the future of bikes...

rickeverett
rickeverett Posts: 988
edited January 2014 in Road general
I joked on a recent thread that the next big frame material was 3D printed carbon nano tube bike frames.
Looks like they can create helmets and saddles in rainbow nation colours already ! ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25878078

Comments

  • motogull
    motogull Posts: 325
    Its mind blowing stuff alright.
  • Sprool
    Sprool Posts: 1,022
    Its a lot of money for a printer, at the moment a very limited range of suitable polymers which restricts the mechanical properties available, and about 6 - 8 hours to print one decent sized item, gonna be an expensive but very pretty piece of plastic. No doubt they will get better, faster, cheaper, but I think commercial items from 3D printing is a good few years away yet.
  • Sprool wrote:
    Its a lot of money for a printer, at the moment a very limited range of suitable polymers which restricts the mechanical properties available, and about 6 - 8 hours to print one decent sized item, gonna be an expensive but very pretty piece of plastic. No doubt they will get better, faster, cheaper, but I think commercial items from 3D printing is a good few years away yet.


    absolutely.
    But I cant see it being that long before many things are manufactured using 3D printing technology. Its certainly an area the Bike industry could get into.

    I mean look at the first ink printers- they were crap, expensive and slow. Now look what we have in the home.
  • Flying Machine (based in Perth, Western Australia, where I live) has just announced a titanium road bike with 3D-printed titanium lugs:

    http://www.flyingmachine.com.au/2014/01/3d-printed-titanium-bike-of-the-future/

    I think this deserves a proper article on BikeRadar (and elsewhere), but then, being a Perth local, I'm biased :) .

    No details on price or weight that I could see.

    I'm currently happy commuting on my 2007 Specialized Langster, but if I were in the market for a new commuter, I'd be very tempted by this bike with belt drive and disc brakes (rather than the rim brakes on the prototype). Not sure about EBBs; I've never owned a bike with an EBB, but I've read a lot of anecdotes about creaking. EBBs allow a cleaner look, but I wonder whether I might prefer sliding horizontal rear dropouts.
  • 3D Printed Titanium ! :shock:

    I can really see this kicking off and being the norm in the next 10-15 years. (3D Printed frames and parts etc) More accuracy and better Design to Physical Form.

    Hopefully we will see some new takes on road bike design becuase effectively nothing has really changed in decades - 2 triangles and a fork.
  • Oxo
    Oxo Posts: 144
    Sunday Best: 2013 Colnago Master 30th Anniversary
    Foul Weather: 2010 Kinesis Racelight T2
    Commuter: 1958 Holdsworth Zephyr Fixed Gear