Everyone wants to get a little adventurous at some point in their lives, willing to take on a major project that anybody would hesitate to pick up. The same happened with Bernd Iwanow when he decided to make himself a mountaineering bike. But, what is so adventurous about that?

He wished to make his bike completely CNC milled. A quick search on the web will tell you that this idea was a big task to take on as no other manufacturer has done so before. But Iwanow had his fair share of experience of manufacturing automobile parts and the challenge only made him want to accomplish it more.

So, he called on his trusted specialists for Cuttingtools CERATIZIT and made the FRACE F160. Let us learn more about how it all came to be.

What makes FRACE F160 so special?

Apart from the fact that it is completely CNC milled, the FRACE F160 has numerous special characteristics that make it stand out from the rest of the mountain bikes. Let us take a look at a few of these features:

  • It is milled from an aluminum block (7075 aluminum) which is 70 kilogram
  • Comes with suspension travel of 160 millimeters
  • It has a 4-link rear suspension
  • Its wheels are 27.5 inch
  • It does not have any welded seams

That must give you a fair idea of why the FRACE F160 is such a special bike. But what made it possible to craft such a unique bike? Let us take a look at the journey of how the FRACE F160 came to be.

The journey of building FRACE F160

Iwanow had previously worked with CERATIZIT on numerous occasions and had complete trust in the professionals to help him build his unique bike. As Iwanow recalls, the representative from CERATIZIT was not a mere salesperson but an application engineer with years of experience and a professional outlook and advice.

The first challenge was the construction of the small pockets that were supposed to be on the frame. Though the construction in itself was not a big hurdle (it was rather easy from a programming point of view), it was the machine that would cut those pockets.

It was old technology and would take a lot of time. Therefore, Iwanow’s CERATIZIT representative advised him to use the CCR and milling cutter in the trochoidal machining strategy. The result — exceptionally fast processing and end product.

Because of the durable Dragonskin coating and high speed, the machine was able to make the necessary cuttings at an amazing speed that even had Iwanow astonished. The whole cutting process was reduced by a whopping 40 minutes.

Even though the total processing time of the FRACE F160 is around 60 hours and thus, maybe a little on the expensive side, its performance, features, and sheer elegance make it worth it. The FRACE F160’s performance and quality are tested and certified by professional downhill bikers and EFEB tests.

With the help of excellent support and assistance from the CERATIZIT team, Iwanow now has accomplished the impossible — a bike that is entirely CNC milled.