3D printing and cycling really are going along

Posted By Arthur Cassaignau on Jul 9, 2013 | 0 comments

Maybe it’s because Le Tour de France‘s 100th edition just started last week, but since last weekend, we’ve seen to nice 3D printing project related to cycling. Since Sculpteo‘s co-founder, Clément Moreau, is coming to the office every day with his bike, Tour de France or not, we had to talk about it.

The first project comes from New Zealand. Designer Annabelle Nichols created a wooden handlebar for bikes, which integrates a pair of rear view mirrors. Annabelle decided to pick printing to produce this item, so that anyone can adapt the product to his own needs.

Also, the handlebar includes signal turns actioned by switches and signalized by LEDs.  About the project, Annebelle said:

‘A Second Look’ creates a relationship between modern life on the go and safety with attention to simplicity and style. Conceived as a high-quality urban bike accessory, influenced by a passion for cycling, the conception incorporates a rear vision mirrors integrated into a wooden bicycle bar with the intention of extending a cyclist rear vision. Seamlessly integrated into the wooden hand frame, rotation switches allow the motorist to indicate at night. In turn enhancing the visual relationship between motorists. The sleek white casing has been 3d printed allowing the focal point and angle of the mirror to be adjusted in CAD and custom made for the individual. Drawing functional elements from traditional motoring accessories, ‘A Second Look’ resolves the general miscommunication between style and safety in an elegant yet simplistic way. A metaphor of vision.”

The second project is directly coming from the open source repository Thingiverse. Since a few weeks, Rich Olson needed a new shifter for his bike to replace the one he had broken. Instead of going straight to the next bike shop, Rich decided that it would be much more fun to make it using 3D printing.

After designing the file, he posted everything on Thingiverse. Even though he choose to print it with a FDM Replicator 2 from Makerbot, it’s totally possible to order a print from an online 3D printing service.

In case, you’re using your bike in your everyday life, both projects can come in handy.

Source: 3ders.org