The Material Behind
the Build

The Material Behind
the Build

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SWEDEN - MARCH 2, 2026

Behind every frame are layers of decisions. In this part of The Swedish Bike Project, we turn our attention to the material that holds it all together - to the heart of the structure.

Read part one of the series here

The ambition was clear from the beginning - to explore the possibilities of developing and producing carbon fiber frames in Sweden, together with Aston Harald Composite. From the first sketches to tooling, manufacturing and testing. The further we progressed in the project, the clearer one thing became: the possibilities extend even deeper. Into the material, into the fibers that carry the load.

To work at that level, we needed a Swedish partner operating precisely there - at fiber level - and that is where TeXtreme entered the picture. In an industrial district in Borås, Sweden, carbon fiber reinforcements are developed and produced for some of the world’s most demanding applications. From advanced sporting goods and motorsport to aerospace - and further into space through NASA’s helicopter on Mars.

 

What takes place inside the walls of TeXtreme is not traditional weaving in the classical sense. The patented Spread Tow Thin-Ply technology is based on spreading carbon fiber yarns into thin, flat tapes before they are woven into extremely thin layers. Each yarn consists of thousands of micrometer-thin filaments that, once spread, can be aligned with greater precision.

In conventional weaves, the fibers naturally bend at the crossover points - part of the fabric’s structure. By keeping the fibers straighter, this bending, known as crimp, is reduced. This allows more fibers to work efficiently in the direction of the load.

The result is high structural efficiency and new possibilities in how a structure can be built - without adding weight.


From fiber to finished reinforcement - step by step

01. Carbon fiber yarn (bobbin)

The base material is carbon fiber yarn delivered on bobbins. Each yarn consists of several thousand micrometer-thin filaments.

02. Spreading (Spread Tow)

The carbon fiber is spread into very thin and wide tapes - approximately 20 mm wide.

03. Weaving into thin layers (Thin-Ply)

The spread fiber tapes are woven into extremely thin and lightweight fabrics.

FUN FACT: The thinnest TeXtreme fabrics weigh 40 g/m² - half the weight of a standard 80 g/m² A4 sheet of paper.

Development does not stop with today’s weave structures. One of the latest additions is TeXtreme® 360 - a new type of carbon fiber reinforcement where the fibers have a more varied in-plane orientation, rather than clearly defined directions.

This results in more uniform properties across multiple directions and can be an advantage in structures exposed to complex load cases. By using extremely thin carbon fiber “flakes,” the material can also be made thinner and lighter - without compromising performance.

Whether this particular solution becomes part of the project remains to be seen, but the potential is clearly there.

For TeXtreme, the project represents an opportunity to demonstrate what Swedish materials expertise can contribute when working in close collaboration with design and manufacturing.

“We see this as an opportunity to demonstrate how Swedish materials technology can contribute to both performance and sustainability. Our hope is that the project will also highlight that there are local partners capable of enabling the production of high-performance carbon fiber bicycles here in Sweden.”

- Fredrik Ohlsson, TeXtreme
Behind every frame are layers of decisions. In this chapter, we have gone one layer deeper, into the material itself. The Swedish Bike Project continues, step by step, toward a finished construction ready for the start line.

Press Contact

Allebike / Vincents Alingsås
Jessica Blomqvist
Email: jessica@allebike.se

TeXtreme
Tomas Josefsson
E-post: tomas.josefsson@textreme.com

Aston Harald Composite
Lars Idmyr
E-post: lars.idmyr@astonharald.com