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3D-Printed Bike Porn: Ralf Holleis's Carbon Fiber VRZ 2 Track with Titanium Lugs and Dropouts

By Ray Hu - May 23, 2013

in Digital Fabrication

Photos by Simon Markhof

With the help aerospace engineers at EADS, Somerset, UK-based Charge Bikes have refined and expanded their 3D-printed dropout production since we first came across them last August, as evidenced by a new vid from last week. However, German IDer Ralf Holleis does them one better with the VRZ 2 Track bicycle, developed under the VORWaeRTZ moniker. (Further details on Holleis's practice are scant; from what I can determine, he's connected to the equally mysterious designlab coburg.)

The making-of video is actually for the VRZ 1, which dates back to January of 2012; no word on any new developments beyond the prototype of the VRZ 2 with a belt drive. In other words, I can't imagine this is going into production, however limited, any time soon.

The lugs, fresh off the build platform

Unlike the Charge dropouts, the lugs of the VRZ 2 Track are produced with a proprietary process called LaserCUSING. I'm not going to attempt to explain the purported advantages of 'cusing' over sintering (even my survey of other methods for 3D printing metals was a stretch), but interested parties can peruse a technical overview of the technology here (PDF).

Each one is like a little sculpture...

The jig is up

The brake bridge might be my favorite...

The truss-like stem

Also digging the seatpost

After Todd McLellan?

Bonus video: Holleis has also applied his additive manufacturing expertise to the holiday spirit as well, as his latest project is a series of 3D-printed Christmas cookies:

Hat-tip to Tangram Design

o

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Tom

10 years ago

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The product shots are stunning. The intricate detail is beautiful but would be a bitch to clean.
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Designcampus

10 years ago

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You can see it live, it`s currently on display @ Designcampusopen.
http://www.designcampus-open.de/designcampus-open/Programm.html
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Red44

10 years ago

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Could we stop with the porn reference already. While were at "Really" is over done too.
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Toby

10 years ago

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I would worry about the fork crown, too. They are nice to look at, though. Brazing Ti is tricky, I think, unfortunately.
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db

10 years ago

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And I just noticed, the seat should be level, not pointing down.

Cool technology though. Opens the world to custom tubing profiles and the re-emergence of Hetchins-esque fancy lugs. I wonder if this could be brazed to the new generation of stainless tubing.
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db

10 years ago

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While the internal lugs seem to have enough structural strength, assuming the glue doesn't fail, the stem scares the crap out of me. I'd twist it off in the first sprint.
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