimize the excess material where it isn’t needed. Hydroforming also allows us to precisely craft the jigsaw interface tube junctions in a way that is just not possible with any other metal forming process.

By focusing on the material needs in the highly stressed weld zones, and putting the necessary material exactly where it needs to be, we also have the freedom to use tubing that delivers the ride characteristics we want, instead of having to make do with overbuilt tubing that sacrifices ride quality in order to be strong enough to survive the trauma of old-school welding.