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Bolide HR Handlebar

Handlebar
2015
Artist/Maker
Pinarello Lab (designer)
Place of origin
Sheffield (manufactured)

Pinarello Bolide HR Handlebar, 3D-printed black titanium bicyle handle bars.

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read At the press of a button: A V&A history of 3D printing 3D printing is an additive form of manufacturing, which involves heating (otherwise known as 'extruding') plastic, such as PLA (Polylactic acid), ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) or PET (Polyethylene terephthalate), or other types of material, such as sandstone, metal or resin, to con...

Object details

Categories
Rapid Response Collecting
Sport
Product Design
Object type
handlebar
TitleBolide HR Handlebar (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Titanium
Plastic
Brief description
Pinarello Bolide HR Handlebar, manufactured by Pinarello, 2015
Physical description
Pinarello Bolide HR Handlebar, 3D-printed black titanium bicyle handle bars.
Dimensions
  • Length: 56cm
  • Width: 33cm
  • Height: 39.5cm
Gallery label
Handlebar

This is the 3D-printed titanium handlebar used by cyclist Bradley Wiggins for his Hour Record on 7 June 2015. Wiggins covered 54.526km in 60 minutes breaking the previous record by more than 1.5km.

3D printing technology made it possible for bike manufacturer Pinarello to develop a number of versions of the handlebar in preparation for the race. Each design iteration optimised Wiggins' ride position, reducing aerodynamic drag.

Wiggins' handlebar caused controversy. Within hours of his achievement, Steve Collins, coach to the previous record holder, said: "Bradley's bike wasn't in production. [...] You can't get 3D-printed handlebars moulded to your own arms to make it easier" in a BBC radio interview.

Cycling's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, stipulates that all bike parts used for the Hour Record must be available for purchase off-the-shelf. The record stood because the UCI for the first time categorised 3D printing as a means of mass manufacture.

Pinarello Bolide HR Handlebar
2015

Designed by Pinarello Lab
Manufactured in Sheffield, UK
Titanium and ABS plastic
Museum no. CD.1-2015

Credit line
Given by Cicli Pinarello, Treviso, Italy
Collection
Design, Architecture and Digital Department
Accession number
CD.1-2015

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Record createdJuly 29, 2015
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1318248/bolide-hr-handlebar-handlebar-pinarello-lab/
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