On October 8th, at 20:00 (CET), pro-cyclist Filippo Ganna will take on the UCI Hour Record attempt on board ‘the first high performance 3D-printed bike’, the Pinarello Bolide F HR 3D.

Italian bike brand Pinarello noted that… ‘The Bolide F HR 3D needed a totally perfect fit, designed around the rider, conforming to Filippo’s unique anatomy to maximise both his comfort and overall aero performance. Comfort is often underrated, but when it comes to an UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot attempt it is absolutely crucial because it allows the athlete to go faster for longer.

‘The importance of stiffness is also often underestimated for track bikes, but any flex under power causes the wheels to scrub, losing the athlete crucial centimetres every time they push the pedals. With that in mind, this project needed to blend strength and stiffness with aero gains, with a production method that would allow for millimetre-perfect sizing and the full utilisation of everything Pinarello’s engineers learned from months of intense research.

‘Now, Pinarello is proud to introduce a world-first: a 3D printed frame, designed for a world champion and for his UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot attempt. It will be available for Filippo Ganna and for the global market.’

3D printing allowed us Pinarello introduce new shapes and features that are not possible to replicate with existing carbon fibre techniques. With this new method claims to have created a unique aerodynamic shape and reached an ‘incredible level of stiffness’.

Pinarello added… ‘Moreover, it made it possible to add internal reinforcement, create a totally new shape of head tube and importantly, it also drastically cut development time because we were no longer held back by the traditional time constraints of mould production for a carbon fibre frame.’

To optimise the new HR bike, Pinarello and its aerodynamic R&D partner NablaFlow ran many simulations, finding some effective designs, and some less so. After extensive CFD and wind tunnel testing with live riders, the company’s new AirStream technology was born, incorporating a unique pattern of AeroNodes on the frame that takes full advantage of the University of Adelaide’s research.

The new frame has been designed to reduce as much as possible the frontal area also taking advantage of the removal of the 3:1 UCI rule. There have been some gains from making the wheel hubs as well as the bottom bracket (BB) narrower than normal. The BB was narrowed down to 54mm (from 70mm), the wheel hubs from 120mm down to 89mm on the rear, and from 100mm down to 69mm on the front.

Taking advantage of the removal of the 3:1 regulation, longer and slimmer airfoil sections have been used. Pinarello added. ‘It is very well known that airfoil sections that have an aspect ratio of 6:1 or even 8:1 do perform significantly better than the old 3:1 ratio.’

The HR bike’s frame and fork were designed to take advantage of a new alloy called Scalmalloy, a high strength Scandium-Aluminium-Magnesium alloy that it is an aerospace material specifically designed for 3D printing.

The frame is comprised of five parts, with the front triangle made in three pieces and the seat-stays / chain-stays as two more pieces. These pieces were made individually and then bonded together using an aerospace-grade epoxy. In addition, titanium has been used on the fork head and on the handlebar extensions, which are the higher stress areas.

The Bolide F HR 3D had already proved its worth, supporting Dan Bigham in his personal 55.548 km record achieved on August 19th this year.

Bigham, who is INEOS Greandiers’ performance engineer, was testing an un-branded prototype of the new Bolide F HR that he helped develop. He also worked on the development other key components that will be used on the bike, such as the crankset.

Fausto Pinarello, Pinarello’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, said “We are always pushing the level of product design to new extremes to allow our champions to achieve their goals. Constant innovation and research are the foundations of success if you want to build the fastest time trial bike for the track.

“From Miguel Indurain’s World Hour record to the recent gold medals in the team pursuit in Tokyo, Pinarello has always set the gold standard in this segment. Working closely with Filippo Ganna and the INEOS Grenadier’s team to develop this revolutionary product is part of our company DNA. And the result of that extreme research, the spirit of innovation it engenders, and the technology it produces is then spread through the whole range of Pinarello products.”

Federico Sbrissa, Pinarello’s Chief Marketing Officer, said “This is such a unique project, and we believe it’s the beginning of a new manufacturing era. The next step will be to make it more affordable by finding ways to scan riders with more affordable equipment and automatically design each unique bike…. From a world champion, to every World Tour rider, and eventually to each and every cyclist out there.”

The new Bolide F HR 3D is available for ordering at a Pinarello’s official retail partners. Due to the 3D printing production technique, it will be built only on demand.