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Curve Engineering Releases New Softtail Titanium MKII Frame with up to 70mm Rear Travel

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Curve MKII softtail titanium mtb, angle

France’s Curve Engineering came into the cycling world from its outer fringes, debuting their design and manufacturing expertise with the innovative and award winning X-F1 recumbent trike in 2005. Curve also assists other bicycle manufacturers with their technical know-how, and as of 2013 began producing their own range of non-recumbent bikes. They now offer a lineup of various models ranging from cyclocross to XC to fat bikes and city bikes, all constructed from lustrous titanium.

The latest is the MKII softtail cross country 29er, designed to provide a more comfortable option versus their 294 Evo XC hardtail. The MKII comes as a frame only or in a complete build, and is made to order with custom geometry and sizing. Keep reading for more photos and details…

Curve MKII softtail titanium mtb, frame

The MKII’s frame is constructed from 3AL/2.5V titanium, and carries a 90kg (200lb) rider weight maximum. The bike is designed specifically for 29” wheels, but if desired smaller frame sizes can be adapted to run 27.5” hoops instead. The standard frame build uses a 142x12mm rear axle and features a tapered head tube, 73mm BB shell, and internal cable routing.

The MKII’s rear shock was tuned specifically for the bike by SR Suntour France, and provides up to 70mm of travel (which can be brought down to 55mm with an integrated 15mm limit switch). The shock works together with a flexible titanium chainstay yoke engineered to optimize the ti tubing’s strong but forgiving ride properties.

 Curve MKII softtail titanium mtb, rocker

The frame features a unique rear triangle reinforcement under the rear shock, where the seat stays split into two, and the lower extensions reach beyond the seat mast and join up in front. The shock connects to a beefy rocker link sporting a raw, machined look.

The company offers a few options for the frame’s construction and aesthetic finishing details. While the bike is only pictured with a two-by drivetrain, the website states further customization is also available by request at no extra charge. With somewhat limited info online and a French/English language barrier in place it’s hard to say exactly how far that offer extends, but if you’d rather have a 1x specific frame, Gates belt drive system, or a different BB shell, axle or dropouts, just tell them what you have in mind.

Curve MKII softtail titanium mtb, premium complete

The MKII is also available with a fork included (contact Curve for price and details) or as a Softtail Premium complete bike that comes with a high-end build spec including a Suntour Werx carbon suspension fork, Asterion tubeless ready 29” wheels, Rotor cranks, Shimano XTR rear derailleur, XT shifters, front derailleur and brakes, Ritchey WCS components and Michelin WildRacer tires.

The frame sells for $3,068 USD, and the complete Softtail Premium model costs $5,707. Buyers should expect a production time frame of 11 weeks for the frame or complete bike. Full ordering info on their website.

curve-bike-engineering.com

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tosis
tosis
9 years ago

A bike with a link and a full size shock is hardly a “softail”… It’s a short travel pivotless dually. Most of the weight, but without the travel or sophistication.

craigsj
craigsj
9 years ago

“…but without the travel or sophistication”

and with all the pedal bob of the worst possible pivot location.

Why on earth would a bike with only 70mm of travel need a limit switch to reduce it to 55mm?

If there is any justice, they will sell zero of these.

Dustin
Dustin
9 years ago

An idea whose time has gone.

Ripnshread
Ripnshread
9 years ago

Uh single pivot BS…

Eric.nm
Eric.nm
9 years ago

Gorgeous execution, truly…but I have to agree with @tosis and @Dustin…why??!?

James S
James S
9 years ago

The obvious application would be as a single speed. Slap some Paragon sliders on the back and then you’ve got something I would be interested in. Except I can’t afford it, so never mind.

Greg
Greg
9 years ago

@ James S
For sure

gatouille
gatouille
9 years ago

I’m French. Happy to see craft bike engineering in France. There is margin to improve, good thing.
70mm travel… I’m agree, not really a softail.
No word about manufacturing country….. French design and made in China ?

Sean
Sean
9 years ago

Won’t work as a single speed as the bending doesn’t concentrate around the BB. It will keep shortening every time it flexes and slacken the chain momentarily.

opl-oi
opl-oi
9 years ago

Single speed full suspension is cognitive dissonance at its finest. The inane argument for single speed is simplicity and purity, so where does that go once you introduce all the monkey motion?

SS just wants zero chain growth and you can do that without the horrible BB pivot. There are good examples of FS with IGH and zero chain growth, this wouldn’t be one.

DiagonalBike
DiagonalBike
9 years ago

This was truly killer in 2003.

Danzig
Danzig
9 years ago

(deleted)

hellsheadbanger
hellsheadbanger
9 years ago

This is lighter and more durable than a standard full suspension design. Considering it only has 70 mm of travel which can be reduced to 55 mm plus a custom tuned shock, how bad could the pedal bob really be. Even if one was bobbing through fifty percent of the travel that’s only 27.5 mm of movement in short travel mode which would barely be noticeable. On the upside the single pivot design would perform well going downhill, especially over small bumps.

Tom
Tom
9 years ago

Is this just a French version of a Funk La Ruta, with a bit less travel, and not as good looking?

jeff
jeff
9 years ago

Might as well just get a CC Thudbuster.

iperov
iperov
9 years ago

can I use rigid fork with soft tail frame?

Doug B
Doug B
9 years ago

Whats with the ‘grab handle’ under the shock?

Reformed Roadie
9 years ago

Can I get it with a matching Ti flex stem?

Olivier (Curve Eng.)
9 years ago

When we started thinking about this new bike, we asked ourselves “what can we do to make our Evo 294 a little more comfortable, without losing its sportiness?”. Titanium is our identity, and as we wanted a relatively small deflection, bending plate has quickly established itself as a relevant technical choice. This way we do to design this frame is important to understand why we have designed it like this.
With a pivot point so close to the bottom bracket, of course we knew that the bike will be more sensitive when pedaling than much more sophisticated solutions.
As we wanted this bike to be the son of the 294 Evo, when want it to be ridden with a firm settinf of the shock. In addition, the guys at Suntour France did a good job about the low speed compression; on saddle, the bike is nervous and his grip is excellent. It is what we wanted !
And about the link ? it was designed to ensure the rigidity of the rear triangle and to ensure that it remains in the plane of the front triangle. Instead of bearings, which are never very suitable for oscillating movements, we installed industrial quality ball joints, which are mounted in tandem.
Our philosophy is that there is not only one truth in real cycling.
This bike is our response to what we need when we want an XC bike for long trails.

Olivier (Curve Eng.)
9 years ago

to TOM : on the contrary, Funk chose another solution that uses the shock as part of the frame’s rigidity.
here on the contrary, the shock is “stress free” (like the top tube frame if you look closely: it is precisely the aim of the link!

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