Charge Bikes is charging ahead with a new brand dubbed Fabric. This includes a new collaboration with aerospace giant Airbus to produce bike saddles with 3D-printed titanium rails and carbon shells. The seats look to be aerodynamic, sleek and lightweight. They almost look like these could take flight right off the bike.
Charge Bikes Official Website
[Via BikeRadar: Fabric saddles – sonic bonds and hyper pins]
We’ve seen some big things with 3D printing, and surprisingly it has come not in composite materials or even plastics and resins, but in titanium. This shouldn’t be that surprising as titanium is actually refined from tiny grains rather than huge chunks.
However it works, Charge Bikes has now started testing 3D printed titanium sections of its frames. The company has reportedly collaborated with the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). Working at the Innovation Works, the corporate research center for EADS group, Charge is charging forward to produce the world’s first 3D printed titanium frame utilizing manufacturing components designed for the aerospace industry.
While the full Charge Bikes Freezer cyclocross bike wasn’t actually printed out in 3D, the bike is the first to have any part produced this way. Video after the jump