It would be safe to assume that ‘aero titanium’ isn’t high on most cyclists’ list of ‘bikes I need next’. But that might change, because the Reilly Fusion is a metal bike like few others. Sculpted to slice through the air, it takes all the practical benefits of titanium and marries them with the flowing lines of a modern, wind-tunnel-optimised carbon race bike. But, as Reilly co-founder Neil FitzGerald proudly notes, you’re far less likely to see one of these propped up against the wall at your local cafe.
‘I always smile when I see it glinting in the sunshine against a sea of carbon bikes. The internal routing gives those lovely clean lines and the titanium adds to its aesthetic appeal. It rides as fast as it looks too – a demon on the flat, confidence-inspiring on the descents and comfortable enough to be out on all day. And the comments are always the same,’ he adds, ‘“It’s a stunner.”’
Reilly co-founder Neil FitzGerald had a bold ambition for the Fusion: to fuse the practical benefits of titanium with the design principles of
a carbon race bike.Alex Wright/Teneight
There’s a reasonable chance anyone who reads this magazine regularly is familiar with the work of FitzGerald and his late business partner, Mark Reilly. The pair started out in the 1990s making steel road bikes under the brand name Omega. Later they discovered the joys of titanium with Enigma Bikes before dabbling in carbon with Nerve and finally establishing Reilly with a focus on hand-crafted titanium. Somewhere in the middle of all that, they also branched out into aluminium time-trial frames using Columbus’s ground-breaking Altec 2 aero TIG-welded tubes.
Alex Wright/Teneight
‘The Fusion is a bit of a nod to those TT frames,’ says FitzGerald. ‘We wanted to make a bike that was as fast as it was beautiful, and we felt an aero bike was the perfect choice to enhance our current road range.’
Related questions you can explore with Ask Cyclist, our AI search engine.
If you would like to ask your own question you just need to , or subscribe.
Going with the flow
One of the first things to notice about the Fusion is its smooth, flowing lines – each tube melting seamlessly into the next. This is the result of a method called investment casting, used to produce the head tube, bottom bracket and seat tube cluster. It’s essentially the same process that created the lugged frames of yesteryear. A wax model of the part is coated in a ceramic shell, then melted away to create a mould for liquid metal to be poured into. This allows complex shapes to be created with relative ease.
Alex Wright/Teneight
‘We were keen to marry 3/2.5 titanium alloy tubing with 6/4 grade investment casting to produce a frame that was aero yet retained the magical ride qualities associated with titanium,’ FitzGerald says. ‘At the time, investment cast titanium was not something that was used often, so that in itself was tricky. The extreme reactivity of titanium presents a challenge, so I spent many hours working closely with our factory to ensure that we found an effective method. The frame is then fully penetration welded, then linished [sanded and polished] back to achieve the ultra-smooth finish.’
Speaking of finishes, the anodised head tube is another standout feature. The bike pictured is one of two Reilly bikes exhibited at the Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show last year, the other being the Fusion’s gravel cousin, the Reflex. The jigsaw design, FitzGerald tells Cyclist, was chosen to symbolise the synergy between them.
Alex Wright/Teneight
‘The frame is polished and anodised gold to purple on the top tube and blue on the down tube. Once the anodising is complete, the jigsaw pieces are masked off then hand-brushed back to the original titanium. The same process is used for the Reilly logo. We always encourage customers to create bespoke frames, and anodising plays a huge role in this. I have hibiscus flowers anodised on one of my bikes because I’m an old hippy at heart.’
Fit for the part
A special bike calls for special componentry. The single chainring at the front is married to a Classified Powershift wheelset at the rear, which houses a two-speed set of planetary gears in the hub. This removes the need for a front derailleur, giving the clean lines and aero efficiencies of a 1x setup but with all the available gear ratios of 2x.
Alex Wright/Teneight
‘The Classified brings the benefit of a 2x setup with the neatness of a 1x,’ says FitzGerald. ‘As a clean cockpit is a USP for the Fusion, it seemed like an excellent pairing. It also allowed us to fit a monster chainring to give a cleaner chainline and potentially better aerodynamics.’
The good news is that you can have the Fusion in this exact spec for less than the cost of some top-flight carbon race bikes. The bad news is that it’s still £11,999, but Fusion builds start from £5,999 so you can enjoy the benefits of a titanium aero bike for less… if you can live without the Powershift hub and fancy anodised finish, that is.
Reilly Fusion, £11,999, other builds available from £5,999, reillycycleworks.com
