Round bike tubes are conventional wisdom, spawned from the early days of limited metal forming capability. Then came butted and tapered shapes as technology in metal working advanced. So why are most carbon fiber bikes using round tubes? Challenging this assumption was part of the genesis of Leopard Cycles.

Metal in a round shape has a symmetrical strength and stiffness. Early advances in tubing provided changes in wall thickness creating lighter weight tubes by making them thinner in areas where strength was not as critical. Further advances in metal forming brought shaped tubes, which attempted have to optimize weight, stiffness and strength across various tube shapes with varying wall thickness. All of these “advances” in bicycle tubing have come in evolutionary steps as advances in metal working have been applied to bicycle tubing.

Carbon tubing offers a revolutionary opportunity to bicycle tubing that most bicycle companies have not leveraged. While major bicycle manufacturers continue with round or modified round shapes to their carbon tube sets, Leopard brings to the market a tube set with unique structural benefits only available in carbon tubing. Our Carbon-ribbed tubing has structural ribs that add unique stiffness without compromising ride.

Our approach has been two fold. One, there is no such thing as too stiff, there is a problem with too harsh. We believe “harshness” is a function of vibration, and our full carbon bike significantly reduces vibration and road “noise” over metal bikes. But the real advantage comes from the Carbon-ribbed tubing. In the photos, you can see the ribs are aligned along the tube length. This shape combined with the already stiff properties of carbon materials, provides a tube that positively eliminates any “twist” of the tubing. Combined with a similar shape in the top tube, Leopard Carbon frames have a main triangle that eliminates bottom bracket and headtube twist.

Leopard uses uniquely shaped chain stays and seat stays designed to absorb vibration and dampen what would be an overly harsh ride, if the Leopard main triangle was produced with the same stiffness in a metal main frame.

At the end of the day, taking aerospace carbon forming design and techniques Leopard brings to market one special bicycle unmatched in ride and stiffness.