3D Printed Bike

Serious cyclists need their bike to precisely match their body for optimum performance, but how can you do so when bikes are pre-made to someone else's specifications? The answer is to 3D print a bike to your exact specs. That's what was done recently by German bike maker Vorwaertz, who use 3D design to prepare a 3D model of the key parts to the correct specs and then 3D print them in metal. 

 

The VRZ 1 racing bike is made by 3D printing custom-designed joints that hold together frame tubes of carbon fiber or stainless steel. The joints could be made of titanium for an even lighter result. 

 

While their site is in German, the voiceless video shows the entire process from design to bike assembly. 

 

We think this is a perfect application of 3D printing, where each customer requires a very specific custom design. It's not clear how much this process would cost, but if it's too expensive then sales would be limited. It would also require a very effective way of gathering measurements in order to compute the correct bike geometry.

 

Via Vorwaertz, Vimeo and Ponoko