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Superstrata Terra 3D prints revolutionary custom lightweight unibody carbon road bike

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all road gravel bike, Ion e-bike, custom additive manufacturing lightweight durable impact-resistant unibody carbon composite bike frameset
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In a new approach to crafting lightweight carbon bikes, the Superstrata Terra road bike brings 3D-printing to life in a unique one-pass unibody composite frame that can be customized to each rider, and available before the end of the year. We’ve already seen the underlying Arevo 3D printed carbon tech here before, but now with as the company has optimized production and scaled up capabilities, the Superstrata bike company gets official with the Terra all-road bike and Ion e-bike that you can pre-order now.

Superstrata Terra & Ion 3D-printed carbon road bike & e-bike

Superstrata is the new bike brand of Silicon Valley-based additive manufacturing company Arevo. And with their brand launch come two all-new, unconventional 3D-printed carbon bikes – the all-road Terra road bike, and the similarly multi-purpose Ion e-bike. Both will be custom “made-to-measure” thanks to the flexibility of their manufacture, created with an “impact-resistant unibody carbon fiber frame” made from carbon reinforced composites. Superstrata promise “over 500,000 possible [geometry] combinations” to accommodate every rider. Bike buyers will simply supply their measurements, weight & riding style, and an Arevo algorithm will generate the programming for your custom bike printing.

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all road gravel bike, Ion e-bike, custom additive manufacturing lightweight durable impact-resistant unibody carbon composite bike frameset
photos c. Superstrata & Arevo

Arevo are launching Superstrata in a crowdsourcing campaign via Indiegogo now, as they scale up their existing production capabilities, promising first bike deliveries before the end of 2020.

How is the Superstrata 3D-printed bike made? Tech details

The core of new Superstrata Bikes is the continuous 3D-printed carbon fiber tech of parent company Arevo (as we’ve seen before). Carbon bike construction conventionally meant embedding carbon fiber in various orientations within a thermoset resin binder to create a frame – most often, individual carbon plies painstakingly laid up by hand over a mold and left to cure. The Superstrata Bikes however, are made of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) substituting the resin for a binder that melts at very high temperature by lasers, allowing it to be extruded continuously like a lot of other 3D printing.

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all road gravel bike, Ion e-bike, custom additive manufacturing lightweight durable impact-resistant unibody carbon composite bike frameset

But unlike the additive manufacturing (AM) process of stacking layer after layer of material, Arevo’s AM tech has a multi-axis robotic head literally laying down continuous strands of CFRTP carbon composite in “optimized continuous fiber paths” to align with the forces the frame is subject to while riding.

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all road gravel bike, Ion e-bike, custom additive manufacturing lightweight durable impact-resistant unibody carbon composite bike frameset

Much like individual plies of carbon would be hand-placed to resist forces in a conventional made carbon frame, Superstrata lets the repeatability of robots precisely lay down those fibers, taking human error or variance out of the frame production equation.

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all road gravel bike, Ion e-bike, custom additive manufacturing lightweight durable impact-resistant unibody carbon composite bike frameset

Arevo also says that their 3D printing also promises better distribution of carbon in the final composite structure vs. many conventional carbon+resin layup applications, with less than 1% void throughout.

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all road gravel bike, Ion e-bike, custom additive manufacturing lightweight durable impact-resistant unibody carbon composite bike frameset

No separately molded carbon parts bonded together with joints to create a complete frame. The Arevo/Superstrata process means each ‘unibody’ frame is created in one continuous pass of the carbon fiber thermoplastic composite.

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all-road bike details

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all road gravel bike, Ion e-bike, custom additive manufacturing lightweight durable impact-resistant unibody carbon composite bike frameset

The biggest surprise about the carbon reinforced composite Superstrata Terra is probably the claimed frame weight. While Superstrata isn’t going head-to-head with the lightest carbon frame in the world, their claim of 1300g for the all-road capable Terra.

Superstrata calls the Terra a road bike, but with flat mount disc brakes, 12mm thru-axles and clearance for 700c x 40mm tires (or 650B x 47mm), this should be a bike to take on plenty of mixed terrain. And that missing seattube… I’d have to guess that it should make for a compliant ride?

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all road gravel bike, Ion e-bike, custom additive manufacturing lightweight durable impact-resistant unibody carbon composite bike frameset

The regularly $2800 complete bike they are selling for limited pre-order pricing atrting at just $1500 complete as part of the Indiegogo campaign looks to be geared more towards of an urban commuter bike setup, although the details aren’t entirely clear. For that price you apparently get conventional alloy wheels, a straight 1.125″ steerer, mechanical disc brakes, the option for drop or flat bars, and the option for 28/35/40mm tires, and what is either a 1×8 or 1x 11-speed Shimano drivetrain. Whatever that truly means, the claimed weight of 7.5kg/16.5lb depending on size isn’t bad for an all-road or gravel bike at this price.

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all road gravel bike, Ion e-bike, custom additive manufacturing lightweight durable impact-resistant unibody carbon composite bike frameset

Let’s also not overlook the rechargeable LED front & rear lighting that are integrated into the bike frame. Both the Terra & Ion are said to include integrated data & power wiring for things like lighting, power meters, speed sensors, anti-theft features, device charging, and additional add-on electronics.

Superstrata Ion 3D-printed carbon all-road e-bike details

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all road gravel bike, Ion e-bike, custom additive manufacturing lightweight durable impact-resistant unibody carbon composite bike frameset

On the e-bike side of the equation, you’ll get the $4000 Superstrata Ion for a pre-order price starting at $2000 that will look much like the Terra, but includes an internally-mounted 252Wh battery and use a 250W rear hub motor to provide pedal-assist for up to 96km/60mi. With recharge time of 2hours and total bike weights around 11kg/24.2lb, the Ion should power you on mixed surface rides, as well.

Superstrata 3D-printed carbon bike manufacturing & availability

Superstrata Terra 3D-printed carbon all road gravel bike, Ion e-bike, custom additive manufacturing lightweight durable impact-resistant unibody carbon composite bike frameset

Both the Superstrata Terra all-road/gravel bike and the Superstrata Ion e-bike are available for pre-order starting today via Indiegogo in black or white finishes. Delivery of this first production round of bikes is expected to start in December 2020. That probably aligns with parent company Arevo’s recent announcement of a new 2nd generation of their 3D printing “composite material deposition technology” technology that is said to be 4x faster than the original process that we first saw two years ago.

Arevo 3D-printed carbon gravel road e-bike Emery Bikes
c. Emery Bikes

While crowdfunding always brings risks, this won’t be the first real 3D-printed ride you can get from Arevo. Partnered with Emery Bikes, they’ve already built a number of California-printed e-bike that you might spot out on the road or trail. Superstrata just opens up further possibilities for custom manufacturing their “lightweight, impact-resistant” carbon composite bike frames to more riders and riding styles – “racing, street, gravel, and touring”.

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Riley Smith
3 years ago

Woah, a bike with Metrea on it! What a biffed product.

Josh
Josh
3 years ago

Pie in the sky claims. Cad renderings of incomplete bikes. Indiegogo campaign. Stress analysis images. Video showing something peripherally related.
I think you just hit bike industry vaporware bingo.

Walt
3 years ago

You’d be surprised how much dirt and gravel you get in your socks and shoes when there’s no seat tube.

paulpalf
paulpalf
3 years ago

Why do all industrial designers hate seat tubes and spokes?

J.L. Galache (@JLGalache)
Reply to  paulpalf

But doesn’t everyone hate spokes?

as
as
3 years ago

Carbon bikes are as tough as we make them. You want to strip out as much material as possible to save weight because that’s what consumers demand? It’s going to sacrifice impact resistance. Carbon bikes can be insanely strong at reasonable weights if we want them to be that way.

Raul Delgato
Raul Delgato
3 years ago

I see no mention of forks construction. Do they have the fortitude to make their own forks?

dr_lha
dr_lha
3 years ago

Haha – nope! I’l let someone else put their money into an Indiegogo campaign for this one.

Czechmate
Czechmate
3 years ago

I think the valve stems are just too short on the Superstrata Terra. They should add valve stem extenders front and rear.

VazzedUp
VazzedUp
3 years ago
Reply to  Czechmate

You can’t unsee them!

Jeff
Jeff
3 years ago
Reply to  VazzedUp

they must not have watched GCN’s “How to take pics of your bike” show. Cranks are not level, valves (hideous as they are) are not lined up, and the tire logos dont line up with the valve.

POUL
POUL
3 years ago

I get a headache just by looking at it. The stress around the saddle “pin” can give any engineer sleepless nights and the removal of the saddle tube is just for show, it hasn’t got any engineering relevans.
They could probably make a lighter frame with a saddle tube, as they now have to use a lot of material to stabilise that totally silly contraption.

Shanghaijin
3 years ago

So… a few things missing:
1. Bidon cage bosses
2. Seat tube
3. Seat tube to allow an FD or chain catcher, they’re going for 1x after all
4. Cable for the Shimano R7000 RD
5. Cool Shimano 1x group set to ensure that the 1x chain stays up, the gear ratios are right (!), and the right/left shifter isn’t just defunct.
6. Seat tube for stiffness
7. Seat tube for second bidon cage
8. Separate geometry for drop bar and horizontal bar
9. Explanation of what splinters are with regard to carbon bike frames
10. System weight with fork.

I think I’ll just stop here. This thing stinks

Trick Busta
Trick Busta
3 years ago

Nice Kestrel

thesteve4761
thesteve4761
3 years ago

500k options of geometry, and thats the one the marketing dept chose?

Padrote
Padrote
3 years ago

the tech industry fully does not understand the bike industry. this is a complete misappropriation of awesome technology.

Cal C
3 years ago

Finally, a bike with the saddle height set in the factory. I for one am totally fed up with having to faff around with seat posts that can be varied in height.

briannystrom
briannystrom
3 years ago

Exactly, this is nothing new (search for Kestrel 500).

Simon Rook
Simon Rook
3 years ago

All that cutting edge technology and then a frame weight that’s uncompetitive with even the best alloy frames.
No specifications for the parts fitted, no wheel weights.
The videos all show them riding out the saddle or on the other frame design (with seat tube).
Total weight looks an ask given what else is fitted as well.

Definitely 100% silicon valley vapourware.

John Copenhaver
John Copenhaver
3 years ago

I am looking for a gravel or mountain bike that can handle my 6”5’ 320 lb frame. How much weight can this superstrata bicycle handle ?

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