Guerilla Gravity makes carbon frame in Denver

From the Business Den
By Kate Tracy

Denver’s Guerrilla Gravity says it’s taken carbon fiber bikes to the next level

Making affordable carbon fiber mountain bikes in the U.S. is no longer an uphill slog at one Denver bike factory.

Guerrilla Gravity has been working seven days a week for three months to finalize its newest bike invention, a carbon fiber frame made in Denver that the company said is more impact-resistant and significantly cheaper than carbon frames made by other brands.

The frames, which go on sale today, are the end result of about three years of work, according to Matt Giaraffa, co-owner and chief engineer at Guerrilla Gravity.

“Basically what we started with about three years ago was more and more riders on high-end mountain bikes started to expect frames to be carbon,” he said. “So we asked the question: Could we make carbon fiber bikes here in the U.S. cost-competitively and with impact resistance better than what was already out there?”

Guerrilla Gravity ended up with its patent-pending Revved Carbon Technology, which uses materials borrowed from the aerospace industry, and a production system that enables the company to make at least four frames a day.

Giaraffa said other mountain bike companies sell their carbon fiber bikes starting at around $4,500. Guerrilla Gravity’s new line starts at $3,700. Just the frame runs $2,195.

The mountain bike startup raised $740,000 in funding last year, in addition to a $250,000 grant from the state to build its Framemaker 3000, a steel contraption that automates the fiber placement. Giaraffa said most carbon frames take three to four hours to heat and cool, and that Guerrilla’s frames take about 30 minutes.

Read the full article here