Team GB’s Hope-Lotus track bike unveiled for Paris Olympics

The Olympics always brings millions of eyes to the world of sport and a good number will see the latest collaboration of Hope Technology, Lotus and Renishaw put through its paces by Great Britain’s track cyclists at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer.

Also developed by the Great Britain Cycling Team’s in-house experts, the track bike will play a key role in helping the team maintain its proud record of success at the Olympic Games. Cycling has proved a popular sport for spectators at recent Olympics and arguably can provide an uplift in numbers of riders on the road in Blighty, especially with Team GB successes (we hope) just over the Channel in Paris.

Building on the success of the Tokyo track bike, this evolved model has a number of new tweaks and developments, including its 3D-printed optimised Renishaw titanium crank, unique Lotus trailing-edged fork and handlebars that support increased aerodynamic positioning, and the Hope HBT Paris frame with refined Renishaw split seat post and headstays.

The PR statement said that BC’s partners “pulled together at every stage of development, testing and manufacture to condense the project into a three-year Olympic cycle”. Cash from UK Sport and National Lottery funding supported the development, as did the support of the UK Sports Institute, which works with the Great Britain Cycling Team to research and refine bike design. This research and development work covers all aspects of bike design from aerodynamics to ergonomics.

Ian Weatherill, Director of Hope Technology said: “With our manufacturing and production based in Lancashire, being so close to the British Cycling base in Manchester, has allowed a close working relationship with the GBCT team throughout the new bike development process.

“Once again, our staff are proud to be working on this prestigious project and are looking forward to seeing positive results in Paris this summer.

“Alongside this project, we continue to support all levels of cycling in cyclocross, XC, enduro, downhill and children through our popular Academy.”

Stephen Park CBE, Performance Director of the Great Britain Cycling Team, said: “British Cycling has a long and renowned history of being a world-leader in bike technology, and we are continuing to break new ground when it comes to the speed, efficiency and innovation of track bikes.

“For the Paris track bike, the team have continued to look to new and innovative solutions to deliver this impressive machine, which we believe will give our riders the best possible platform to succeed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

Mark Stringer, Commercial Director at Lotus Engineering said: “Lotus’ longstanding collaboration with British Cycling has been pivotal in advancing the frontiers of sporting performance and engineering with the 2024 Hope-Lotus Olympic track bike. This ongoing partnership has enriched our depth of knowledge, further enhancing and embracing the innovation that proved successful in Tokyo. We’ve been able to continue pushing engineering boundaries in the pursuit of performance to deliver efficiencies and to give British track riders the best possible opportunity for success.

“The Hope-Lotus bike is the perfect demonstration of our ability to transfer the skills and knowledge we’ve gained through over 75 years of automotive development to bring a new perspective to other industries. We wish British Cycling the best of luck in the upcoming Olympics”.

Ben Collins, Lead Additive Manufacturing Application Engineer at Renishaw said: “We have been able to refine the design even further and showcase how additive manufacturing can deliver strong, yet lightweight parts for cycling, while demonstrating these benefits to other industries. Our aim for this Olympic bike is to push the boundaries with AM technology further, whilst still achieving high-performance components that are tailored to the riders and meet Olympic requirements for strength and weight.”

“We were delighted to be asked to continue our partnership with the British Cycling team and develop components for the Paris 2024 bike, and we can’t wait to see how the bike performs.”