German brand Urwahn Bikes has unveiled a 3D printed steel frame that’s built up with lightweight components from Schmolke Carbon, and it’s certainly a head turner.
The first thing you’ll notice about the frame is that it lacks a seat tube – or you could say that the seat tube and seatstays are combined – so how does it perform?
“The velodrome field test quickly showed the effect of the combination of steel and carbon – a comfortable geometry with brute bottom bracket stiffness meets aerodynamic lightweight construction,” says Urwahn.
“The elastic suspension of the rear wheel guarantees additional riding comfort without sacrificing bottom bracket stiffness. This effect is particularly noticeable on longer rides and/or uneven surfaces; a decisive advantage over the competition.”
We’ve not even seen this bike in the flesh never mind ridden it, so we can’t comment on the ride quality ourselves. We’re just showing you the pretty pictures, essentially!
The frame, made entirely in Germany, is copper plated and it’s built up with a Schmolke Carbon handlebar, seatpost and saddle. Schmolke provides the 45mm-deep rims for the carbon clincher wheels while the hubs are from Tune.
A SRAM Red/Force eTap AXS groupset provides wireless shifting.
The complete bike has a claimed weight of 9.0kg (size medium). It’ll set you back €8,499, which is about £7,300.
Get more details at www.urwahnbikes.com.
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15 thoughts on “Urwahn & Schmolke team up for striking 3D printed steel bike”
Take my money…
Take my money…
As the components are really
As the components are really light, the frame must be very heavy for an all-up 9kg weight. Looks amazing though.
I hope the copper doesn’t
I hope the copper doesn’t turn green after a while.
hawkinspeter wrote:
They’ll have put a clearcoat over it for sure. Else, bring on the polish and elbow grease.
Personally, I’d be a tad
Personally, I’d be a tad worried by the amount stress on those curved ‘seatstays’…
Where do I sign…
Where do I sign…
“The velodrome field test
“The velodrome field test quickly showed the effect of the combination of steel and carbon – a comfortable geometry with brute bottom bracket stiffness meets aerodynamic lightweight construction,” says Urwahn.
A velodrome field test – and it doesn’t look like either a track or cyclocross bike!
More seriously, how is the
More seriously, how is the frame actually made? The headline says “printed steel bike” so you think, wow, a entire frame made by 3D printing! Then you read the frame is copper plated. So they printed it then plated it??? And the text doesn’t mention anything about printing.
Bmblbzzz wrote:
3D printed lugs by the look of things.
https://vimeo.com/334294745
IanMunro wrote:
Yes, brazed tube construction with 3D printed lugs/junctions. Seems like the complete head tube and top tube/seat stay junction, down to where it actually splits into two stays, is 3D printed. The joint on the drive side is there for a Gates drive commuter model.
All looks rather lovely, especially in that copper-plated finish.
Looks like it would flex like
Looks like it would flex like mad if you put the hammer down.
there appears to be a split
there appears to be a split driveside seatstay. interesting.
They went to all that effort
They went to all that effort but couldn’t integrate the hydraulic hoses into the frame?
Those pictures all have the
Those pictures all have the stench of render about them, would love to see some real images.
Stunning finish, would love to have a go on one.
Also, looks like printed wax
Also, looks like printed wax then lost wax casting from the Vimeo, so not quite as exciting as first thought. But still a great looking bike!