MIKALON bike
Titanium mini sprinter
We didn't start out as a bicycle design company.
For over 15 years, architect IL HOON ROH has been creating design art at the intersection of architecture and sculpture. His work explores structural efficiency inspired by nature—an approach that has earned him a place in prestigious art collections around the world, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
In 2018, IL Hoon launched the MIKALON project as a way to demonstrate the structural principles he had been researching for over a decade. He chose the bicycle as his medium because it presents a unique design challenge: performance depends directly on the balance between lightness, strength, and structural optimization.
MIKALON is also a response to the limitations of traditional exhibitions. Rather than a static piece confined to a gallery, it is a nomadic artwork—something to be seen, used, and experienced in everyday life. By becoming part of daily life, it brings design to a wider audience, outside the conventional boundaries of museums and temporary displays.
Why separable?
In conventional folding bicycle design, the process typically begins with choosing a folding mechanism, reinforcing the frame accordingly, and then incorporating design elements.
MIKALON took a different path. Instead of starting with the folding method, the focus was placed on optimizing the frame structure itself. Only after achieving a lightweight, strong, and visually refined frame did MIKALON develop a hybrid folding system with a separable mechanism. This approach allowed the bike to fold within seconds—without compromising the integrity of the original frame design.
The key advantage of this method is that the frame’s structure was not dictated by the folding function. Instead, folding was treated as a secondary feature—added to enhance portability and compactness—while preserving the superior qualities of the frame.
The frame structure was developed using Altair’s state-of-the-art engineering simulation tools, SimSolid and Inspire. These tools enabled IL Hoon to analyze weight distribution in detail and optimize the frame’s thickness and spatial characteristics based on advanced computational calculations.
To further enhance the design and functionality of the frame, several innovative and patented features were developed—including a hydraulic cable separation device, a retractable stem (adjustable to the rider’s set height), and a secondary frame folding mechanism. These elements not only improved usability but also elevated the overall design sophistication of the bike.
Patented hybrid folding (separable + folding)
Patented retractable stem. (Automatically returns back to the user height setting)
Patent Pending hydraulic cable separation device (separate & reconnect in seconds)
Designed and manufactured in-house.
Due to MIKALON’s unconventional structural approach, many bicycle manufacturers around the world found the design too challenging to produce. Unwilling to compromise on his vision, IL HOON ROH chose to take full control of the production process. He designed and built all the necessary tools and jigs from scratch, allowing the frame to be manufactured entirely in-house to meet his exacting standards.
To optimize the design, thousands of virtual simulations were conducted. For maximum precision and durability, the frame was crafted from titanium and welded in an argon chamber—a technique more commonly used in the aerospace industry. As a result, the frame successfully passed the ISO 4210 (Racing) safety requirements.
The MIKALON bike is the
embodiment of an architect’s pursuit of both aesthetic purity and technical
excellence. Our hope is that riding a MIKALON becomes more than movement—it
becomes a chance to experience the same beauty and reverence we find in nature.
Titanium frames were welded in an argon chamber
ISO 4210 (Racing) Safety requirements for bicycles test
MIKALON bike project was sponsored by Hyosung Advanced Materials & Altair
