arvak is an outcome of keim’s hunt for cycling soul
all images courtesy of keim

 

 

 

 

 

named after the horse pulling the sun on its way across the sky in norse mythology, the ‘arvak’ by keim is a quest to construct a responsive cycle that echoes the themes of nature. to achieve a stiff and lightweight monocoque frame, the french company vacuum laminated up to 50 layers of white ash with a high modulus resin between each. to optimize the orientation of each layer to maximize strength, the team had to develop their own method from scratch. three coats of marine grade finish protect the wood layers from weather and dirt. 

keim-arvak-wood-bicycle-designboom-02the frame uses white ash wood

 

 

 

 

each frame is hand built to an exact customer specification and benefits from high quality components, that weighs about 7.5 kilograms. unfortunately the keim ‘arvak’ is in limited production, but go check out their website, and if you ask nicely, maybe they’ll build you one. 

keim-arvak-wood-bicycle-designboom-03saddle and wheels are made of carbon fiber

 

keim-arvak-wood-bicycle-designboom-04bike comes standard with single speed hub

 

keim-arvak-wood-bicycle-designboom-05the black crankset to match two tone colors

 

keim-arvak-wood-bicycle-designboom-06the emblem etched on the bike

 

keim-arvak-wood-bicycle-designboom-07the ‘arvak’ weighs 7.5 kilograms

 

keim-arvak-wood-bicycle-designboom-08frames hanging, ready to be varnished

 

keim-arvak-wood-bicycle-designboom-09layers of wood being sanded

 

image courtesy of keim


image courtesy of keim


image courtesy of keim


image courtesy of keim


image courtesy of keim


image courtesy of keim


image courtesy of keim


image courtesy of keim


image courtesy of keim


full article here