Bespoked was as soon as once more in Bitter’s hometown of Dresden, Germany, a number of weeks again. And though Bitter’s principally metal bikes are already made by hand domestically, they determined to essentially pull out the stops for the world’s largest handmade bike present. Just a few distinctive builds and retro MTB inspiration led to some cool {custom} bikes. Nevertheless it was actually this mix of carbon and metal highway bike that stole the Bitter present.
Bitter Carbon Crush prototype metal & carbon highway bike
Off-road bikes are absolutely Bitter’s coronary heart, however with the success of their latest House Cake highway bike, they determined to place some extra R&D onto the highway. The ensuing challenge is that this Carbon Crush, a prototype metal and thermoplastic carbon highway bike.
The spark of an thought was to create a extra sustainable efficiency highway bike. The metal used to construct trendy efficiency bikes already has excessive recycled materials content material. However not a lot for many carbon in bikes. So, as a substitute of bonding in standard thermoset resin-bound carbon tubes, Bitter labored with an area Dresden firm manufacturing carbon-reinforced composite tubing with excessive recycled carbon fiber content material, sure collectively in a thermoplastic matrix.
The ensuing tubes could also be incrementally heavier and never fairly as stiff because the highest-mod thermoset epoxy resin carbon tubes. However they’re totally recyclable, already embody recycled content material, and are each extra impact-resistant and more durable than standard carbon.
Prototype sustainable carbon + metal building
The Carbon Crush began with the identical butted 4130 building of their House Cake. It then had its seat tube actually reduce out, and the massive headtube window manually machined out of the already-welded body.
The thermoplastic carbon tubes had been made simply across the nook from Bitter’s workshop, the place every thing was bonded collectively in-house. Bitter is proud to say that each little bit of the method was engineered and manufactured in Dresden, giving a fast shoutout to ActoFive (additionally simply up the road in the identical industrial neighborhood) for his or her experience and recommendation on bonding collectively bike frames.
Bitter made the prototype Carbon Crush simply in time for the present – saying the paint and adhesives won’t have been totally dry once they rolled it out to indicate off. However whereas it began as a proof of idea, and continues to be very a lot ‘in improvement’, Bitter says it’s a “severe step towards smarter, cleaner” bike constructing that they may proceed to refine for manufacturing.
Bitter Social gathering Dome metal hardtail impressed by ‘96 Kona Lava Dome
Now for some eye sweet. This particular Bitter Social gathering Dome metal present bike takes its apparent inspiration from the old-fashioned cool Kona Lava Dome. The Social gathering Dome is actually simply Bitter’s commonplace Pasta Social gathering do-it-all bikepacking-ready metal mountain bike hardtail with a contemporary retro makeover.
The Lava Dome itself may nonetheless be a recent bike from Kona, however like Bitter proprietor Christoph Süße, after I hear that identify, I’m transported again to a Nineties period mountain bike.
Bitter gave their Social gathering Dome a fairly candy construct to match its killer seems. The restricted version silver SRAM 1987 Eagle Transmission looks like an ideal match. Then, add in some shiny silver Hope brakes & headset, and a custom-painted Manitou fork for fashion, plus the unusual silver dropper put up from PNW to prime all of it off.
However the actual spotlight of this construct is Bitter’s over-the-top one-off metal Foolseye crankset. Created as a ‘tribute’ to the wild experimental early days of 90s mountain bikes, Bitter needed to create a contemporary model of the basic Bullseye cranks.
So, Bitter bent up a bunch of metal plate, machined-in their new identify, welded all of it collectively, and did a bunch of grinding to clean all of it out. Fellow Saxony Biking fabricator Cyber Cycles, who makes their very own tubular metal crankset, helped out with the CNC-machined built-in 24mm spindle & spline interface. Plus, they get a 3-bolt SRAM chainring mount.
Bitter admits that the Foolseye cranks are “a bit on the heavy aspect” at a claimed 722g earlier than you add a chainring. However they’re open to constructing extra of them, or possibly even refining them, if there may be curiosity.
Chime in on Bitter’s Instagram if you wish to encourage their silly endeavors.
Bitter Metal P.P. trendy hardtail impressed by 90s Yeti Easton A.R.C.
The Bitter P.P. is one other trendy metal hardtail impressed by 90s mountain bikes, this time in a collaboration with Hunt wheels to have fun their latest tenth anniversary.
Identical to Yeti bragged in huge letters on its downtube of the butted & tapered Easton aluminum tubes that made up its 1992 Alloy Racing Composite body – Easton Yeti A.R.C. Bitter reproduced the identical fashion for its retro-modern hardtail – possibly made funnier for all of us immature juvenile minds out right here studying the identify P.P.
So the butted 4130 chromoly Pasta Social gathering turns into Metal Bitter P.P. in the identical turquoise and grey.
It will get a brand new Shimano XTR Di2 groupset and, after all, some candy carbon Hunt Confirmed XC mountain bike wheels wrapped in Terravail tanwall tires. They even managed to construct it up with the identical purple anodized highlights for the seatpost and bar ends, and grippy rubber brake lever covers. #chefskiss
Saxony Bike: a Bitter Purple Haze with domestically made parts
To complete issues off, dubbed ‘The Saxony Bike,‘ this practice spec’d Bitter Purple Haze is a challenge of the Biking Saxony collective of motorbike trade firms primarily based within the area round the place Bespoked is held in Dresden, Germany. There’s a surprisingly massive variety of biking firms, each small & massive, within the area, many owned by younger inventive entrepreneurs
The actual spotlight of this bike for me, although, was that Timba watermelon body bag. The Dresden {custom} bikepacking bag maker’s specialty is commonly making an entire set of luggage with matching colours & stripes that line up from one bag to the subsequent. However this easy single crimson bag with seeds simply seems excellent towards the rind-green of the body.
I’d nonetheless name this dropbar journey gravel bike an virtually mountain bike, if solely on account of the large for gravel 29×2.25″ Schwalbe Rick XC MTB tires.
Along with the locally-welded and painted Bitter. There’s additionally the domestically made ActoFive crankset, and tremendous fast-engaging Qvist hubs, which Qvist laces to carbon rims simply outdoors of Dresden.
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