Verve Cycling in conjunction with Metron Additive Manufacturing has launched its latest 3D printed titanium power meter called the InfoCrank 3D Ti, marking what the British brand claims is “the first power meter ever to combine true torque based power measurement with a cutting edge 3D printed Titanium crank arm.
Metron Additive is helmed by legendary cycling technologist Dimitris Katsanis, who’s responsible for Great Britain Cycling Team’s numerous successes over the past 20 years in the Olympic velodrome, as well as much of the cutting-edge equipment in use by Team Ineos (formerly Team Sky) over the last eight years.
“We’re very happy to be working with the team at Verve to bring the latest cutting edge technology of metal 3D printing to the power meter market. The track version of the titanium 3D printed crank is a real tour de force in terms of optimised performance for world class riders. Ti6Al4V titanium is melted by a high power electron beam under high vacuum conditions, at a facility that is aerospace qualified (AS9100 Rev D) – about as high tech as it can be in terms of manufacturing. It is then equipped with the most accurate power measuring system – creating a product that is simply unrivaled,” explains Kartsanis
The track variant of the new crank is now already in use by the Great Britain Cycling Team as their power meter of choice, with the road variant available this Spring
The road variant will have a proprietary 24mm BB axle that fits straight into the athlete’s choice of BB, along with a wide range of lengths and 4-arm and 5-arm spiders that can be adapted to any set-up.
The additive manufacturing method also allows Verve Cycling to respond to bespoke requests for anyone serious about their cycling performance. The technology is in place for track, road, mountain bike and BMX, with multiple projects already underway to serve the needs of world, Olympic and Paralympic medallists around the world.
“At Verve, we’ve always prided ourselves on delivering products that stand up to the claims we make, and the outstanding measurement capabilities of the Infocrank have long been known in the world of elite cycling. Never content to rest on the laurels of peerless data however, we have asked ourselves how we can up our game even further. Enter the 3D printed titanium cycling power meter! Working with Dimitris and his team has been incredibly exciting and we feel we have achieved something truly special together that is going to change the landscape of power measurement forever,” says Bryan Taylor, Verve Cycling CEO.
“Traditionally in manufacturing you can only design for areas that you can access – essentially the outside. However for cranks the ideal shape is a closed box with some internal structures and varying wall thickness. This is very difficult to achieve with traditional manufacturing as you generally can’t get to the inside faces. 3D printing means you can design exactly what you need,” he adds.
Unlike any other cycling power meter, the InfoCrank 3D Ti actually measures rider torque and cadence from within the crank arms to calculate cyclist power output with a degree of accuracy totally unparalleled within the industry. This differs from other power meters that measure multiple forces and use mathematical algorithms to estimate power output.
Additionally, the crank arm design and strain gauge placement fully isolate the tangential force, which is the only force propelling you forward, and so as with its predecessor the InfoCrank Road there’s no need for ongoing recalibration, zeroing, and all the other tricks designed to average out the unavoidable inaccuracy that comes from not directly measuring.
InfoCrank
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