Last year’s bike show season was our most successful yet. We even won Best Gravel Bike at the 2025 BESPOKED bike show in Dresden, but we didn't stop. The New Product Development (NPD) team headed back into the Curve Cycling Dream Factory, reimagined, put our newfound knowledge and techniques to use and forged ahead.
The team has been hard at work cooking up some brilliant new concept bikes for 2026. It’s time to showcase what we can do, across steel, titanium and carbon fibre, with some concept bikes forged from partnerships with our skilled craftspeople across the globe and others built in our new NPD lab in Melbourne. This year, we’ve refreshed old ideas and further developed new prototypes. From gravel race machines to big-wheel country-crossing cruisers were looking forward to showcasing a new round of impressive prototypes. As always, the custom paint concepts have been brought to life by our partner brand, Candy Factory Paintworks, run by Curve co-founder, Steve Varga.
With our new NPD lab and upgraded Adventure Dojo in Melbourne, as well as a brand new home in Malaga, Spain, our small brand has made some bold moves in the last 12 months. But we still have the same goal of building the products that we’re genuinely excited by and want to ride ourselves.
This is what we’ve been up to. These are the 2026 show bikes.
Meet 00Kev: Curve's Next Iteration of Hybrid Frame Tech
NEWLY CROWNED 'BEST GRAVEL BIKE' AT BESPOKED DRESDEN 2025!
Meet 00Kev. Award-winning gravel race weapon. Rolling science project. Introduced as a 90s sneaker hallucination. Built in Melbourne, painted on a farm, faster than a British spy in an Aston Martin. Our 2026 00Kev is presented in a more classically refined form.
Two years ago, we turned heads with our CarboKev concept bike, a striking blend of carbon and titanium that redefined what a performance gravel bike could be. CarboKev is now out in the wild, with the first customer orders being delivered later this year.
The carbon has spread like a virus through Kev’s limbs. Still in the late prototype stage, 00Kev is the most advanced race-ready Kev we’ve ever built. It’s lighter, stiffer, and stronger; the ultimate evolution of our hybrid carbon-titanium gravel platform.
Wrapped in artwork straight out of '90s sneaker culture, last year’s toxic green splatter artwork was a true punch in the face. This year’s executions for the SPOKEN Sydney and BESPOKED Dresden and Osaka shows are more refined and less of a punch-in-the-face; 00Kev is a true piece of functional art. It features transparent tints, rather than an opaque paint which accentuates the carbon weave, bringing additional depth and refinement to the overall finish. At first glance it appears to be simple and minimal, but as you look closer you notice the complexity of the materials on their own as well as combined. The depth of the clear coat acts as a magnifying glass, and as the tints are encased at different layers, the colours seem to shift as the light and viewing angle changes.
The Science Behind the Frame
Building trustworthy manufacturing capabilities takes time. We have spent years refining our understanding of bonding, adhesives, carbon behaviour, titanium 3D printing, and developing our repair capability. Our team has built confidence over time - five years ago, installing a carbon seatpost in a titanium frame was a nerve-wracking process. Now our squad can replace a carbon downtube on a prototype 00Kev frame and get back to testing without too much hassle. That work is paying off and our confidence is building.
Confidence, however, is empty and dangerous without robust testing. Every Curve concept bike is treated as a scientific experiment, validated not just on the trails, but In the lab. We’re committed to reliability, the kind that’s trusted in the world’s toughest races. 00Kev is now available with a nine-month lead time.
While 00Kev looks incredible, that’s not enough. Like all Curve products it needs to be trusted for tough real-world riding. We don’t design our bikes to simply hang in galleries - they are meant to be ridden. We expect 00Kev will be used in top tier gravel races, and our testing standards reflect that.
What Makes 00Kev Different?
00Kev takes the CarboKev concept and extends it to a full carbon tube - titanium lug hybrid construction. It’s tougher, faster, stiffer and ready to haunt every gram of excess weight and flex from your ride.
With geometry inspired by our flagship GXR4 but tuned for more aggressive racing, 00Kev has clearance for up to 29 x 2.4” tyres.
- Stiff lower frame section: The carbon tubes used for the down tube and chainstays were selected for stiffness and efficient power transfer
- Comfort-focused upper frame section: The heavily ovalised top tube and minimal seatstays were selected for comfort and to offer some weight savings.
- 3D printed titanium lugs in high-complexity areas for strength, precision and freedom of form
This approach gives us a lighter, more responsive frame than full titanium, without compromising the comfort Curve riders expect for long rides.
Made in Melbourne, With the Best from Around the World
00Kev represents a hands-on collaboration across continents, and it all comes together here in Melbourne.
- 3D printed titanium lugs: Produced by our partners in China & partially post-processed in-house at former Curve HQ on (James) Bond Street with some help from our friends at Prova Cycles.
- Carbon tubing: Sourced from an expert marine industry supplier in New Zealand
- Assembly, bonding, finishing: Completed at Curve HQ in Australia by Jimmy Rostlund and Taylor Patrick.
- Paintwork: Created and executed by Curve co-founder Steve Varga at Candy Factory Paintworks.
Every custom-painted Curve bike, including this one, is now fully finished at Candy Factory Paintworks by Steve Varga himself, helping our riders bring their personalised dream builds to life.
Technical Highlights
- 00Kev features 3D-printed titanium lug with carbon tube construction. This combo lets us carefully tune stiffness, ride feel, and weight. The carbon tubes are bonded to the titanium using a high-performance aerospace adhesive, chosen for its strength, chemical resistance, and ability to operate across a wide range of temperatures without affecting the bond strength - which is important in the Australian climate. You don’t want your bike to blow apart in the back of a car on a hot Aussie summer day!
- The production version will use ultra-strong double-lap joins throughout the frame to maximise surface contact and bond strength. This prototype uses a mix of single and double-lap joints as part of our ongoing testing program.
- Look closely at the head tube. It looks tapered, but it’s not. That’s a trick of the eye, thanks to the clever shaping of the 3D-printed lower lug and off-axis placement of the carbon headtube segment. All printed titanium parts have been tuned for wall thickness and internal geometry to hit the sweet spot between strength and weight.
- Brake lines are fully internal thanks to a Race 415 carbon fork and a modified fork steerer. We’ve added a 3D printed titanium sleeve inside the steerer, called the Neo Plug, allowing internal routing without upsizing the upper bearing. And yes, this modified fork concept with bonded Neo Plug has been thoroughly tested at EFBE’s lab in Taiwan.
- The tubes themselves are premium standard-gauge carbon from NZ. The oversized downtube and chainstays deliver stiffness where it counts. The heavily ovalised top tube and minimal seatstays focus on compliance and weight savings. We expect that future generations of this concept will see more tuning of the carbon fibre elements.
- For crank clearance, we’ve used 3D printed titanium "Bend-Aids" in the chainstays. At the rear, the carbon seatstays are bonded into SRAM UDH and Transmission-compatible dropouts, which have been hollowed and lightened thanks to the freedom of 3D printing. The non-driveside dropout is shaped to take a 160mm rotor with the caliper mounted directly to the frame — no adapter needed.
- The bar is Curve’s brand new Carbon Race Walmer Bar. It’s narrower (40cm) than, and has half the flare of, the existing Carbon Walmer bars. Code named the Coolabah or the Sports Bar, this bar is seriously light (225g), has clever hose routing, ergonomic aero tops, blip-ready drops, and can handle internal routing. It has been rigorously tested to gravel riding standards.
Grade 5 3D printed titanium parts
- Head tube / down tube and headtube / top tube lugs for IS42/IS52 headsets
- Head tube top cap with steering limiter to prevent damage to the internally routed brake hose
- Bottom bracket cluster - T47 with integrated yoke
- Top tube / seat stay / seat tube cluster with top tube double lap socket shaped to match variable wall thickness top tube (thinner on major axis)
- Dropouts - SRAM UDH and Transmission compliant
- Cable ports (on frame and fork)
- Chainstay Bend-Aids - while we were expecting these to be for prototype use only, our first CarboKev frames will use this concept. The Bend-Aid concept has passed our testing standards.
- Neo Plug fork steerer sleeve / reinforcement for internal routing
- Internal bottom bracket cable guide
- Bidon brackets and seat stay abrasion guards
- Seat post sleeve and topper using Enve’s 2-bolt internals
Build Specs
- Tyres (SPOKEN - Sydney): Vittoria Terreno Race 29 x 2.25” / Vittoria Terreno Trail 2.1" Tyres (BESPOKED - Dresden): Vittoria Terreno Race 29 x 2.4”
- Frame: Curve 00Kev 3D Printed Ti Lugs & Carbon Tubes
- Fork: Curve Race 415 (fits up to 29 x 2.4") with Curve Neo Plug installed allowing internal routing
- Drivetrain: SRAM RED XPLR AXS 1x13
- Wheelset: Curve G5T[G] prototype gravel wheelset
- Stem: Darimo IX4AL - 90 x 12˚
- Handlebar: Curve Race Walmer 40cm
A Glimpse of What's Coming
00Kev has now passed several suites of rigorous testing, and is ready for purchase with a nine-month lead time. This ultra-premium model marks a major leap forward in our in-house manufacturing capability. The future of Curve’s hybrid platform is here and it has been designed, tested and built with the same obsessive care and science-backed discipline we bring to every product release.
Meet the Handmade GMX+ Steel for BESPOKED Dresden
The GMX+ Steel is coming back and this is our prototype for the next version. We want to test a few feature-changes before the next production GMX+ Steel goes into manufacture. So we built one ourselves. This bike lets us test those changes properly, and it shows some of the hands-on skills inside the Curve team.
Built by Jimmy Rostlund and Taylor Patrick at Curve the frame was hand-built using Columbus Zona steel, brass and silver brazing, plus 3D printed 316L stainless steel for the yoke and dropouts. Jimmy is our Technical Lead and an experienced frame builder, and Taylor can build too.
It also uses the same super-versatile sliding dropout system now found on the titanium GMX+ V2 and UpRock V2. Swap the inserts and the bike can run different drivetrain setups, including SRAM Transmission, a conventional derailleur, singlespeed hangerless or Rohloff.
The Ti GMX+ V2 is now available via or website.
The intrepid overlander
The GMX+ was built for rough roads, outback touring and big tyres. It has clearance for up to 29 x 3" tyres and, because it isn’t suspension corrected, it works well with drop bars, flat bars or big moto-style risers. For this bikeshow season we went with the riser.
We’re surprised more people don’t build GMX+s this way. It makes for a very relaxed bike, and it’s a setup plenty of us at Curve keep coming back to.
There’s some BMX in the build too. Curve’s founders grew up riding BMX and building trails together, and Jimmy rides BMX as well. So this one gets Colony Brethren levers, and Cult x Vans grips as a nod to our past. Some of us used to ride BMX. Now we ride GMX!
As always, Candy Factory Paintworks finished the frame in Desert Quartz, with hints of orange and green throughout the multi-layer design.
Build Specs
- Tyres: Vittoria Mezcal XC Trail 29 x 2.6”
- Frame: Curve Handmade Fillet-Brazed GMX+ Steel
- Fork: Curve 430 FM
- Drivetrain: SRAM/ Eagle 90 Transmission mechanical
- Brakes: Growtac Equal mechanical
- Brake Levers: Colony Brethren Levers
- Grips: Cult x Vans waffle grips
- Wheelset: Curve Carbon Dirt Hoops
- Stem: Hope 35mm Gravity Stem
- Handlebar: Prototype Curve Titanium Moto Riser bar.
Meet the Handmade Big Kev of Steel 32 - SPOKEN Sydney Jun 2026
Curve’s Melbourne-made take on a wide tyre-clearance gravel bike built around 32” wheels. Handmade in our Melbourne Dream Factory.
Does anyone remember our 36” Titanosaur? We have long been fans of big wheels - the science makes sense to us! Now, with 32” bikes featuring prominently in global cycling media, and a different brand jumping aboard the new wheel format every week, we thought we’d show you our take on this new platform. We’ve been fat-tyre-big-wheel-drop-bar evangelists for a long time, it has been exciting to transfer our knowledge of handling geometry to this new wheel size.
Putting the 32” wheel-size to one side, this bike highlights some of the unique qualities of our business. While we mass produce our bikes with partners in China and Taiwan, we also have talented frame builders in our team, who can craft bikes, not only from titanium lugs and carbon tubes, but also from steel with traditional welding and brazing. This bike was fillet brazed by our team Technical Lead, Jimmy Rostlund, at our new Melbourne HQ using Columbus Zona tubing.
With no commercially available forks on the market with the offset and axle-crown numbers we wanted, we reached out to our old friend Cjell Monē from Monē Bikes. Cjell fabricated a custom tri-plane fork with a large offset and low axle-crown - all designed to work perfectly with the current selection of 32 x 2.4” tyres hitting the market now.
A Glimpse Of What We Can Do
While we may not sell made-in-Australia fillet-brazed steel frames just yet, this bike will be used as a prototype to test our geometry and handling hypotheses for the 32” wheel platform. It also showcases the in-house capability we have at Curve. Our mass-produced frames are made by partners who we consider extensions of our team. We do more than just scribble a geo chart on a napkin. Every detail of every size of every model is agonised over and we work closely with our production partners to forever improve how bikes are built. That’s hard to do, if you don’t know how to build a bike with your own hands!
Technical Highlights
Geometry and overall size based on a Big Kev V2 (LG), but with a few geo tweaks to allow for the larger wheel size.
While this is our first prototype 32” gravel bike, we’ve drawn on our experience from the 36” Titanosaur project a few years ago to develop frame geometry that we believe will work well for this wheel size. After the show, the bike will go straight out on the trails to see if our geometry science and intuitions have blended together to make a bike that rides the way we hoped!
Fun Fact #1: Before we first started the 36er project, we did consider trying 32”, but since tyre choices were equally poor back then, we opted to go as big as we could while we were at it. But now that 32” has gained traction amongst tyre manufacturers, it’s an obvious move for us to shift to 32” over 36”.
The frame has been constructed using mainly Columbus Zona tubing sourced from the Australian distributor Hillbrick Bicycles. Since the tube options available from Columbus are not yet adapted to the 32” wheel size, we had to get a bit creative to make existing tubes and bend profiles suit the design by getting some one-off dropouts and a chainstay yoke 3D printed out of 316L Stainless steel.
With no commercially available forks on the market with the offset and axle-crown numbers we wanted, we reached out to our old friend Cjell Monē from Monē Bikes. Cjell fabricated a custom tri-plane fork with a large offset and low axle-crown - all designed to work perfectly with the current selection of 32 x 2.4” tyres hitting the market now.
The frame finish is a ‘gun blue’ on raw metal to go with the Monē fork finish.
Fun Fact #2: The last brazing on the frame was done less than 24 hours before the opening of the SPOKEN show.
Build Specs
- Tyres: Vittoria Peyote 32 x 2.4”
- Frame: Curve Handmade Big Kev of Steel
- Fork: Mone Steel Fork with custom geo to fine tune the 32” ride
- Drivetrain: SRAM Force / XO
- Wheelset: Curve 32” Coop Hoops Prototype
- Stem: FSA KFX Drop Stem 60mm -20
- Seatpost: FSA KFX
- Handlebar: Curve Carbon Walmer 46cm
Meet the Handmade Big Kev of Steel 32 v2 - BESPOKED Dresden Sep 2026
For the Dresden BESPOKED show we pushed the development further. Having ridden the size-large prototype, we have moved to final prototyping. Early test riding resulted in only minor geometric tweaks. For the Dresden BESPOKED show we are presenting the steel BK32 in size medium, perfect for our Technical Lead, Jimmy Rostlund to hit the local trails on.
Since the start of the 32” boom, it has been encouraging to see other brands entering the gravel 32” bike space with larger-offset forks having given large-wheel handling proper consideration. This move is far better than the early release models which seemed to adopt the strategy of, “we’ve put 32” wheels on a bike and sacrificed EVERYTHING else!” We firmly believe that forks with larger offsets than have been commercially available are required to make 32” gravel bikes handle as they should, provide ample toe clearance and not feel like a high-trail downhill bike!
For this version of the steel BK32, as well as a new frame, our new product development squad whipped up a new steel fork to fine tune the handling. With limited steerer tubes available in Australia we “repurposed” an earlier prototype fork from another model and welded on some new fork legs. A six-millimeter flip-chip allows us to test 64 and 70 mm offset positions which we think give frame builders a good amount of flexibility across a full size range. With our current geometry, we can even make a size XS work with handling optimized for gravel riding and no annoying toe-overlap.
Like our SPOKEN Sydney BK32, the BESPOKED Dresden BK32 has been constructed using mainly Columbus Zona tubing sourced from the Australian distributor Hillbrick Bicycles. With tube options available from Columbus not yet optimised for the 32” wheel size, the existing tubes and bend profiles were coupled with one-off dropouts and a chainstay yoke 3D printed out of 316L Stainless steel. A combination of brass and silver brazing by our team in Melbourne turned these ingredients into a rideable form.
As always, Candy Factory Paintworks executed the beautiful paint. The complex, multi-layer design was inspired by the Titanosaur paint from a couple of years ago. We prototyped the 36” wheel Titanosaur some time ago, and have since codenamed our latest 32” prototype model the Titanosaur Minus.
Build Specs:
- Tyres: Vittoria Peyote 32 x 2.4”
- Frame: Curve Handmade Fillet-Brazed Big Kev of Steel
- SPOKEN Sydney Fork: Mone Steel Fork with custom geo to fine tune the 32” ride
BESPOKED Dresden Fork: In-house Curve Ride 450 Steel prototype fork with 6 mm flip-chip - Drivetrain: SRAM Force / XO, Wolftooth Chainring
- Wheelset: Curve 32” Coop Hoops Prototype
- Stem: FSA KFX Drop Stem 60mm -20
- Seatpost: FSA KFX
- Handlebar: Curve Carbon Walmer 46cm
A Glimpse of what we can do
While we may not sell made-in-Australia fillet-brazed steel frames just yet, these prototype bikes have been, and will continue to be used to test our geometry and handling hypotheses for the 32” wheel platform. These frames also showcase the in-house capability we have at Curve. Our mass-produced frames are made by partners who we consider extensions of our team. We do more than just scribble a geo chart on a napkin. Every detail of every size of every model is agonised over and we work closely with our production partners to forever improve how bikes are built. That’s hard to do, if you don’t know how to build a bike with your own hands!
