In 2022, Filippo Ganna wrote a new page of the “Hour record” in Grenchen, Switzerland, pedaling 56,792 kilometers in exactly sixty minutes. 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 3D, and is the first 3D printed metal alloy (Scalmalloy) bike to have passed the UCI (International Cycling Union) tests and achieved a world record. It features extreme aerodynamic geometries, inspired by the fins of humpback whales, which have 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 Merckx, Miguel Indurain and Bradley Wiggins have attempted it. But every time the bike changes, the way of tackling the challenge also changes. Because here the physics of the air is as important as the strength of the legs. 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 covered in exactly sixty minutes. Here is the video of the still undefeated feat:
3D printing and “space” alloy
The Bolide F HR 3D was born from a simple but ambitious question: how do you build the best performing track bike ever? The answer lies in the way it was made.
The frame is not made of carbon fiber, as in traditional racing bikes, but of Scalmalloy, an alloy of aluminium, magnesium and scandium derived from the aerospace sector. This material is deposited layer after layer with an industrial 3D printer, 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 with 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 the frame to be shaped 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 protuberances called tubercles, which 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 AirStream Technology: small ridges on the surface that “tame” the air flow. 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 only possible thanks to 3D printing, an “enabling” technology that allows the creation of 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 surface, i.e. 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 very high torsional rigidity, which 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 64/14 ratio, for a 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 undergone ISO 4210 tests, the 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 by theUCI.
- It weighs 9.3kg, more than a traditional road bike. But in the Hour Record you pedal at a constant speed, so the weight is of little importance: the only real opponent is the air.
- The handlebar is made of 3D printed titanium, completely customized to Ganna’s arms and posture.
- The cost? It is around 75,000 euros. A figure that reflects the research and very high customization necessary for a world record.
