Since 1989 Easton has been making components out of carbon fibre, so it’s fair to say they have a lot of experience and expertise with the material. With their latest range making use of nano technology, it’s clear they’re constantly seeking new ways to extract more performance out of the material.

The EC70 range, consisting of stem, seatpost and handlebars offer considerable weight savings. They all use Easton’s Carbon Nanotube (CNT) process, which – if you’re wondering – is the manipulation of carbon on a molecular scale.

When you’re making a component out of carbon, a necessary amount of resin is required as a bonding agent, to keep all the carbon stuck together. The resin needs to be able to coat all the carbon filaments to ensure there are no gaps between the actual carbon filaments, as it’s these gaps that can lead to structural failure.

It’s with this in mind that Easton has developed this new process, as the more resin can be reduced the stronger and lighter your final component will be. The company’s Enhanced Resin System uses carbon nanotubes (tubes made from bundles of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal layout, like a football) impregnated into the resin mix. The end result is an improved strength-to-weight ratio.

We’ve been keen to find out just how this new approach lends itself to the performance, so we’ve lined up the following for testing.

Starting with the handlebars, the EC70 Wing bar weighs 240g with an ergonomic drop, and is available in three widths. The EC70 stem, 150g, uses replaceable steel inserts, with a two-bolt non-carbon front cap. Five lengths are available with a 6 degree rise or drop. Finally, the EC70 seatpost is available in two setups, either the layback model here or an inline version. The layback model weighs 200g dependent on length, of which there’s numerous to choose from. The 25mm of layback is provided by an aluminium one-bolt head being bonded to the carbon TaperWall post. The inline model however has a carbon head, save for the cradle and top section of the mount. Weight is again around 200g, with various lengths and size’s available. If you want full-carbon, the EC90 seatpost is all carbon, except for the bolt.

Check out www.eastonbike.com for more info