Canberra, Australia’s capital, was designed by the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin around geometric motifs like circles, hexagons and triangles. If they could, the Griffins would surely approve of Mark Hester’s Prova Cycles.
After graduating as a mechanical engineer, Mark worked with a factory V8 Supercar team designing composite, fabricated and machined components. He’s also worked for ten years delivering chassis control system projects for global vehicle manufacturers.
Mark is usually a resident Canberran but had been living and working in the UK for four years before realising his true ambition of becoming a frame builder. After studying at The Bicycle Academy in Frome, he’s now returned to Australia to set up shop.
He’s still working full time, so his business is growing by word of mouth — but by the looks of his mountain bike frames and, in particular, his own single speed 29er, he’s been putting his engineering skills to good use.
Mark built the 29er for the October 2016 Single Speed World Champs, to be held in Woodend. The fillet brazed frame is made from Columbus Zona tubes and stainless Paragon Rocker dropouts with custom anodised inserts, to suit a 142x12mm axle.
Bentley Components in Yorkshire made the integrated stainless seat binder, while a 44mm Reynolds 631 head tube spearheads the operation. It’s built up with SRAM XX1 cranks, Rock Shox, a Syntace cockpit and Paul WORD hubs laced to Stans Arch EX rims.
It’ll be hard to miss at Woodend later this year. If you’ve been thinking about an Aussie-made custom mountain bike frame, get in touch with Mark. It’s a much better excuse to visit Canberra than the Questacon.
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