A 3D Printed Bike That Takes a Cyclist’s Body Into Account Could Be at the 2024 Olympic Games

3D-printed bicycles are becoming increasingly common, including those competing in the 2024 Olympic Games. And now we have yet another exciting example. The X23 Swanigami is a track bike developed by T°Red Bikes, Toot Racing, Bianca Advanced Innovations, Compmech and the 3DProtoLab laboratories at the University of Pavia in Italy. It has been optimized for going fast, thanks in particular to the front triangle, designed to have an aerodynamic effect known as “washout”, a process used in aircraft wing design to increase stability. Moreover, additive manufacturing has been used to help create a more ergonomic and aerodynamic vehicle, with the cyclist’s body and the bike itself made into “digital twins” to get the best fit.

Indeed, the most surprising part of the X23 Swanigami is centered on the design. Thanks to 3D scans, it is possible to take into account the cyclist’s body, assigning it the role of a “wing” to propel the vehicle forward and reduce atmospheric pressure. In this way, each X23 Swanigami is printed specifically for the rider, with the aim of achieving the best possible performance. A scan of the athlete’s body is used to create a bike shape that balances the weight of the three factors that impact performance: the athlete’s strength, the air penetration coefficient and the rider’s comfort. “We didn’t design a new bike, we designed the cyclist,” asserted Romolo Stanco, co-founder of T°Red Bikes and director of Bianca Advanced Innovations, who also points out that cyclists are technically part of the bike.

The bike has already made appearances at trade shows

The X23 Swanigami will be made from 3D-printed Scalmalloy. According to Toot Racing, this aluminum alloy has a good power-to-weight ratio. As for the vehicle’s handlebars, they will be 3D-printed from titanium or steel. Toot Racing chose additive manufacturing because it allows “precise control over the final geometry and material properties of the bike.” In addition, 3D printing enables the manufacturer to deliver prototypes quickly. Toot Racing reported that, using HP’s Multi Jet Fusion solution, it was able to supply a full-scale prototype of the X23 Swanigami in less than 24 hours.