Click through: The Pinarello Bolide F HR 3D by Filippo Ganna
Special alloy for the Pinarello Bolide F HR 3D
Frame, handlebars and seatpost of the Pinarello Bolide F HR 3D, with which Filippo Ganna broke the world hour recordconsist of an aluminium alloy containing magnesium and scandium, which is available in its original form as a fine powder. A laser heats a wafer-thin layer of the powder to an accuracy of a hundredth of a millimetre and bakes the grains together. Layer by layer, a component is created whose strength now approaches that of conventionally processed metal structures.
This production method has invaluable advantages for designers. The design no longer has to take baking moulds or weld seams into account, almost any shape can be realised, and stiffening structures are even possible in the cavities. Each component is unique and, above all, the production time is only hours instead of weeks.
The start of something big?
With the Pinarello Bolide F HR 3D, Ganna was able to enjoy a customised frame whose armrests are imprints of his own body. In terms of aerodynamics and stiffness, the bike is said to eclipse everything that has gone before; Pinarello even speaks of the beginning of a new era in manufacturing technology. The Italians see the Pinarello Bolide F HR 3D as just a forerunner of much greater ambitions: The technology should also be available to a wider audience in the future, and the focus of research is now on ways to make the process more favourable.
The manufacturing process of the Pinarello Bolide F HR 3D
For the purpose of the F HR 3D, the focus was decidedly on aerodynamics. In elaborate simulations and wind tunnel tests, Pinarello identified the seat tube as the main source of aerodynamic drag under the frame tubes. Almost a third is lost here. The reason for this is the rotating legs of the rider, which constantly disrupt the airflow and cause the airflow on the seat tube to break off again and again. According to Pinarello, together with the seat post, this can add up to 40 per cent in some situations, followed by the fork at 22 per cent and the chainstays at 15 per cent:
Borrowing from humpback whales
The most important parts were therefore focussed on for improvements. The seat tube and seat post were given a structure at the front that resembles the fins of humpback whales. The trick is a patent from researchers at the University of Adelaide, and the rims from aero specialists Zipp have a similar shape. The humps that gently flare out in the direction of the wind are intended to help keep the airflow at the seat tube.
Pinarello also benefited from the abolition of the UCI 3:1 rule, which prescribes the dimensions of the tube cross-sections, as well as a reduction in the overall frontal area: the hubs are 69 millimetres narrow at the front and 89 millimetres at the rear, while the bottom bracket measures just 54 millimetres.
The F HR 3D was already able to demonstrate its capabilities on 19 August this year: The performance engineer from Team Ineos Dan Bigham has already set a new world hour record with an identical bike. If Pinarello is to be believed, the technology of the F HR 3D played a not insignificant role in the new record. In any case, Ganna pulverised all the times before him with his record - with a bike that was made from powder.
Jens Klötzer
Editor
