There is one thing I can't stop thinking about every time I look at Superstrata: how quickly it would be stolen. It's not a blow to the bike itself - in fact, it's probably a plus point. If anything, it's probably just another one on a long list of signs that I've lived in New York City for too long.
Superstrata Ion is a $ 4,000 bike. But it's not just a $ 4,000 bike (I probably wouldn't write about it if it were). In addition to looking fairly smooth, the unibody bike is 3D printing from a single piece of carbon fiber material. The approach allows the company to essentially provide a custom bike to the cyclist's body. And despite its seemingly high price, the Ion is still cheaper than most traditionally built carbon fiber bikes, which can cost as much as $ 12,000.
There are two models offered under the Superstrata brand. There's the aforementioned Electric Ion and Terra, a $ 2,800 standard bike. Nor are they still a reality. Both are offered as pre-orders on Indiegogo (the campaign has already funded its initial $ 100,000 goal 5 times) through Alabaster / Misfit founder Sonny Vu - a name familiar to anyone who has followed the consumer electronics space in the last years.
The advantages of a 3D printed bike should be quite clear. As the company observes, it is able to build the system to adapt to people from 4'7 to 7'4 (it is assumed that it is not an exact window and more a little fun symmetry, a little you understand the point ). In all, bike manufacturers take 18 different sizes to create the unibody frame. This design gives an additional level of resistance to the bike frame, inspiring the fact that it weighs just under three pounds (for the non-electric model). Superstrata told ProWellTech that this translates to over 250,000 unique combinations. Once the bike is printed, a human being delivers the finishing touches.
Superstrata is not just a new bike startup. It is a new brand below Arevo, the Launch of additive production based on the Bay Area. Superstrata intends to demonstrate Arevo's thrust in the production as a service and production of composite additives, Vu told ProWellTech.
To achieve this expanded goal, Arevo is building a printing farm with a lot of its systems in Vietnam, Vu said.
"The idea is not just to print something and say" look what we can do, "Vu said in a recent interview." We build the whole product from the name, the colors, the brand, the font, the design industrial, from user experience - the whole thing, from B to C (business to consumer). "
Vu is betting that prospective customers will be caught once they understand and can see for themselves how fast Superstrata was created. The whole process from the drawing board to a production-ready prototype took about two months, Vu said. Much of the time was spent on designing the printing processes that will allow such great customization between each bike.
Vu also aims at Superstrata to be a high quality product capable of resisting on its own, and the company has relied heavily on experts and bike designers to create both products. One of the most interesting - and perhaps even controversial - design decisions is the lack of a seat tube.
"Yes, there is a bit of showboating about that design that I have to admit," said Vu. "Again, it's to showcase our strength because, of course, we could put a seat tube. The point is that we can do anything that's carbon fiber and support huge amounts of weight."
An important note is that it has been customized as these two bikes could be, this is not a closed system that will require the owner to stick with the handlebars and wheels. Bikes can use other wheels and components. Superstrata has made this flexible because the company has speculated that most experienced cyclists will still undress it on the body or fork.
There is another temporary upside. The price of both bikes has been reduced for the first users through the crowdfunding campaign. The shipment of the product is scheduled for December.
