Renishaw, a leading global engineering technologies company and official additive manufacturing partner to British Cycling, has unveiled its contributions to the newly introduced Olympic track bike for Paris 2024. Alongside Lotus Engineering and Hope Technology, Renishaw has extended its collaboration with British Cycling to develop and produce key components aimed at reducing part weight and enhancing aerodynamics.
The innovative use of additive manufacturing (AM) has allowed Renishaw and British Cycling to achieve unprecedented design flexibility, creating complex and aerodynamically optimized geometries that were previously unattainable with traditional manufacturing methods.
Among the components co-designed and manufactured by Renishaw for the track bike are the crank, seat stay bridge, dropouts, and a groundbreaking seat post crafted from aluminum. Renishaw’s expertise in AM enabled the internal lattice structure of the titanium crank, ensuring an optimal balance between strength and weight—a feat unachievable through conventional manufacturing.
Ben Collins, lead additive manufacturing application engineer at Renishaw, expressed enthusiasm for the ongoing partnership, especially following Team GB’s success in the Tokyo Olympics. Collins emphasized the role of additive manufacturing in delivering bespoke, high-performance components tailored to athletes’ specific measurements, a process inherently challenging and costly with traditional methods.
The ambition for the Paris 2024 Olympic bike, as articulated by Collins, is to push the boundaries of AM technology further while meeting stringent Olympic requirements for strength and weight, ultimately enhancing cyclists’ performance on the world stage.
Oliver Caddy, lead project engineer at British Cycling, acknowledged Renishaw’s pivotal role in developing and producing essential bike elements using AM. Caddy highlighted Renishaw’s reliability and commitment to excellence throughout the project’s development, underscoring the company’s significant contribution to British Cycling’s pursuit of Olympic success.
The culmination of this collaboration will be showcased during the track cycling events at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where Great Britain’s cyclists will demonstrate the performance and innovation embedded in the Renishaw-enhanced track bike. The Olympic cycling events are scheduled to take place from August 5th to 11th at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games National Velodrome, marking a pivotal moment for British Cycling and Renishaw’s additive manufacturing advancements.