WORKSHOP · PROJECT P·02 · SPORT SOURCE × CUBE BIKES STATUS · SPECIAL EDITION
FILE · CUB-02 BIKE · ELITE TRIATHLON
YEAR · 2023 [TBD]
Industrial design · Triathlon

CUBE
In-Frame Hydration.

An in-frame special edition hydration bladder for CUBE's elite triathlon bicycle. Refuel without breaking the aero silhouette.

Client
CUBE × SOURCE
Year
[TBD]
Discipline
System integration · CMF
Type
Special edition
Status
Production

Hydration that disappears inside the bike.

CUBE's elite triathlon bicycle is a study in aerodynamic discipline — every surface, cable, and bottle a potential drag penalty. For a special-edition collaboration with SOURCE, the brief was hydration that the bike could keep wearing.

The bladder was developed to fit inside the frame: fill from outside, drink through a hose, and serve a rider holding aero position. The collaboration sat at the intersection of two specialised manufacturing supply chains — flexible bladder fabrication on SOURCE's side, carbon framework on CUBE's — and the geometry was tuned to honour both.

[TBD — Amit's note on the specific frame model, year, fit decisions, and any awards / recognition associated with this project. The phrase "special edition" matches the existing studio site copy; expand to your preference.]

№ 02 · process

Twelve weeks. One sample.

Five stages · 01→05
01 · BRIEF

Discover

Aero constraints. Down-tube volume. Triathlon refuelling rituals. The 60-second drink window.

02 · DEVELOP

Sketch & CAD

Bladder volume optimisation around the carbon layup. Access port, fill cap, hose run.

03 · ENGINEER

DFM & CMF

Materials compatible with frame; tooling that wouldn't compromise mass production.

04 · MANUFACTURE

Pilot run

First sample frames with the integrated bladder. Field test in race conditions.

05 · DELIVER

Recognition

iF and Red Dot in the same year. The bike line shipped.

№ 03 · gallery

Selected plates.

Plates 01—04
Plate 01 · Frame CUBE Aerium frame with hydration system
Plate 02 · Hotspot In-frame hydration hotspot detail
Plate 03 · Closure CUBE C:68X with hydration closure
Plate 04 · Hero shot CUBE Aerium with the bladder access panel open
№ 04 · on the process

Twelve weeks is not a lot.

From brief to sampled frame, the project ran twelve weeks. That meant frame engineers, mould engineers, and the studio in the same conversation from week one. Every CAD revision had to clear three reviews before it touched a layup plan.

The constraint was discipline. With aero, with mass, with the carbon layup already drawn, there is no room for elegance that does not also fit. The fit, when found, was the elegance.

[TBD: a specific moment from the project — the geometry insight, the engineer's pushback, the call that made the schedule.]

№ 05 · next project CAPRA / Via Ferrata→
All work →