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Global engineering firm Renishaw’s metal 3D printing has helped Great Britain’s cyclist Matthew Richardson break the world record twice in the UCI Men’s Elite 200m Flying Start.
Competing at the Konya Velodrome in Turkey, Richardson stopped the clock at 8.941 seconds becoming the first rider in history to dip under nine and eclipsing the previous world record of 9.088 held by Dutch sprinter Harrie Lavreysen. Less than 24 hours later, he went faster still, lowering the mark to 8.857 seconds.
Richardson rode a bespoke Hope HB.T track bike fitted with Renishaw’s 3D printed metal sprint handlebars, track cranks, and a twin seat post. These parts were engineered for optimal stiffness, efficiency, and a rider-specific fit, allowing him to maintain peak power while holding an aerodynamic position at speeds over 50 mph (80.5 km/h).
Working with British Cycling’s engineering team, the company used metal AM to produce components tailored to Richardson’s fit and performance needs, delivering stiffness, efficiency and low weight in shapes conventional machining couldn’t achieve.
Breaking records with precision engineering
Beyond Richardson’s achievements, other riders also benefited from the engineering firm’s AM expertise. According to The Manufacturer, Will Bjergfelt drew on the same technology to set a new Men’s C5 UCI Hour Record, covering 51.471 km in 60 minutes.
Additionally, teammate Charlie Tanfield attempted the Hour Record, reaching 53.967 km short of Filippo Ganna’s 2022 benchmark of 56.791 km, but still among the strongest distances recorded.
These record-breaking performances were supported by years of engineering development, with Renishaw’s AM contributing to the creation of Olympic-ready track bikes. In 2019, Renishaw partnered with Lotus Engineering and Hope Technology to develop the Hope Lotus HB.T track bike for Team GB. Using the RenAM 500M LPBF system, engineers first produced plastic prototypes to refine fit and form, then created multiple metal iterations that were tested in wind tunnels.
Developed for use in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Renishaw also 3D printed tooling for carbon fiber components, enabling faster production, aerodynamic optimization, and lightweight performance enhancements that informed subsequent Olympic-ready bikes.
More recently, the impact of Renishaw’s work was felt widely at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Team GB won eight medals on the track. Preparing 32 bikes for competition, Renishaw produced more than 1,000 titanium parts using its RenAM 500Q four-laser 3D printer.
These included cranks, dropouts, seat stay bridges and a novel aerodynamic seat post designed with a hollow center to channel airflow. Each piece was customized to the riders, with weight shaved away while preserving the strength and stiffness needed for Olympic racing.
For British Cycling, the use of metal 3D printing was as much about timing as performance. With development schedules compressed by the COVID-delayed Tokyo Games, AM offered the speed and flexibility to deliver bespoke parts without the tooling delays of traditional methods.
That ability to adapt quickly proved decisive in Paris, where every fraction of a second mattered.
Additive manufacturing shapes elite bikes
3D printing is reshaping bicycle manufacturing by enabling faster development, flexible production, and rider-specific customization. These advantages are driving growing adoption of the technology across the industry.
AM materials developer Elementum 3D and TRUMPF teamed up with INTENSE Cycles to rethink the backbone of its M1 downhill race bike. The team adopted AM with Elementum 3D’s weldable A6061-RAM2 alloy, enabling an internal rib structure that increased strength while reducing weight.
TRUMPF’s TruTops Print software built on this by reducing downskin requirements from 45° to 25°, a change that cut material use and eased post-processing. The printed backbone slotted seamlessly into INTENSE’s aluminum frames, and the result proved itself on the track when the bike finished second at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.
Elsewhere, Bright Laser Technologies (BLT) partnered with bicycle manufacturer Titan Super Bond to produce Asia’s first fully 3D printed titanium alloy bicycle frame. Using the BLT-A320 system, Titan Super Bond also printed handlebars and head tubes, capitalizing on titanium’s strength, light weight, corrosion resistance, and durability.
The frame design improved power transfer, maneuverability, and shock absorption, while metal AM ensured 0.03 mm precision. According to the company, the process cut production cycles by 30%, lowered material costs by more than 20%, reduced labor demands, and set the stage for future automation.
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Featured image shows British cyclist Matthew Richardson and the Hope HB.T track bike with Renishaw 3D printed components. Photo via SWpix.
