Revel Bikes (United States) - Press Release: 3D Printed Thermoplastic  Downhill Concept Bike Has Arrived.

Revel Bikes brings you the world's first 3D printed composite CBF downhill bike. Before you dive too far into digesting that, let's make it clear that the Rodeo is just a concept bike and not for sale, for now. Although still deep in the design process, we felt we couldn't keep our secret any longer and had to share what we've been working on for years now. Read more below and see what some folks from the media think of our latest venture!

The Rodeo demonstrates the shows what could be possible in the future of bike manufacturing. The technology isn’t ready yet to make this a financially feasible product, but with continuing research and development, this is a real possibility for mass production. The possibilities of making thermoplastic carbon bikes that don’t require molds could allow for crazy amounts of rider customization. These 3D printers can be anywhere, allowing for improved timelines for product development, significantly less cost and reduced environmental impact from shipping distances. Thermoplastic material is shelf-stable and creates a much stronger, tougher bike. Each fiber is placed robotically, which allows for huge improvements in manufacturing precision. It’s made of a material that could be easily recycled in the future- much like how we already recycle our FusionFiber Wheels and manufacturing scrap.

For now, this technology is too new to bring this bike to the masses. The entire process is incredibly time and energy-consuming, not to mention prohibitively expensive, and it is not realistic to bring the Rodeo to production at this time. But as innovations in additive manufacturing and thermoplastic technology continue, the possibilities of mountain bikes like this coming to market become very real.