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Reilly Cycleworks blends titanium and aero with new Fusion road bike

Hydroformed titanium tubes use Kamm tail shapes for a ride that is claimed to be fast and smooth, and prices start at £7,499 for a full bike

Aero tube shaping is seemingly everywhere these days and Reilly CycleWorks has joined the club, adding Kamm tail tube shapes to the world of titanium with the Fusion, its latest road bike. The frame features an investment cast 6Al-4V titanium head tube, seat cluster, bottom bracket shell and dropouts with 3Al-2.5V tubing.

The Fusion is set to be launched officially at The Cycle Show, so if you’re headed down there, you can check it out for yourself, but Reilly has given us some details ahead of time. The Fusion is, Reilly says, “an evolution of our road series,” and the new bike “combines classic Reilly race geometry, top grade hydroformed titanium tubes and advanced engineering to create a light, aerodynamic titanium frame to rival carbon equivalents.”

Riley Fusion-1

While there are plenty of aluminium road bikes that have been treated to aero tube shapes - namely the 2022 Specialized Allez Sprint - titanium frames featuring aero profiles are significantly less common. Australian brand Bossi has the Strada SS, but otherwise, the Reilly Fusion is one of the only aero titanium road bikes that we know of.

Riley Fusion-2

The result is a frame that certainly looks very clean, with all of the cabling hidden away by an FSA ACR headset that passes the cables down through the top headset bearing. But the sleek finish is further helped by what Reilly describes as seamless welding, giving what looks like a very smooth finish to the tube junctions around the headtube.

As previously mentioned, that headtube is made out of 6Al-4V titanium, noted for its very high strength which should make for a very stiff headtube indeed. 

> Should you buy a titanium bike? 10 of the best for 2022
Riley Fusion-8

The dropouts haven't been overlooked in the aesthetics department either, with Reilly using the investment casting method to create this lovely hollow design. 

Away from the looks, Reilly has sought to make the frame a bit faster with the use of aero tube shapes. While making a carbon frame slippery in the wind tunnel is a relatively simple job, coaxing metal into those shapes is a fair bit trickier, and Reilly says that the use of investment casting “allowed us to mimic the aero shapes usually associated with a carbon mould or 3D printing.”

The hydroformed tubes use a Kamm tail design where the trailing edge of the tube is effectively chopped off, with the theory being that you save weight while the air behaves as if the trailing edge is still there.

Riley Fusion-6

At the rear end, you’ll find a D-shaped seatpost and seatstays that have been dropped slightly which are both measures that are commonly employed to add comfort to the rear end while also saving a few precious watts.

Speaking of watts, while Reilly says that the Kamm tail tube shapes have been used, there is no claim being made here regarding the Fusion being X seconds faster than another bike.

Riley Fusion-7

While there is rightly going to be a lot of attention paid to the sleek design, the Fusion also features some sensible stuff such as the T47bottom bracket. This is a threaded design and should make for a quiet life for the end-user. There is also space for wider road tyres.

Riley Fusion-4

Speaking about the launch of the fusion, Reilly co-founder Neil FitzGerald said: “Reilly’s Fusion is spearheading the titanium road revolution. It symbolises an exciting time for us, marking a new chapter as we build on our frame building heritage, while continuing to innovate to offer all customers their dream ride and put the individual back into the bike.”

“We have raised the bar again for road adventurers to create a truly cutting edge bicycle frame to enjoy the great outdoors, whether that’s planning an ultra endurance road trip or sleekly navigating the daily commute.”

Prices start at £7,499 with 11-speed Shimano Ultegra Di2, DCR x Reilly carbon wheels, and an FSA ACR front end. Tyres are Continental GP5000 as standard and you can upgrade to Shimano DuraAce or Ultegra Di2 12 Speed, SRAM Red eTap AXS or Campagnolo Record EPS should you wish. 

The wait time for a bike, should you pre-order one, is July of this year. Given the lead times that some brands quote, that's rather good.

reillycycleworks.com

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14 comments

Avatar
Chris Hayes | 1 year ago
0 likes

Can't get excited about Ch-Ti, no matter how pretty. No one will stand by it if it fails.  

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Sriracha replied to Chris Hayes | 1 year ago
0 likes

Curious to understand what you mean. What is Ch-Ti? What do you mean by "no one will stand by it if it fails"?

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Dogless replied to Sriracha | 1 year ago
1 like

Chinese built titanium, as most places use unless you get something boutique and very, very expensive. Nothing wrong with Chinese manufacturing, and Reilly offer a lifetime warranty.

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sparrowlegs | 1 year ago
0 likes

I like that. A lot. With a set of Alanera bars and an in-line seatpost I think that could be a stunner. 

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60kg lean keen ... | 1 year ago
0 likes

Yes please!!!!  Campag super record eps and some deep wheels, now thats going to be expensive but if you could, then why not!!

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Secret_squirrel | 1 year ago
4 likes

DROOL.  WANT.

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Mathemagician | 1 year ago
2 likes
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lesterama replied to Mathemagician | 1 year ago
0 likes

The Reilly stays are more formed. I think the Reilly looks better

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pkaro replied to Mathemagician | 1 year ago
1 like

I'm willing to bet pennies to pounds that there's the same OEM behind both of these framesets.

The real innovators are not Reilly or Bossi, but companies such as Hebei Hang Lun Technologies in Qinhuangdao City, China (tibicycle dot com).

Reilly probably realised that this OEM was now able to produce hydroformed Ti tubes and sent them a rough visual design and spec sheets of what they'd like to have. I'd be surprised if Reilly even did any real development work or engineering themselves.

Reilly is of course responsible for the marketing, the choice of components, building up the bikes, and most importantly: multiplying the price of the frameset by a factor of 3-5!

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mpdouglas | 1 year ago
0 likes

I largely like it, but the finish at the seat post junction looks positively DIY (is it just hand prints that weren't properly cleaned for the photograph?). The rear drop out looks similarly amateurish - it looks like the thru-axle hole was drilled in the wrong spot. Other than that, its "REILLY", not Riley (the clue is on the down tube  1  )

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mdavidford replied to mpdouglas | 1 year ago
1 like

Amusingly, even copying and pasting in the correct spelling twice in quotes didn't give a clue.

Is anyone prepping that sub-editor job ad yet?

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OnTheRopes replied to mpdouglas | 1 year ago
0 likes

and Reilley, not Reilly or Riley  in the article. 

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mark1a replied to OnTheRopes | 1 year ago
1 like

OnTheRopes wrote:

and Reilley, not Reilly or Riley  in the article. 

That's odd, it reads "REILLY" on the downtube. 

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mdavidford replied to mark1a | 1 year ago
0 likes

The text of the link at the bottom has 'reilley', but that's just another mistake - the link itself correctly goes to 'reilly'.

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