The Baldiso One tears-up the script on traditional frame design, tossing out the rear triangle in favor of an arching top tube that morphs into the seat stays, relegating the bike to UCI jail.
“Our mission was to rethink the conventional UCI-restricted frame shape and present a completely different design; a road bike that not only stands out from the crowd but is completely unique,” says Sebastian Baldauf, founder and owner of Baldiso. “It should be visible from 500 meters away and attract attention.”
For those unfamiliar with the UCI, the Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for cycling, which sets the regulations for bike design in competition.
“Fiber composite materials offer enormous possibilities in component design, but when the material was discovered in racing cycling, design freedom was nipped in the bud by regulations, and racing was hardly allowed to differ from the tried and tested classic geometry of steel diamond frames,” he adds.
Designed in partnership with CarbonWorks, the Baldiso One currently exists as a 3D-printed prototype. But, according to the German brand, the final product will include all of the latest developments such as full-integration courtesy of Baldiso’s own one-piece handlebar and stem, along with the ability to accommodate both 1x and 2x electronic drivetrains, while customers can chose from an array of groupsets and wheels from ENNOBLE, Lightweight and Bike Ahead.
All in, Baldiso says the final production frame will tip the scales somewhere around a 1000 grams, a metric that won’t win any plaudits from the weight weenies faction, but low-weight alone was never the goal with the Baldiso One.
“We can use the material we save from the seat tube to strengthen the other tubes, but weight may be slightly higher for this frame,” says Simon. “We calculate it’ll weigh between 920g and 1,070g. The first test rides should be possible around March or April of next year.”
BALDISO will soon be launching a Kickstarter campaign. But for now, customers can preorder a frame or a complete bike directly through BALDISO’s website. Once 50 bikes have been preordered, production will begin, capping-out at 1,500 units world wide.
Prices run from 5,540 Euros for a frameset only, while complete bikes will range from 9,770 Euros to over 18,500 Euros for the top-tier model.
Baldiso
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