If you watched Filippo Ganna decimate the Hour record back in October 2022 and wished you could be that fast… well, join the queue. You can, however, get just a little bit closer now that Pinarello has earmarked what is essentially the same frame for its Olympic campaign and put it on sale for a cool €28,750.
The 3D printed scalmalloy Bolide F HR 3D has been developed since Ganna set his 56.792km on the Grenchen velodrome in Switzerland, but the frame the Italian team will use at this year's Paris Olympic Games retains the same key features and the same geometry, says Pinarello. Standout points include a humpback whale-inspired (yes, you read that right) Aeronode pattern on the seat tube and seatpost, plus slimline bottom bracket and hubs.
Crucially, it is also 3D printed, which accounts for much of the extravagant price.
The Italian marque has also developed a women's version of the frame – the Bolide HR C – which features a standard carbon-fibre construction. Next to the 3D printed men's version, the €12,000 that Pinarello is asking for it begins to look like pretty good value.
Launched in a black and blue colourway with an Italian tricolore decorating the forks, the frameset certainly looks the part, and if there was a gold medal in the offing for best dressed team bike the Bolide would certainly be in the running.
The bikes have already been used at the 2023 Track World Championships and continued to be tested after that.
Fausto Pinarello, the chairman of the company, said: “As an iconic Italian brand, we could not be prouder to work with the Italian track team, who like us, are continuing to push the boundaries of athletic performance.
“We have invested a lot to produce six 3D-printed scalmalloy bikes for the male riders and six carbon-fibre versions for the women.
"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.”
They're not the only bikes to be 'commercially available', given that all Olympic machines have to be, in theory, available to buy. Australia's Factor Hanzo for example can be had for $97,979 AUD – that's $64,041 US or £50,705 – for the full bike.
GB's own 3D printed track bike takes things up another level, 'retailing' at £55,000 frame-only – that's $106,288 AUD or $69,467 US.
