Electric bikes and cars are not the stuff of science fiction anymore with better models coming out every now and then. It is safe to say that within a few years, we will be seeing a lot of these zooming around our roads. European airline manufacturer Airbus has joined in the fray for a PR stunt by unveiling the new Light Rider, which is a 3D printed electric bike lighter than any other e-bike in the market.
A limited batch production by AP works which is a subsidiary of Airbus will see only fifty of these bikes manufactured. The 3D printed frame is one of the stand-out parts of the nice little bike that resembles the holes inside Swiss cheese more than anything else. It weighs a miraculous 13 pounds that is about 30 percent lighter than average e-bikes.
All of this was possible with the help of 3D printing since conventional manufacturing techniques would have been insufficient to make these intricate curves according to APWorks chief executive Joachim Zettler. The top speed of the bike is 50 mph and it will have a range of 37 miles in all. The cost of each Light Rider will be 50,000 euros ($56,095) but the small production means the company has no plans of commercializing it.