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Prototype No22 Reactor Aero Road Bike 3D-prints Aero Gains – Updated

Written by Tyler Benedict
no22 reactor prototype 3d-printed titanium aero road bike
20 Comments
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Debuting this week at the MADE Show, No. 22 Bicycles’ prototype Reactor Aero road bike takes full advantage of 3D printing.

Scheduled for a 2025 launch, this prototype is a bit different than what will make it into production, but we’ll get to that. First, let’s look at the details that are likely to carry over…

Update: Scroll down for pre-order, pricing & availability updates

closeup details of no22 reactor prototype 3d-printed titanium aero road bike headtube.
Cockpit is slammed with their 3D-printed ti stem and an ENVE bar.

The No.22 Reactor has been their race bike, and this next Reactor Aero version is testing with 30-40% less drag than their current semi-integrated Aurora model. And that’s only with CFD design so far, but they’ll be taking it to the wind tunnel along with 3rd party aerodynamicists they’re working with for final optimizations.

closeup details of no22 reactor prototype 3d-printed titanium aero road bike drivetrain
It’s built with a CeramicSpeed-ified SRAM RED, 5Dev ti cranks, and Berk saddle.

It’s not just about aero. The drivetrain area is stiffer for better power transfer, and the rest of the bike is tuned for better ride quality to accentuate titanium’s naturally good feeling.

closeup details of no22 reactor prototype 3d-printed titanium aero road bike seat tube and post.

Except for the seat tube, this prototype’s Reactor Aero frame is 3D printed from Grade 5 titanium powder as a single piece. The seat tube is carbon fiber, similar to their prior Reactor model, but this one upgrades to an aerodynamic profile. It’s made for them by Ride July.

closeup details of no22 reactor prototype 3d-printed titanium aero road bike chainstays.
It’s shaped to follow the tire’s contour but will still fit 34mm wide tires.

For production bikes, they’ll use a blend of 3D-printed sections with more traditionally bent and shaped titanium tubes, welding everything together and smoothing where necessary. They say that will give them better control of the final product’s tolerances and allow them to do the incredible anodized finishes they’re known for.

If you’re headed to the MADE Show in Portland, OR, August 23-25th, check it out in person. If not, stay tuned for closeup pics and video here on Bikerumor.

UPDATE Sep 2024: No. 22 has opened up for pre-sales for this 3D-printed aerodynamic prototype now. If you need a custom ti aero road bike, it sells for $10,000-15,000 just for the frameset. Plus, you’ll need to put down a $1000 deposit now, with delivery not slated until late next year. Or you could just spend that thousand bucks on a set of ti fenders today, and already have a dry rear end this winter!

22bicycles.com
Tyler Benedict
11,296 articles

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com, where he’s been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for almost two decades. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel and ride in new places.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler also loves the Vanlife & family adventure travel and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part and off-grid adventure.

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Tom
Tom
8 months ago

if you have to ask…

5
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Oliver
Oliver
8 months ago

and this next version is testing with 30-40% less drag than their current semi-integrated Aurora model. And that’s only with CFD design so far ….. LOL’d hard at this.

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Bumscag
Bumscag
8 months ago

The sculpted head tube is kind of cleve, but the rest of it is just not good. They have essentially unlimited design freedom with a full 3D printed frame (even if it will end up partially welded/tubular) and it’s mostly filleted primitives and extrudes, lol.

The only tube that looks round-ish is the downtube, so I’m wondering which tubes are going to be, well, tubes once it hits production? If it ends up with a round downtube, those nonsense CFD claims will be especially laughable.

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Nate
Nate
8 months ago

Honestly it looks like an industrial design masterpiece. Sure, I’ll never be able to afford one, but that doesn’t mean I don’t find it beautiful. A coworker of mine had one back when I worked at a bike shop in college and said the ride was sublime. I wonder if this one still maintains that ride quality with all those angles and 3D printed parts.

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Jason DW
Jason DW
7 months ago
Reply to  Nate

It looks awesome for sure!

1
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Marcel
Marcel
7 months ago

I have a few titanium bikes, because I like their classic lines with round tubes and their ride quality.
This one hasn’t got anything of that. Who’s gonna buy this instead of a carbon one, which is much lighter and better looking?

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nooner
nooner
7 months ago
Reply to  Marcel

For the ride quality Bro,

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Bumscag
Bumscag
7 months ago
Reply to  nooner

Assuming that it’ll ride just like their tubular Ti frames is silly. Printed Ti has quite different mechanical properties from CWSR tubing. Knowing more than a little about No22, they don’t actually have the in-house knowledge or experience (almost none of the boutique Ti builders actually do) to make an Apples to Apples example and those claims are just a lot of marketing gibberish.

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ti bike
ti bike
7 months ago
Reply to  Bumscag

I don’t know where you got the notion that ‘almost none of the boutique Ti builders actually do’ have knowledge or experience with titanium. And, in particular, the smaller boutique builders. I mean, it’s what they do!

There are only so many titanium tube manufacturers (and only so many Ti alloys that are bicycle specific: 6.4, 3/2.5, CP, etc., only so many ways to order the titanium, and so many ways to make the tubing (rolled, drawn, butted, etc.). Any American titanium will come with certification data that very specifically states the make-up on the product. Now, I don’t pretend to know printed ti well, but I would guess that a titanium frame builder will certainly dig into the facts and the who, what, where, and why of what he is purchasing before he brings a product to market (show pieces notwithstanding). I would then think this frame manufacturer would build a few models for testing and real world ‘feel’ before the frame/bike goes to market.

Now if No.22 is going about this frame/bike with little to no knowledge or experience, they are setting themselves up for a failure.

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Bumscag
Bumscag
7 months ago
Reply to  ti bike

Reading comprehension isn’t your strong suit, is it? Yeah, tubular CWSR titanium is a well known quantity. That’s why most frames have similar tubing diameters and bends. What I said (and Robin didn’t have any difficulty understanding) is that most titanium framebuilders are fabricators, not engineers, and being able to translate ride quality from tubing to printed parts is not a linear process, even with a pretty good grasp of mechanical engineering and FEA. News flash: They don’t. There’s a lot of super talented frame designers and welders. But actual engineers? Not so much. Reach out to a few of them and ask them about their engineering process and testing procedures (and if they do instrumented testing or just build bikes and ride them) and get back to me.

1
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ti bike
ti bike
7 months ago
Reply to  Bumscag

You know, you’re right. The folks at No. 22 should immediately remove the new and prototype bike from the show floor at MADE (and cancel any & all future thoughts about it). Actually, ANY boutique frame fabricator that has any such 3D printed part, tube, dropout, bars, etc., should cease production(s) of the future of frames/bikes. Good lord, what are fabricators thinking??

0
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Bumscag
Bumscag
7 months ago
Reply to  ti bike

Wow. Way to (again) completely misrepresent what I said and overreact like an absolute drama queen. What’s your investment in this that some reasonable criticism sends you into epic spasms of histrionics?

I love titanium and what’s being done with it in the 3D printing realm. My original point was simply that No22 doesn’t have the in-house expertise to do the engineering to create a fully printed frame that rides like a tubular frame. That doesn’t mean their bikes aren’t nicely built.

Calm down. Get back on your meds. It’ll be ok.

0
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ti bike
ti bike
7 months ago
Reply to  Bumscag

That bike is a prototype – you gotta start somewhere, am I right? It is your caviler and off-putting wording that is rather irksome. And with that, I refuse to exchange any further. I’m quite sure No22 doesn’t need either you or myself bantering to move forward on this project. And nope, don’t do meds….now a cold beer or two may be the ticket on this fine day.

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Bumscag
Bumscag
7 months ago
Reply to  ti bike

Cavalier and off-putting? Hahaha. Ok. I’m fairly progressive, and yet I feel very confident saying you need to go find a safe space so you don’t have to read fancy words that don’t align with your under-informed opinions.

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hoodriver
hoodriver
7 months ago
Reply to  Bumscag

I was at the show. The Reactor was extremely impressive – lots of bikes there were. I don’t care how they do it and I was listening to the spiel to boot. It was too crowded and I moved on. And News Flash: come off your high horse Bumscag, you come off like a tool. A fairly progressive one. I too, very much, would like to see a 2X version.

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Bumscag
Bumscag
7 months ago
Reply to  hoodriver

I’m SO GLAD the tone police are in full force in the comments not to debate the actual merits of what I said but how I said it. You guys might want to consider picking on children as a hobby. They’re probably easier to silence

Last edited 7 months ago by Bumscag
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Robin
Robin
7 months ago
Reply to  nooner

Frame material is only a minor factor in ride quality, and a frame’s impact on ride quality is dominated by tube shape, tube thickness, and frame geometry, not frame material.

0
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nooner
nooner
7 months ago

This is perhaps one of the most sleek, elegant, absolutely amazing bike frame i have ever seen. Just needs a front mech, or classified hub for those of us who are more vertically challenged than our flatlanded brothers and sisters. Outrageous! 11/10 would bang. Well done No 22..

9
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Larry Falk
Larry Falk
7 months ago

Will someone turn the lights on…I can barely see anything.

9
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Tom
Tom
7 months ago

Looks cool as hell with the facets, selectively machined surfaces and HUUUGE drop to the bar. Also suspect strongly this thing will not test well in weight, stiffness or aero.

2
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