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An Architect Designs a Light, Stiff, Fast Folding Bicycle

The Mikalon is more performance-oriented than the Brompton

By Rain Noe - January 30

in Bikes

Brompton is probably the market leader for folding bikes. However, their single-hinge folding design, while fast and convenient, sacrifices ride quality. Architect Il Hoon Roh thus set out to design a bicycle that would maintain the stiffness of a traditional diamond frame, yet still be able to break down. The result, which took nearly a decade of development work, is his Mikalon bike:

The breakdown/assembly process is not for the faint of heart:

That's because ease-of-transformation was not the priority. Instead Roh sought to design a light, stiff and fast bicycle that you'd actually want to ride.

The Mikalon is produced-to-order, and each design is customized to the rider's dimensions:

"Frame sizing is determined primarily by rider height; however, as with high-end road bicycles, crank arm length, stem length, and handlebar width must be finalised at the time of order. Once confirmed—or once component installation has begun—size changes cannot be accommodated. We strongly recommend a professional bike fitting in advance. For clients who already know their measurements, this data can be integrated directly into the MIKALON technical drawings to ensure an exact fit."

You can choose between one of two chain ring sizes:

60-tooth: (Speed) if you want to ride fast and keep up with road bikes.

54-tooth: (Compact) for relaxed riding, city use, and commuting—it's more than enough.

Furthermore, two different groupsets (the bike's off-the-shelf hardware, made by SRAM) are offered. The price for the bike is about $8,000 to $10,000 depending on how you configure it, and the lead time is three months.

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Toby B

2 months ago

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Looks great, but owes more than a little to the Moulton Space Frame...

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- Einar Blixhavn
  
  Toby B
  
  2 months ago
  
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  I was thinking the same, it looks like a Moulton, has the same price as a Moulton but lacks the prestige of the Moulton. But maybe it folds up smaller. Which could be argued, is the most important criterion.
  
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Alan Nomoto

2 months ago

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I've travelled overseas with bikes for decades. Unless I missed it, there's one number missing: weight (for airline surcharges). Another aspect that I think is a bit more marketing than functionality are the drop bars. The first thing I swap out are drop bars for straight bars (with cushy Oury grips). Easier on the back, lighter & compact. Another detail are the pedals like the MKS Ezy removable pedals. Clever design making pedals simple to remove & store in the bike bag or case.

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