The Skylon Aktiv frameset is the aero road bike that makes you believe every road is smooth, no matter how cracked and potholed it is. The secret sauce is found in the Aktiv fork, which reduces low-frequency vibrations by 30%.

The fork is designed with a tuned mass damper inside. It’s a small weight on a flexible rod moving inside the fork. You won’t hear it moving as there are rubber bumpers to damp any sound. It adds 200g to the bike. But what it takes away is vibration. Time found that 75% of the vibration experienced by the rider comes from the fork. When tuned mass dampers are used in cars, they help stabilize the front end. So not only are lots of vibrations never making it past the dampers, but stability has improved. This not only smoothes out the road, but increases confidence, decreases fatigue, for an overall performance improvement.

The Aktiv model also comes with an extended seat mast. In some bikes, this increases the feeling of stiffness. In Time, it decreases that sensation. That’s because Time deploys vibration-damping Vectran fibers woven all the way to the top of the mast. The mast is topped with a clamp that allow for 3cm of vertical adjustment. It’s also 30g lighter than the standard seat post. If you don’t want the mast, it can be removed, and the clamp used to secure a Time seat post; a change we can do.

The fork and seatmast are the only two changes from the standard Skylon. The Skylon itself is Time’s entry into the aero road market. They used computational fluid dynamics to design the ideal aero tube shapes to meld with their Grand Tour geometry. The tubes are about 40% larger than on other Times, with the material going to making the most of aerodynamics. The head tube has been widened, particularly at the bottom, where the 1 1/8” to 1 1/2” steerer meshes perfectly with the fork, head tube and downtube. The downtube is teardrop shaped, the seat tube shrouds the rear wheel, and the seat stays have been shortened and extensively shaped. The seat post is likewise designed for aerodynamics.

Time is one of the few bike companies that weaves their own carbon-fiber tubes. This way they’re better able to control not only tube shapes, but tube characteristics. With the Skylon, the main triangle is monobloc, created out of a single carbon-fiber “sock,” and shaped around a wax form. The rear triangle is attached in two pieces, with a U-shaped end for the chain stays and a wishbone for the seat stays. Besides being better able to control stiffness and compliance with this method, the frame is also more crash-worthy. The frame is covered by a lifetime warranty, and if the rear triangle gets damaged, which is far more likely than the front triangle, Time can remove it and replace it.

The bottom bracket standard is BB386, which, thanks to its oversized width and diameter, increases torsional rigidity 30% over Time’s ZXRs.

While this is an aero bike, and the stiffest in Time’s lineup, they made a conscious decision to keep a great degree of comfort in the frame. That’s why the shapes aren’t as large as you’ll see elsewhere. They also made liberal use of Vectran, a liquid crystal polymer that is woven into a fiber and damps vibration. Vectran is a hallmark of Time carbon-fiber, ever since they started employing it in their forks, making the forks the most-sought after carbon-fiber fork of its era.

Weight for the frame, fork, headset, seat mast, and clamp, is 1580g in the Small, including paint. The headset is Time’s own design, with a top cap that holds the fork in place without the pressure of a star nut in the steerer.

Being a bike of the moment, the frame is designed to run both brake and derailleur cables internally. Derailleur cables can be electronic or mechanical. A full set of plugs are included, and both Campagnolo and Shimano will work. Run the battery inside the seatpost for Shimano, seat tube for Campy.

Time innovates when they see the opportunity. The front derailleur hanger is a new design that has more material to clamp the front derailleur. This should make overzealous mechanics rest easy as well as stiffen up front shifting. It’s also replaceable.

The seat mast has zero setback and comes with two clamps, one for metal rails, one for carbon. Max tire width is 25mm. Two top caps come with the frame, one is flat, one 1cm taller.

The Time Skylon Aktiv brings plush road comfort to aero road bikes.