A dream for bike lovers: a completely customised bike, perfectly tailored to personal needs. Additive manufacturing opens up unimagined possibilities. Read now, how Tim Ahnsorge created his own customized bike.
The bike project of Tim Ahnsorge, founder of the bike label 44elf velos.art shows what is possible with additive manufacturing. Tim and frame builder Ralf Holleis of Huhn Cycles have undertaken a unique project with the aim of harnessing the possibilities of today's 3D printing technology. Since Tim's big hobby is biking, he works professionally in additive manufacturing, and he's also 2.06 m tall, it was clear to him that he wanted to go completely custom for his latest bike.
He reports, "It was a crazy project. At the beginning of this year I would never have thought that Ralf and I would be presenting a bike at the world's largest handmade bike show Bespoked.cc in London this year. I am very happy and also proud of the result. We have learned a lot during this short but intense journey and we are excited to see what other bikers think of this bike. If we get positive reactions, we can well imagine building a similar bike in small series next year - but not with 36'' wheels."
Several parts were additively manufactured during the development and production of the bike. Sleeves were 3D printed to connect the steel tubes for the frame of the bike. This made it possible to realize an individual design with full geometry individualization. Until now, the sleeves have only been available for certain pipe diameters and at certain angles. With 3D printing, there are no longer any limits. Another advantage of 3D printing is the integration of functions in parts. For example, the cable routing was printed into the components or the rear light was hidden in the dropout. In this way, a multi-part component that was costly to manufacture could be turned into a single component that only needs to be integrated into the complete frame. Without 3D printing, multiple components would have had to be fabricated, fitted, welded and joined, which is very costly.
Image: the stainless steel sleeve from FDM 3D printing
The material used is Ultrafuse 17-4PH filament from BASF Forward AM, processed with an Ultimaker Desktop Printer. The Ultrafuse 17-4PH material used for the sleeves is a 3D printed stainless steel that is printed using the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) process. Since the same alloy is used for bicycle frame construction, this was the perfect fit for such a frame. During production using the FDM process, the so-called green parts are created first. These green parts are then freed from the binder and sintered. The parts shrink in size, and gain extremely resilient properties. More information about Ultrafuse 17-4PH.
The material is available at Jellyipe both in the calculator with instant price calculation and via individual inquiry). After the sintering process, the stainless steel parts can be post-treated using conventional methods and joined to the other components.
Picture: Bike frame with the 3d printed sleeves.
The grips from Personomic, the rear derailleur from Ingrid Components and the saddle from Posedla also came from a 3D printer and were personalized for Tim's bike. So the grips could be made to the shape of Tim's hand and the saddle to fit the distance of the sit bones. Tim was also able to install 3D printed brake levers from Intend, which are not yet available for sale.
The new 36 inch bike can be seen and is optimally adapted to the "big" needs of Tim. He will use it primarily for fast and long cross-country tours, which is why he has also installed aero handlebars, fast tires and frame bags. Tim reports, "I'm convinced that 3D printing enables more riding fun, because optimally fitted frames and contact points to the body are absolutely essential for that."
In the summer of 2023, he plans to compete in the "Race Across Germany" with a riding distance of 1,100 km and 7,500 meters of altitude gain in three days.
| Frame | Chicken Cycles / 44elf |
| Painting | Selfmade |
| Fork | Intend BC |
| Stem | Farr |
| Handlebar | Farr MTB Aero with arm rests |
| Grips | Personomic, custom 3D printed |
| Rear derailleur | Ingrid |
| Cassette | Ingrid |
| Crank | Ingrid |
| Chainring | Ingrid |
| Pedals | Carder Tech |
| Seatpost | Vecnum Nivo 212 mm |
| Saddle | Posedla, custom 3D printed. Handmade carbon saddle shell and seat stays. |
| Rim | Alchemist |
| Hubs | Front: Shutter Precision hubs Dynamo / Rear: Damil Components |
| Tires | Veetire T-Monster 36'' x 2.25'' |
| Brakes | Intend BC brake lever, Magura MT7 brake caliper |
| Brake discs | Intend BC |
| Frame bags | Witslingers, individual colors to match the frame |
| Light | Supernova, M99 front, integrated rear light |
| Weight | 17.9 kg as shown (including frame bags and pedals) |
Thank you very much, Tim, for allowing us to report on this wonderful project. We wish you good luck for the Race Across Germany and are looking forward to your next projects.
Greetings from the Jellypipe Team
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