Advances in 3D metal printing technology have opened a world of new design opportunities for frame builders. Among those venturing into this new space is Stein&Fenton, a luxury bike builder based in Pawnee, a village in central Illinois.
Stein&Fenton launched their new Prestige line of bikes at the Philly Bike Expo, and our eyes immediately went to their printed titanium lugs. More on those later.
The Prestige is designed for both sealed surfaces and light gravel, taking up to a 32mm tire. All bikes are delivered to customers as complete bikes, “ready to ride,” which means complete with saddle bag, bottle cages, pedals and a computer mount. Stein&Fenton don’t offer a frame-only option.
Base-level builds include SRAM Red AXS, or Shimano Dura Ace 9200 level groups, ENVE SES wheels with Chris King hubs, Darimo seat post, bar/stem combo, among others. Upgrades for nearly every component are available a la carte as well as lug and tube finishing options.
As for those eye-catching titanium lugs, those take almost 16 hours to print, then eight hours of cure time. They have more than 99.5% of the density of billet 6AL-4V Titanium. A further 10 hours of post-CNC machining/finish time renders them ready for building into a frame. Stein&Fenton then bonds hand-laid carbon fiber tubes to prepped surfaces that they say can withstand over 4,000 psi shear strength.
Those looking to order one of these bespoke beauties will be able to do so as of early 2023 at SteinFenton.com. Delivery dates will depend on the availability of supplier parts.