In 2022, Filippo Ganna wrote a new page of “Hour record” in Grenchen, Switzerland, cycling for 56,792 kilometers in sixty minutes exactly. It’s one of cycling’s purest and most raw tests: an hour of covering as much ground as possible, alone, on a perfectly smooth track. But it wasn’t just him who achieved the record: beneath him he had a bike designed like a scientific experiment, a concentration of aerodynamics, biomimicry and 3D printing.
Is called Pinarello Bolide F HR 3Dand it is the first metal alloy bike (Scalmalloy) 3D printed to have passed the tests UCI (International Cycling Union) and achieved a world record. It features extreme aerodynamic geometries, inspired by the fins of humpback whaleswhich made it an engineering feat worthy of a NASA laboratory, capable of transforming the air – the invisible enemy of every cyclist – into an ally.
The charm of the Hour record in cycling
The Hour record is one of the most iconic events in cycling. No trails, no team tactics: just the cyclist, the track and the stopwatch. It’s a challenge that measures how far you can get by pushing on the pedals for sixty minutes. Over the years, legends such as Eddy MerckxMiguel Indurain and Bradley Wiggins. But every time the bike changes, the way of tackling the challenge also changes. Because here the air physics it matters as much as leg strength. When Ganna decided to try, Pinarello – historic Italian company – took the opportunity to experiment with something completely new: a project built from scratch, exploiting techniques and materials never used before in a bike. The Italian cyclist holds the Hour record with a distance of 56,792 kilometers routes in sixty minutes exactly. Here is the video of the still undefeated feat:
3D printing and “space” alloy
There Bolide F HR 3D was born from a simple but ambitious question: how to build the best performing track bike ever? The answer lies in the way it was made.
The frame is not in carbon fiber, as in traditional racing bikes, but in Scalmalloya league of aluminium, magnesium and scandium derived from the aerospace sector. This material is deposited layer by layer with a 3D printer industrial, creating shapes that would be impossible to obtain with classic molds. Each part of the frame – top tube, rear stay, fork – is molded separately and then joined together aerospace epoxy resins. It’s like building a three-dimensional puzzle of ultra-light metal, where each joint is calibrated to the tenth of a millimeter. This allows you to shape the frame around the cyclist’s body: Ganna and the bike become one, as if the bike were a natural extension of his legs and shoulders.
Nature as inspiration: the tubercles of the humpback whale
The shape of the frame is not only the result of computer calculations, but also of observation of nature. Pinarello took inspiration from one of the most elegant and efficient animals in moving in fluids: the humpback whale. On its fins there are small bumps called tubercleswhich help create orderly microflows capable of keeping the water “glued” to the surface, reducing friction and improving the fluidity of movement.
The same principle has been applied to the seat tube of the Bolide F HR 3D with the AirStream Technology: small ridges on the surface that “tame” the airflow. When Ganna’s legs move, the air tends to separate from the frame and create turbulence. These micro-structures, instead, guide the flow and keep it adherent, reducing the overall resistance. These solutions were possible only thanks to 3D printingan “enabling” technology that allows you to create shapes and details that are impossible to obtain with traditional methods.
Extreme geometry and rewritten UCI rules
The Bolide F HR 3D is also the result of a change in the rules. Until a few years ago, theUCI imposed the 3:1 ratio: each frame tube could not be longer than three times its width. This greatly limited the aerodynamic shapes. When the rule was abolished, the designers Pinarello they were able to go further: much more tapered sections, narrower bottom bracket (from 70 mm to 54 mm), and front hubs reduced up to 69 mm. All this to reduce the front surfacethat is, the part that “cuts” the air. Every millimeter saved in width is a small speed gain, and at these levels every single Watt counts.
But aerodynamics alone are not enough: if the frame flexes, even just a little, part of the cyclist’s power is lost. This is why the Bolide F HR 3D was designed with a very high torsional rigiditywhich allows the force to be transmitted almost entirely to the pedals.
Finally, among numbers, materials and extreme choices, there are some curiosities that deserve to be told:
- Ganna used a ratio 64/14for one metric development of approximately 10 m each pedal stroke. In practice, each complete revolution of the crank pushed him forward by more than ten metres.
- All components have been tested ISO 4210the same ones used to verify the safety of standard frames. It is the first 3D printed bike in the world to have passed these tests and to be approved byUCI.
- It weighs 9.3kgmore than a traditional road bike. But in the Hour record you pedal at constant speedso the weight is not very relevant: the only real opponent is the air.
- The handlebar is accomplished 3D printed titaniumcompletely customized to Ganna’s arms and posture.
- The cost? He wanders around 75,000 euros. A figure that reflects the research and very high customization necessary for a world record.
