Argon18 bikes are the brainchildren of former Canadian Champion (1979, 1985, 1987) and Olympian (1988) Gervais Rioux. These bikes are uniquely engineered to focus on the geometrical and tensile properties of the media from which they are created. The design team at Argon18 refers to their design approach as the Horizontal Dual System, or HDS. HDS views a frameset as a single unit of two distinct zones: the comfort zone, and the power zone. The comfort zone focuses on the body’s fit and feel on the bike, while the power zone focuses on how to best utilize a frameset’s properties for transfer of power to the rear wheel.
The HDS innovative approach involves laying carbon fibers at various aspects according to the mechanical and aerodynamic stresses each frameset undergoes. One can see how Argon18 arrives at their unique design configurations which use a combination Medium and M30 High Modulus aircraft grade unidirectional carbon fiber. This is most evident on Argon18’s super stealthy and sexy Element 114 (E114). The E114 is widely regarded as the most beautiful and innovative TT bike publicly available and took home Triathlete Magazine's 2007 Interbike Bike of the Show.
In sports like time trialing and triathlon where every watt counts, Argon18 has succeeded in building supremely effecient and wildly stunning racing machines.