Good old case of eyeball FEA verified with some Abaqus and fusion simulations. Wouldn’t trust those that much as load cases are almost impossible to be determined without data acquisition. Haven’t gone with the most lightest structure as I’m happy to ride a bit heavier frame to be on the safe side.
4 Likes
Excellent results! You better get full marks from your university 
Looks snowy where you are. When’s the first ride?
1 Like
Thesis got graded 5/5 and graduated with scholarship so I got those sorted out. Located in Finland so first proper test ride without snow will be in 4 months 
8 Likes
Got it built with some spare parts I could source. The bike feels absolutely amazing and the assembly process was so smooth! Still can’t believe that we didn’t have to file or use any force to get it together
I wish I had the skills to take better photos as it looks so much better live!
23 Likes
Looks fantastic! Have you weighed it yet?
Frame without a shock is a bit over 4kg and this build is 17kg without a rear brake lever and dropper lever. Also pictured with full 29 wheel set with inserts but will be mainly used as a mullet.
Now it’s time to order some parts to make it a proper dream build!
5 Likes
Haven’t updated in a while. Here’s some photos of what we’ve been doing lately. I will be posting some stories of the manufacturing process on Instagram. Give us a follow at www.instagram.com/kovabikes
Will also update the progress here whenever I find time for it. Enjoy these photos!
9 Likes
First “proper” test ride done. The bike feels absolutely amazing. The feeling of riding something you have made yourself is truly something special.
Just finished a batch of chainstays and seatstays
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Quick update.
Parts for 4 frames are finally machined and have just been sent to anodizing. Did a bond prep for the tubes and hopefully get to bond the frames next week.
Finally had some time to ride it
We will be showcasing the bike at a local bike expo in May. Should have a proper dream build ready by then.
Jere
13 Likes
Will take an XL
3 Likes
What a rad project.
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Finally 5 frames bonded and my dream build is ready too. I wouldn’t say its the end of the project but marks a certain milestone. My only plan for this summer is to ride bikes, that’s something I haven’t done in a while.
Hard to put all the feelings of this project into words. The amount of stress this project has brought and the amount of time I have spent on this project rather than riding and doing “normal” stuff is insane. During the project I have had times when I thought is it really worth it?
But looking at the upsides, I have met a lot of amazing people, learned a lot about engineering and manufacturing, and I have pretty insane bike to ride this summer! Seeing the reaction of people at the local bike expo made me realize that we may have created something truly interesting. Hopefully this project could be beneficial in finding a job that I can enjoy!
Here’s some dream build photos!
16 Likes
I can really relate to the comment about the amount of added stress and time this project has taken. You accomplished something incredible here, these bikes look absolutely amazing. Hope you enjoy the time back on the trails and the satisfaction of shredding on your own creations.
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Little update after 1000km of riding. Most of the riding has been lift assisted on bike parks and spent two weeks in Sweden for summer holiday getting almost 25 000m of vertical in that time.
Haven’t had any problems with the bike so far. No creaks, no wear on the pivot hardware and everything is running more than perfect. Also seems to run fine without the chain guide on the upper pulley. I did play with the spacers on the idler to try different chainlines compared to chainring and seems that 1,5mm offset inwards is the most quiet setup.
Things that I would like to improve IF next version were to happen
-Combining the brake mount to the dropout
-machined lower shock mount to reduce the lenght of the bolt and hardware
-Moving the horst link pivot points a bit more inward. I have some heel rub with the back leg when riding downhill. Though that might be a personal problem since I have had that on previous bikes and no one else mentions that when riding this bike
-Testing longer chainstay dropouts is on my todo list.
In overall my slightly biased opinion is that this is easily the best bike I have ridden 
Some photos from this summer
From my local bikepark Tahko. Propably the hardest and steepest enduro tracks in Finland.
Beautiful bike and scenery in Åre Sweden
Järvsö Sweden
And finally managed to find time to get between the tape in local casual race at Sappee Bikefest.
Photo credit @mikkolki @mtbrally
What next? Maybe lug and tube gravel bike, who knows…
15 Likes
Super cool build. Thanks for sharing the process. Really impressive.
May I ask how you solved the seatpost fit considering carbontubes.eu only offer their tubes in ID steps of 1mm?
We used oversized seat tube and made these adapter sleeves to be able to use different size seatposts. This is the only pic I found.
3 Likes
That’s what I suspected. Cheers!
First time having two of them at the same bike park
I’m also building a bike for my dad from the spare part frame so it doesn’t just sit at the garage waiting for action. The frame has some visual defects and a little loose bearing fit on the rocker but otherwise it’s perfect for riding.
Had a decent aurora borealis couple days ago
Winter is coming fast and feels a bit sad to end the bike park season soon. Maybe it’s time for another project then.
Bonus pic because it’s just beautiful 
12 Likes