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Hope HB.T x Lotus 3D printed ti & carbon track bike is British Cycling’s wild Olympic secret weapon

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike
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Hope Technology partnered with Lotus Engineering to develop a next gen track bike for the Great Britain Cycling Team to race at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games next summer, and the resulting HB.T. is a stunner. In a direct side-on profile the new UK-made carbon track bike doesn’t look too unconventional. But, get a closer look at those 3D-printed titanium elements or glimpse at it from the front, and the HB.T is literally like no other bike we’ve ever seen!

Plus, you’ll be able to buy your own very soon if you also have Olympic aspirations!

Hope HB.T wild Olympic carbon track bike developed with Lotus

Remember when we started seeing aero road bikes and a few companies started talking about making slightly wider fork legs to smooth airflow over the top of high spinning wheels? Well, the Hope HB.T takes that to extremes!

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike
c. Hope & British Cycling, on track photos by James Cheadle

The newest race bike for British Cycling will get its public debut starting today at the London Rouleur Classic expo, while the team will give it a racing debut in Minsk, Belarus this weekend, as well.

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike
photos by James Cheadle

But they’ve been testing it on the Manchester boards behind closed doors for several weeks.

HB.T development

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike

The bike itself started out as an aero concept from the English Institute of Sport, before Hope came on board and was then joined by Lotus to refine the British Olympic pursuit project. A big part of the development project was the recent opening up of the UCI regulations that allowed for up to 8cm deep seatstays & fork blades. But manufacturing capabilities & flexibility may have been the real kicker.

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike

Working with the aero specialists of British auto maker Lotus Engineering, Hope & Lotus developed the complete HB.T and tested it in the Southampton wind tunnel.

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike

In fact, while Hope is apparently responsible for the frame design, after 25 years away from cycling Lotus designed the unique new fork & integrated handlebar. The last Lotus designed track bike – the Lotus Type 108 – was ridden to British Olympic Gold by Chris Boardman in the individual pursuit in Barcelona back in 1992.

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike

Together the two created an integrated aero solution, minimizing weight while building a super stiff & precise handling track bike for some of the most powerful, explosive cyclists in the world.

HB.T tech details

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike

The HB.T is a bit of a step away from the most recent Hope Bikes carbon mountain bikes, but it still builds on the British manufacturer’s thirty years of component production and their more recent carbon specialties. Plus, a development partnership with Renishaw has meant fast 3D printed prototypes and usable additive manufactured elements.

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike

Hope hasn’t made any official weight claims for the hi-mod carbon frameset or wheels as of yet, but even with the deep tubing sections and claims of extraordinary stiffness, the bike is said to be “as light as those seen at the highest level”.

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike

Weight is still a real concern, so the HB.T doesn’t waste any grams on paint or filler. This is a bike straight out of the mold, letting you see all the different types of carbon that make up the layup, with fiber woven in the UK for this special project.

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike

But without superfluous paint, you can also see what appears to be every 3D-printed titanium element as well, from upper fork braces to handlebar bends to the seat clamp…

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike
photo by James Cheadle

Beyond the unique frame, fork & bar, Hope is said to have developed a “revolutionary manufacturing process” that allowed them to create a new disc wheel that dramatically improves the conventional stiffness:weight relationship of track wheels.

HB.T availability

Hope HB T Olympic carbon track bike, 3D printed titanium unique Lotus designed wide legged lightweight track bike
photo by James Cheadle

In the end the HB.T gets its race debut this weekend limited to just the Great Britain Cycling Team. After getting UCI approval it has to be raced in the 2019/2020 UCI Track World Cup to qualify to for use in the Tokyo Olympics. Out of roughly 100 new bikes approved by the UCI in 2019 up to this week, 10 new track bikes have been added, but we’ve yet to spot the HB.T.

But from January 1, 2020, the HB.T frame & wheelset will be available for anyone to purchase direct from Hope. Let’s not talk about how much it will cost. I’m sure your nation’s Olympic cycling team has plenty of cash left in the budget to get you to Tokyo next summer!

HopeTech.com

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BMX
BMX
5 years ago

That looks wild, best of luck

JNH
JNH
5 years ago

I want one, can’t afford one, could barely ride one, but I still want one. Interesting to see a more extreme version of the 2012 team GB bike that also had widely spaces fork blades and stays. Presumably the emphasis is on control of the wake instead of reducing front cross section.

VazzedUp
VazzedUp
5 years ago
Reply to  JNH

Hides the rear blades behind the riders legs (rather than inside as normal), the front blades are also in line, so likely it has less frontal area than a normal setup

Dave
Dave
5 years ago
Reply to  VazzedUp

I believe it is also meant to help with pressure reduction between the fork/stays and the wheels.

Ettore
Ettore
5 years ago

It’s got a UCI approved sticker on the frame.

dan
dan
5 years ago

I HOPE not to see one of these goofy bikes at my local track

edgardo reyes
edgardo reyes
5 years ago
Reply to  dan

haters gonna hate!

wheeladdict
5 years ago

Love it. Nice to see real innovation. Really surprised the UCI is permitting that fork. Hopefully they won’t change to rules to ban it next year.

Marc L
5 years ago

I, for one, would love to see a Lauf suspension version of that fork. Some sort of leaf spring aero biplane dual crown hybrid gravel thing.

Anyone else? Anyone?

Eggs Benedict
Eggs Benedict
5 years ago
Reply to  Marc L

No.

Dominic
Dominic
5 years ago
Reply to  Marc L

Hmmmmm. I could see that!
Might even say the idea has …legs.
Of course, you’d have to order the right crown-stem-bar the first time.

BMX
BMX
5 years ago
Reply to  Marc L

Marc I would love to see it, why not the world should be full of crazy stuff.

Chris Trunek
Chris Trunek
5 years ago

single crown mtbs, dual crown track bikes

intersting concept, makes sense to move the air around the rider

Kasper Christensen
Kasper Christensen
5 years ago

I like the innovation, and some aspects of the looks aswell… Great look to the future of cycling aerodynamics.
However, I am worried that the olympic track results will be greatly affected. This bike seems like a very big advantage over other nations.
This is nothing new, GB have a huge advantage due to their budget being enormous compared to everyone elses.
But with this bike, my fear is that it could become the cycling version of Kipchoge/Nike Vaporfly. And that would be a shame for the olympic results IMO.

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