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It’s a true treat to get a glimpse of the workspace and workflow of any framebuilder. It’s an even bigger treat when it’s a name like Prova Cycles, a boutique custom bike-maker out of Melbourne, Australia synonymous with advanced engineering, innovation, and meticulous fabrication.
Starting with custom steel bikes and now predominantly focussed on one-off titanium creations, Prova Cycles is still a relatively new name in the cycling world. Despite its short history, Prova was quick to have an impact by being one of the first builders to merge 3D-printed elements with welded tubes, achieve wide-tyre clearance in gravel with a dropped chainstay yoke, bring integrated carbon seat tubes within metal bikes back into vogue, and use a UDH on disc brake road bikes (starting three years ago).
With a background in automotive engineering, that innovation is consistently combined with incredible fabrication, an eye for detail, and some of the most beautiful finish work you’ll ever see. Making it all the more impressive, Prova Cycles is a family business of just two, consisting of brother and sister Mark and Kelly Hester. However, there’s always more behind the scenes, and as you’ll learn, there’s an important cast of makers that help to make a Prova what it is.
I was given the full tour by Mark and Kelly the morning of the MADE Australia Bike Show so no gas was flowing through the welding torch, no prepreg was being laid into moulds, and just generally, no mess or noise was made. A special thank you to Andy White of Fyxo for providing a few action photos to fill in such gaps. And with that, hold that screen as if it were a coffee table book and join me for a few of the details and unique processes that merge together to make a Prova what it is.
Here’s an example of the finished product (as captured at Spoken 2024), but let’s see how it all comes to be.Prova Cycles previously shared a space with the likes of Bastion Cycles, VeloCraft (paint), Superbe Velo Service (mechanic) and RiderFit (bike fitting), however, that changed about two years ago with many of the businesses splitting away and moving into dedicated spaces.
Keeping a low profile on the edge of an industrial area of Heidelberg Heights, there isn’t much signage to Prova Cycles’ space beyond the name on the door.The first thing you see when you enter the building.
A dedicated fitting bike like this Retul is no small cost. When possible, Mark likes to do his own bike fits/sizing to ensure full confidence in the process of making a millimetre-perfect custom bike. With a customer’s fitting data in hand, Mark then moves the process to Computer Aided Design (CAD).
First is a 2D drawing (via BikeCAD) to keep things simple while confirming (and tweaking) fit dimensions and geometry with the customer or the organising shop/bike fitter. This happens three months out from delivery.Once those details are confirmed, Mark then moves the 2D drawing into 3D, with each bike getting its own unique file. Since the early days of Prova’s inception, Mark has employed parametric CAD that allows all the parameters of his designs to automatically adjust to changes in geometry and tubing diameters.
The use of parametric CAD among handmade bike builders is increasing, with the likes of Framework Bicycles, Sturdy Cycles, and Neuhaus Metal Works being a few others I’m aware of that have it integrated into their regular workflow.Those parametric CAD files also contain the individual 3D-printed parts that need to be manufactured. Changes made to the whole frame update these shapes which are then exported as separate CAD files for printing (which is outsourced).
There’s a huge amount of incredibly advanced and sophisticated engineering that helps to create efficiencies in all of Prova’s production processes. Unfortunately I’m going to gloss over it to keep moving. Sorry nerds!Those parametric CAD designs then spit out a series of detailed numbers unique to Prova’s own tooling and processes. Within this are exact tubing dimensions, tubing butting requirements, bend angles, tubing lengths, mitre requirements, the list goes on. This gets printed out and then sparks are ready to fly.The machine corner. All sorts of horizontal mills, sanders, and grinders set up with specialist jigs for cutting tubing and mitering ends.Plenty of ways to sand metal. And the many sanding belts to do it. One of the more specialist pieces used for mitering tubes.Meanwhile on the other side of the divide sits a series of 3D-printed parts that are at various stages of the process. Fresh from printing specialist RAM in New Zealand, these custom titanium prints are awaiting some time-intensive pre-assembly finish work. Note that the parts for each customer bike get individual tubs.The finish work involves a mix of hands-on labour and time in an abrasive rumbler. Plus cleaning. Lots of cleaning.Process notes are throughout the building. This whiteboard details the ideal abrasive material to run with what part and for how long. I’m told this took a lot of trial and error to figure out.Ready to rumble. Photo: Andy White / Fyxo. Every workshop needs a huge vise. And an air compressor. I had proper tool envy for this compressor which produces enough perfectly dried air for the whole shop.On the left and out of view are all the machines previously shown. On the right is the storage area of the 3D-printed parts soon to be welded into frame. The rest of this area is used for tubing storage, parts storage, and finish work.Storage of some of the shorter tubes plus welding rods. A peek inside one of the parts drawers. A lot of these items are 3D-printed pieces unique to Prova.Meanwhile around the corner sits … more machines. The big mill needs the most room, with a treasured 1950s Melbourne-made ground cast iron measuring table seen in the forefront. That table was a hand-me-down from pappa Hester, who used to build race cars. It’s in the blood.That vertical mill is used for all sorts of things, from machining head tube bearing seats, to part prototyping, and beyond. Meanwhile this lathe is largely set up for the external butting (thinning) of frame tubes.Mark at work on such tube butting. Photo: Andy White / Fyxo. Tube bending is commonly done for seatstays and chainstays, with the specifics all laid out in the previously shown spreadsheets. This bending tool is made specifically for bicycle framebuilders by tool-maker Cobra.With the tubes prepared, they’re ready for some further Prova details. This little thing is a hose guide that is welded into a chainstay tube. The shape acts as a funnel for easy internal routing.Once butted, bent to length, and trimmed, the tube is then ready to be milled for the cable guide exit hole.Throughtout the workshop are a series of different-size boxes to hold the required parts belonging to frames in different stages of completion. Here we have many of the pieces belonging to a Pinion gearbox-bike build that’s soon to move to the welding area.I couldn’t help myself from rifling through the drawers. Plenty of standard machinist-type items were found.Plenty of ways to make a hole. Random bits and pieces wherever you look. The shop has an incredibly calm feel to it, no doubt helped by a whole lot of greenery. Even the electrical work shows pride. The talented Iain Michelson of The Lost Workshop, a former electrician, is responsible for the high power capacity throughout the brick building. Meanwhile, solar panels on the roof help to keep the electrical bills in check during summer.Coffee? Yes please. Even the coffee machine is pure class.With all the dirty work kept downstairs, let’s head up stairs. Upstairs is kept clean for carbon tube manufacturing (yep, that’s done in-house), new parts storage, and a whole lot of logistal planning.A filament-based 3D printer is largely used for making shop organisation items (such as small parts trays) and for prototyping purposes.The board of order.
Prova’s scheduling system exists on a large whiteboard, where each customer’s bike has a magnetic card that is moved from stage to stage. The goal of this system is keep everything moving so that Prova can ship (approximately) one bike a week. Unexpected delays in integrated cockpits or the like can wreak havoc on the process.A simple colour code system gives the duo a whole lot of detail about where each bike is.Key events are also scheduled and planned out. Indeed Prova Cycles will be attending the Portland-based MADE Bike Show at the end of this month. As you’ll see shortly, the Aussies are planning something special. Onto the carbon. This large freezer stores the pre-preg carbon fibre … plus the all-important summer refreshment for Kelly’s daughter.A previous job of Mark’s involved making carbon fibre components for professional car racing. Mark has since shared that knowledge with Kelly.
As a former professional chef (which she stopped at the start of COVID), Kelly now works in the business full time, looking after much of the logistics, the time-intensive pre-fabrication preparation, finish work, and carbon tube-making. Here Kelly is cutting some carbon pre-preg in order to make an integrated seat tube. Photo: Andy White / Fyxo.Each tube is custom-made, with the internal wall thickness varied based on the required length and desired flex. All steps of the process are tightly controlled and documented. There’s no room for guesswork here – Prova also sends its new designs overseas for structural testing.That pre-preg is laid up in the mould with an inflatable silicon bladder (aka mandrel) at its centre. It is then pressurised and goes into the curing oven. Once the curing process is complete, Kelly carefully removes any excess resin, removes the mandrel, cleans up the tube, and performs several further quality-control steps. Photo: Andy White / Fyxo.Meanwhile, back downstairs is where finished pieces become a frame. This corner of the shop is dedicated to welding.The welding jig is another item made by Cobra framebuilding.Setting up for the next session of hot-metal gluing (welding). Being titanium, all pieces need to be sterile, and great efforts are taken to purge air from the interior tubes. James Huang’s tour of Mosaic Cycles illustrates this part of the process well.Back to Kelly. Once frames are welded and checked, they then need the time-intensive finish work that Prova has become renowned for. This vinyl cutter is used to create masks for the next steps.Back downstairs and in the back room, a polishing wheel awaits to bring a high shine to the titanium.Alternatively, there’s a bead blaster for when such a finish is wanted (also used for surface preparation of parts).Cleaning and anodising tanks are used depending on where things are up to. In addition to polishing and other raw-finishes, Prova now also has anodising in-house thanks to Liam of Nine Volt Colour.A new Mostro Integrale (Prova’s gravel bike with internal cabling) is all welded up, checked, polished, and ready to earn some further glamour from paint-specialists VeloCraft (now also in its own facility). Wait a minute. Is that a Prova fork? Yep, Prova has been busy designing, manufacturing, testing (out-sourced), riding, testing, designing, and testing its own combined titanium and carbon fibre forks. Shown here are the pieces of a test fork, and indeed, all of the titanium pieces are 3D-printed. Huge prints make this a substantially more expensive option than an off-the-shelf carbon fork (which of course remains an option).Prova then produces its own carbon steerer tube. Note the massive bond overlap between the titanium and carbon fibre; there’s no flying close to the sun here.
Prova’s main goal in making its own forks is to achieve a better ride quality (more flexible). Meanwhile, other advantages include being able to customise rake, fork height, and aesthetic elements. The titanium fork is said to add approximately 50 grams over a high-end carbon fibre fork (such as an Enve).But wait, there’s more …
Expect Prova Cycles to showcase its entry into full suspension mountain bikes at MADE. This one is a long time coming and sure to be interesting. It’ll use the rear-end and suspension linkage of another boutique design.Back to the finishing work. All the fine and intricate corners are done by hand (with the aid of an electric rotary tool). That rotary tool gets some heavy use and so takes central placement at the bench. It’s also used to clean up each 3D-printed part prior to them going into the tumbler. Quality control at every stage. Photo: Andy White / Fyxo. And more finish work, this time with an air-powered belt sander setup for polishing. Photo: Andy White / Fyxo. A little insight into a few of the quality-control measures taken at Prova. Note the time checks on the bonding of the carbon seat tube into a frame.And of course, the frame surfaces are all prepped, too (many of which are done by machine tools). Shown here are the all-important bottom bracket thread taps and head tube reamers.Frames sitting at various stages of completion. Two await the carbon fibre seat tube bonding, while two others are soon headed off to paint at VeloCraft.Back up stairs and we can see a bunch of parts stock awaiting finished frames. Titanium bottle cages? Check. Chris King headsets in an array of colours? Also check. This certainly felt like a candy store.There are also dedicated tubs for bikes nearing the end of the queue. These tubs hold all the parts required for the build that’ll soon occur. You’ll find the assembly room back downstairs and toward the front of the building. Dan from Superbe Velo Service comes in to do all the complete bike builds for Prova.Fully finished frames are hung in the assembly room and await final dressing. Prova’s simple method for hanging the frame and fork is excellent. The fork is held by a basic broom/mop holder, while the frame is a custom-made mount with a BMX grip for protection. Meanwhile that blue Integrale is just … wow.It features Prova’s signature multi-colour and mixed-finish aesthetic.That new shadowed graphic looks great.At the other side of the assembly room is the packaging corner. Kelly takes care of the final clean, checks, and wrapping. The world’s most desired kid’s bike? In for a pump of the tyres and a lube of the chain, this one belongs to young Charlie, Kelly’s daughter. Kelly and Mark. Photo: Andy White / Fyxo.And while you’re here, I figured why not share a few finished examples. This Integrale was recently shown at Made Australia.See more here. At the same show, Prova showed off this Mostro titanium gravel bike with an electric-Pinion gearbox and belt-drive.A huge 3D-titanium print ties the frame and gearbox together. The new Integrale x Mostro gravel race bike of Courtney Sherwell, Australia’s current gravel champion. This offers an example of Prova’s in-house anodising and raw finish work.Another Integrale, this one was first seen at Spoken a couple of months ago. One from last year’s Handmade Bicycle Show Australia (now called Spoken), a travel road bike setup with a SRAM Transmission drivetrain. Stealthy couplers. More on those here. And who could forget this single-speed Integrale from last year’s Handmade Bike Show Australia? Spot the break for an optional belt drive in future.
Follow the link for further instalments in our Behind the Curtain series where we take you into inside the buildings where some of cycling’s most interesting and beloved products are made.
