Innovative 10-Pound Track Bike With 3D Printed Lugs Is Rideable

There has been a lot of advancement lately when it comes to bike helmets, but today I’d like to feature an innovative bike. If you are a fan of track bikes, you are going to love this. This gorgeous track bike only weights 10-pounds, and it is a work of art that is actually rideable. The frame has 3D printed titanium lugs glued to carbon fiber tubing. If you’re considering making your own frame, this style is definitely something to consider. It’s sleek, techie and lightweight.

This bike was created by Ralf Holleis, along with a team of people and companies who pitched in. According to Vimeo, “This method allows you to build custom frames in a short period of time. You can change the geometry to whatever you like, then the lugs are generated by a software.” He also confirms that this bike is definitely rideable.

The reason the 3D printed parts looks so sleek is because they were lasercused on a concept laser machine. Ralf was a student when he created this, and he completed the process under the supervision of his teacher. This is such a brilliant use of 3D printing technology, and I can see this method becoming more popular in the future.

In order to ensure that this bike would be rideable, Ralf did an FEM analysis from the very beginning. The parts themselves are printed in stainless steel. Since the melted powder is practically 100% solid, the material density is even better than it is for castings. He explains all this in detail on Vimeo. There is also a link to the material data sheet and the glue over there too.

When it’s all said and done, the frameset only weighs a little over 3 pounds, and then the added weight from there depends on the parts you add to your bike. This particular one weighs about 10 pounds total. Ralf is working on streamlining his system so this type of bike can be easily reproduced by anyone!