We had a chat to Isak Leivsson last week to give us details of his custom steel downhill bike that he made himself.
We met Isak back at Fort William a few years ago where he was racing a prototype Pole downhill bike with the stem on backwards. Well, this talented rider is still doing odd things with bikes, well he’s actually building them!
Here’s a quick Q&A with Isak and his radical homemade steel suspension bike.
For people who don’t know you, can you give us an intro to yourself?
Isak Leivsson. 27 years old. Raced on the WC circuit between 2010 and 2018, with some OK results, a couple of top 20’s. Started going to college, but still do some freeriding on the side. Might try to race this new bike at some races to see what it can do.
We met a few years ago and had a look at your Pole with the reverse stem. Do you often like to play around with your set up and try out new ideas?
In my mind, if something is not working optimally, there is no reason not to try to change things to achieve better function. Over the last few years of racing I was not satisfied with how the bikes were working so I made a lot of changes in an attempt to learn about the dynamics of what I wanted.
There are some pretty progressive bikes out there, so what made you decide to build your own?
That is certainly true, but most are progressive in ways that in my opinion don’t make for a good handling bike. Beyond that, being able to fully test your own theories on a bike you made yourself seemed pretty damn cool.
Is this the first frame that you’ve welded? How have you tested the strength?
Yes, the first bike I’ve made. In the very first iteration, I bent a linkage tube almost immediately, so I cut that piece out and replaced it with thicker tubing and a gusset (the pivot the link rotates on in the front triangle). So really, it’s a v1.2. This version is very budget oriented, with the total material price being around $150. The jump off the roof seemed like the safest place to test it on due to the low speed if it were to fail.
Can you give us a few details about the bike? Geo, features, linkage special details.
Geo numbers below. Some kinematics details:
Leverage ratio: 3.6-2.0
Chain growth: 2cm total, with theoretical 1 to -3 degrees of chain kickback.
Anti-rise: 120-80%
Has the bike turned out as you had hoped or are you planning any updates? Perhaps a V2?
For sure making a more refined version. Geo-numbers will stay the same, though I might make a couple of longer rear ends.
| Travel | 200 |
| Reach | 470 |
| Chainstay length | 490 |
| Head Angle | 63 |
| BB Height | 350 |
| Wheelbase | 1319 |
| Head tube length | 120 |
| Stack | 612 |
| Seat tube length | 475 |
| Weight | 17.5kg/38.6lbs |
| Stem length | 10 |
| Bar width | 750 |
Do you think bike building is going to become a business for you or will it remain a hobby?
No business plans, research and curiosity for now.
Any shout outs?
Thanks to Kona for being cool about me sharing my own bike whilst being a Kona ambassador.
