Last year at the Eurobike Bike Show in Germany, Cannondale introduced this Stealth concept bicycle. As the name suggests, the bicycle was designed with inspiration coming from stealth fighter jets and the Lamborghini Reventon (a car also designed with stealth fighter jets in mind).
The bike was designed and built with some pretty innovative new technoliges, as stated by Cannondale:
In addition to a new form language dominated by hard edges and twisting surfaces, the bike features a single-sided fork, integrated disc brakes, integrated stem/handlebars, internal cable routing and integrated seat collar, many of which are unique features in this segment. This carries on Cannondale’s strong heritage of System Integration and long tradition of not allowing existing standards to constrain the development process and prevent innovation.
The bike was designed by Cannondale’s in-house design team, and prototyped from Carbon fiber and aluminum at Cannondale’s own factory in Bedford, PA. The frame was designed and manufactured as a monocoque carbon part making the front triangle including the chainstays in the mold, a first for Cannondale. The frame mold was machined from two 350lb blocks of aluminum and used seven bladders during the molding process. Using a similar molding process, the Stealth concept also showcases the first full carbon fiber rigid Lefty fork for a road bike including disc brakes. The dropouts, seatpost clamp, headset cups, Lefty road spindle, and fork mold were all machined from aluminum in our Bethel office in CT by our Engineers. The final bonding of the carbon and aluminum structure was completed in the Bedford facility as was final finishing, paint and assembly. The prototype is rideable and weighs in at 8,8kg.
Although this bike is not made for production, portions of it will likely be adapted onto future Cannondale bike models. Nice. I wonder what they do with concept bikes like this. Do they just store them away or do one of the designers get to take it home?
Click the images below to see larger photos of this gorgeous bike.
