Pinarello has released two commercially available versions of its Bolide track bike in the run-up to the Paris Olympic Games later this year in order to comply with regulations.
The Italian National Track Squad races on Pinarello machines. The first of the two bikes developed for them is the Bolide F HR 3D which is a 3D-printed Scalmalloy version and will be raced by the men’s endurance squad who are the reigning Olympic Team pursuit champions. It is in effect the same bike that Filippo Ganna used for his successful Hour Record in 2022. Female athletes will race on the Bolide HR C which is constructed from carbon fibre, though shares the same design.
Pinarello says Scalmalloy was chosen because it can deal well with the increased forces and speed the male athletes produce. The lighter Bolide F HR C carbon fibre bike the female athletes will use will allow them to get up to speed as fast as possible according to the brand’s press release.
‘Commercially available’ is an often used phrase, but in the world of Olympic tech this tends to mean that the brand will sell you one, but it’ll cost so much that nobody will actually buy one. In this case, the price for the 3D printed bike is €28,750, while the carbon fibre model is actually a far more reasonable €12,500.
The Bolide is a recognisable bike already, having been developed and used for Filippo Ganna’s successful Hour Record attempt in 2022. The Italian, who rides for Team Ineos on the road also set a new 4km pursuit world record at sea level aboard the bike that same year. There don’t appear to be huge changes as part of this news, save for a few refinements and new paint schemes in the run-up to the Olympic games.
Pinarello claims the bike was the first high-performance bike ever produced and it seems these models have received further refinement in several areas as well as to take further advantage of revised UCI rules around frame design.
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The 3D printed frames used by the male athletes are printed in three sections and then joined together. (Image credit: Pinarello)
New features and refinements
The latest Bolide models retain the eye-catching AirStream technology that was supposedly inspired by the tubercules found on Humpback whale flippers. These are the Aeronodes or ridges that can be seen on the seat tube and seatpost in order to improve airflow.
Previously the Bolide F HR 3d Replica which was and is listed on the Pinarello website was a replica model of the bike Fillipo Ganna had used for his hour record. The updated Bolide F HR 3D has some differences. It now features a standard chainline, and 70mm bottom bracket, not the super narrow 54mm the previous bike used. And 65/100mm width disc wheels, not the 69/89 which the replica bike featured.
The handlebars are now ‘carbon fibre handlebar with carbon extensions’, not the custom MOST 3d printed handlebar and extensions that were featured previously. In essence, the bike spec seems to have been standardised and tweaked now that it is officially commercially available. It technically must have been in existence from January 1st in an Olympic year as per the UCI equipment regulations.
AirFoil sections that feature on the bottom bracket and wheel hubs are now longer and slimmer to reduce front area according to the brand. This decision also takes advantage of the UCI’s decision to remove the 3:1 ruling.
Handlebar geometry has also been optimised with multiple rounds of CFD testing. Pinarello says they collaborated with NablaFlow – experts in wind simulations to conduct simulations using AeroCloud software. Pinarello says the new handlebars and extensions allow for precise positioning as well as optimal aero advantages.
On the Olympic Bolide Bikes, Fausto Pinarello said:
“We have invested a lot to produce six 3D-printed scalmalloy bikes for the male riders and six carbon fibre versions for the women (including three separate sized moulds). Our hope is that the men will defend their Olympic title on the track this summer and our super-strong women’s team also succeed in their quest for gold. We’ve done everything we can to give them the best-possible chance.”
