The Pilot Cycles Seiren is a 3D-printed titanium road bike that's set to cost around €17,000 when it enters full production in October.
The titanium frame is manufactured from three 3D-printed sections, which are then bonded together.
The front third comprises half of the down tube, the head tube and half of the top tube. The lower third consists of the other half of the down tube, the rear triangle and the seat tube.
These two parts are then bonded together and attached to a cantilevered integrated seat mast.
The design of the seat mast is similar to the Trek Madone aero road bike. However, unlike the Madone, Pilot says the seat mast is not for compliance. It instead enables the three-part construction with the split on the down and top tubes.
The walls of each section are said to be only 0.6mm thick, bringing the claimed weight of a size-56cm frame down to 1,150g.
Pilot is confident it can get this weight down to 1kg for the production frameset. The pictured bike is said to weigh 7.2.kg.
Though the brand says the bonded construction requires few design compromises, as 3D printing technology progresses, the long-term intention is to produce the frame as a single piece.
Matching cockpit?
Speaking to BikeRadar during the Seiren's launch at Eurobike, Pilot’s marketing and communications manager Tim Blankers said that, although the brand could produce 3D-printed titanium finishing kit to match the bike, it felt carbon was more appropriate.
While the brand acknowledges it is a premium product, it isn’t intended to be a show-only prototype bike – when the bike enters production, “we want people to be able to look at the Seiren and compare it to something like a BMC,” said Blankers.
Pricing and availability
The pictured bike is a prototype with the first testing-ready production framesets due to be manufactured next month. The Seiren is scheduled to enter full production in October and go on sale in early 2024.
Size-54cm and 56cm frames will be available at launch. Pilot will then move into designing smaller frames, but says frames larger than 56cm present a challenge – not due to their design, but the size of the 3D-printed beds currently available to a firm of Pilot's size.
Pricing is slated to be around €17,000 for a build similar to the one pictured.
