Duratec is based in the Czech Republic, with its bikes distributed in the UK by Bicycles by Design. The Phantom frameset uses a production process in which the frame is made as one piece, rather than being constructed as subcomponents, such as a rear triangle construct, which are then bonded together.
Duratec has teamed up with Czech paralympic champion cyclist Jiri Jezek to help develop the bike, as seen in this release video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWy6MDYm_80
Making frames since 1997 and working with carbon fibre since 2001, Duratec still hand assembles in the Czech Republic, with the Phantom made from top grade Toray and Granoc Japanese-made carbon fibre, bonded with Nanoalloy resin. It says it’s developed its own technologies and tooling in producing the new frame.
The frame is made up of around 400 separate sheets of carbon fibre, with the design aiming to use the longest possible uninterrupted stretches of fibre to increase strength. The Phantom frame has recently been given the UCI’s seal of approval for racing and bears its UCI sticker.
Duratec's frames are laid up by hand and made as a single piece
(Image credit: VOZAR Karel)
Kitted out with SRAM Red eTap and Zipp 404 wheels and a 3T Rigida Team fork, Duratec claims a weight of 6.15kg for a complete bike. It offers other builds and custom colour scheme and configuration options, with the entry-level SRAM Force bike with Fulcrum 5LG wheels coming in at around £3700, as well as a completely bespoke build option. For around double that you can get a SRAM Red eTap, Campagnolo Super Record or Dura-Ace Di2 build, all with Zipp 303 wheelset.
Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.
He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.
