Rim brakes and 3D-printed titanium frames grab our attention at Eurobike 2023

Last week, we uncovered a fleet of lightweight bikes that were making waves in Germany and as the world’s biggest bike show continued over the weekend, we sent Ollie to report on more of the coolest bits of tech that he could find at Eurobike 2023.

Rim brakes are back! Sort of…

The first thing that caught our eye in our latest look at Eurobike was the Cipollini Dolomia Velum, which fits right alongside the classic Cipollini lineup with its cosmetic carbon weave providing the signature touch on its frameset. But this particular Cipollini is special because it features a dual-pivot rim brake setup, which will be music to the ears of the rim brake aficionados amongst our readership.

GCN

Ollie also checked out a special edition of DMT's KRSL shoes that have been designed for Tadej Pogačar, with a white carbon sole and clocking in at just 208g for a size 42.

With Meilenstein Obermayer wheels and a tubular set-up that left Ollie less than impressed, the Dolomia Velum prioritises weight saving above all else. The THM Clavicular crankset appears to be the crankset of choice for all the lightweight builds at this year’s event and Cipollini have not strayed from the trend, though their bike features a THM Clavicular SE that is adorned in a clear-coat lacquer to match the frame’s cosmetic weave.

It would be remiss of us not to mention that a disc brake version is available and clocks in at an impressive 6.4kg…

New accessories and components look towards the future

Topeak were able to capture Ollie’s attention once more, with their new Taillux Light that fits to the underside of a rider’s saddle via a magnetic bracket, whilst the latest Carbon-Ti Chainrings reflected the trend towards bigger gears in recent years. Their 62-tooth single carbon chainring was used by UAE Team Emirates at the Giro d’Italia and their new double carbon chainrings are available in a 58-46 or 56-44 tooth offering.

Although carbon fibre makes for a light and stiff chainring, it does have a significant environmental impact that the cycling industry must address - with FusionFiber getting ahead of the curve with their new tyre levers. The $50 levers are at the high end of the price range but are made from recycled carbon fibre that has been melted with nylon as an example of what the industry may be able to achieve going forward.

Are 3D-printed bikes the future?

Pilot Cycles

The frame was printed in three parts as Pilot Cycles do not yet have a 3D printer large enough for a single mould.

With the environmental impact of carbon fibre in mind, Ollie made sure to check out the new Pilot Seiren bike, which is a titanium bike like no other - it is 3D-printed! The frame takes just 8 hours to print, which is phenomenal considering that carbon fibre frames take hundreds of hours to complete and come with a large labour cost. Titanium, of course, can be melted down and recycled unlike carbon fibre, offering a glimpse of what could be the answer to some of cycling’s carbon footprint.

In its infancy as a pilot test, the Seiren costs €17,000, but the plan is for scalability of the build and this has already been put to the test with the second iteration of the frame said to be reducing in weight from 1.1kg to 1kg. Do you think 3D-printed bikes, with their speed and customisability, are the future for bike manufacturing? It was an idea put to the test in our GCN+ film presented by Simon Richardson.