Feature

3D printing helps Olympic bike design gear up for Paris 2024

Track cycling is one of the fastest Olympic sports, with fractions of a second deciding who will take home a medal. Speed, balance and aerodynamics are integral to a rider's performance. Therefore, when designing a new track bike for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the British Cycling team considered how additive manufacturing could achieve performance gains.

05/11/2024 10:50:48

Font size:

Background
As the national governing body for the sport of cycling in Britain, British Cycling provides opportunities for riders of all backgrounds and abilities to fulfil their cycling potential in disciplines that include BMX racing, BMX freestyle park, cycle speedway,
cyclo-cross, mountain bike endurance, mountain biking gravity, road, and track. Three of these are in the Olympic Games: BMX, road, and track.

British Cycling has an active research and development team that designs innovative bikes for the Olympic track cycling team. As
part of the track event, athletes race in endurance and speed tests around an Olympic velodrome, where they can reach speeds of 60 miles an hour. Aerodynamics are therefore a significant factor when engineering bikes for track cycling and any opportunities
to reduce the bike's weight, without compromising strength, can make a difference to a rider's performance on the track.

Challenge
To develop a new track bike for Tokyo 2020, British Cycling partnered with Lotus Engineering, Hope Technology, and Renishaw to develop and
manufacture the HB.T bike. This collaboration resulted in a track bike that helped Team GB reach the top of the cycling medal table with seven medals at the Tokyo Games, which took place in 2021 due to Covid-19.

Read the full article in DPA's November 2024 issue

Written By Sophia Bell

Sophia Bell is the Group Editor of DPA, Connectivity, and PBSI. She joined the team in 2020 as Assistant Editor after achieving a First-Class Honours BA in English Literature and Film Studies from the University of East Anglia. In her current role, she leads the editorial strategy, driving digital growth and ensuring each title continues to deliver trusted, relevant insight for engineering and manufacturing professionals.