This episode of Homemade Bikes crosses the Channel and features French engineers Cyrille, Bruno and their newly found company Home Bicycles.
The Revolver
The Revolver is a 160mm enduro bike made by French lads Cyrille and Bruno.
The essence of this series was to showcase riders who just fancied the challenge of making their own frame in a shed at the bottom of the garden purely for the fun of it.
Cyrille and Bruno’s approach is a bit more professional than we’ve featured before…they’ve started a company…bought big machines and they’ve even got a video…but it’s still a good story…so here it is.
Home Bicycles, the story…
It all started in June 2009 when the company in which Cyrille and Bruno worked ( a manufacturer of web offset presses) was bought by a large Chinese group, who decided to relocate all production to Shanghai.
The job of project manager in engineering and design remained in France, but because of the relocation of production the company lost its traditional clients and hence the engineering department was at a standstill. Cyrille and Bruno are not the type of blokes to sit around doing nothing so they decided to create their own company…Home Bicycles.
Their many years of riding mountain bikes together with their great experience in the industry allowed them to develop a 160mm enduro/all mountain frame in less than 6 months.
Cyrille and Bruno decided to invest in CNC machines and make the frame themselves instead of subcontracting the work out.
Looks like a meteorological map to me.
The prototype frame.
Laying out the tubes.
The constituent parts.
The two lads decided to produce everything themselves including the frame tubes. The tubes start out from a sheet of laser cut aluminum in 6061, which is then formed on a hydraulic press and later welded.
Similarly, the straightening and heat treatment are also done in-house.
The bike has undergone a lot of testing in the Alps and Brittany which allowed Cyrille and Bruno to tweak the design, geometry and strength of the frame.
They say “…it’s a kind of revenge on the financially preferred relocation out of greed at the expense of local people who always have fabulous skills, the industry, outside Asia, is not dead!”
The Revolver:
The Revolver offers 160mm of travel at the rear wheel.
Several customization options are available:
Length of chainstay: 425, 431 or 437mm.
3-compression ratio, soft, medium and hard.
Type of paint, epoxy or polyurethane (color choice)
Colour stickers black, white, or red.
Color anodizing choice black, red or colourless.
Rear mounting of the wheel in 9×135, 12×135 or 12×142.
The frame is guaranteed for two years and the bearings for five years.
Additional three year warranties are available.
Any special custom requests will be considered.
Cost 2250€ with epoxy paint and RP23 shock.
For more info check out www.homebicycles.fr or contact Cyrille and Bruno at [email protected]
Have you made your own bicycle frame? I’m interested in all stories big and small. Get in touch with Billy
