New bike released today: Chapter2 Koko

[wheelbuilder]

I've had the Koko for about a month now.

TLDR: Most comfortable bike I've ever ridden.

I've been having lower back issues the last year where I couldn't ride for more than 2.5hrs without pain, so I started to look for ways to improve the situation. In addition to changing fit and positioning, I was also looking at frames with more compliance. The finalists were either the 2023 Trek Domane RSL or the Chapter2 Koko. In the end, I chose the Koko due to several factors:

1.) Availability - I don't know when I would be able to get the RSL, lol
2.) Cost - I got a sweet deal on the Koko.
3.) Brand differentiation - I like the way the Domane looks, but C2 is just more unique, and I've always been a fan of their bikes, after all, my previous bike was a Tere.

I transferred all my components from my old Tere to the Koko the day it was delivered. The build was fairly straightforward - all the extra time was due to cable routing through the headset/bar. I didn't check the internals of the frame with a camera, but everything felt smooth as I route the cables. Instead of using the Mana2 bar that my order came with, I opted to use my Farsports F1 bars as the fit works for me better. I have short legs and a long torso, so I like my F1's 120mm/36cm dimensions. I did have to design and print a custom transition cover from the headset to the bars too, to give it an integrated look.

The ride quality is superb - As I mentioned, I rode a Tere before and the Koko is just miles better in terms of comfort due to the way the seat post is clamped. With Tere, I probably got about 10cm of seat post from the clamp, the compliance was okay, and nothing to write home about. The way Koko's seat clamp is designed in compliance mode (it clamps near the seat stays), the seat post experiences much more cantilevered force, so when I roll over rougher roads, it feels like I am riding on a magic carpet. I reckon it feels like riding 5-10psi lower than when on the Tere.

The BB and steering stiffness is fine, but I am a small guy at 64kg. I don't feel any noodliness when sprinting at 600-700 watts and the bike steers fine and exact. Strangely, the front end seems more compliant than the Tere when going over road cracks, it could be that the top headset bearing compression ring is nylon so therefore has more give, but again, I didn't couldn't tell the difference when sprinting or steering.

In terms of look, I got the black essential collection. I wasn't a fan of the blue/green or white/gold paint options. With a black frame, I could go to town with custom vinyl wraps and designs, so after a few weeks of work, I opted for a holographic/chrome design with a lot of little personalization. I wasn't a fan of the skinny seat post at first either (though it did grow on me a bit after a few days), so I designed an 'aero' tube to go over it. It functions like the Aeroad Canyon seat post: fat on the top, and skinny in the clamping section.

My size S Koko frame is 1108g with all the hardware, and the uncut fork was 386g. Forgot to take down the weight for the seat post, but it was light ~ 100g, however, the hardware was stupid heavy at ~80grams. I've since replaced the hardware with ti bolts and carbon cradles and plates from AliExpresss - shaving ~30g of weight.

Overall, the build is around 7.4kg with cages and GPS mount.

Here are the specs:
Chapter2 Koko frameset size S
Dura Ace 9170 Shifters + brake calipers
Dura Ace 9150 derailleurs
Dura Ace 11-30 cassette
Campagnolo 140mm rotors
BBInfinite T47 BB (Steel bearings)
YBN SLA110 chain
Rotor 150mm cranks with long spindle
Sigeyi Rotor PM
BikinGreen 46/30t chainrings(Will probably go with 50/34 once group riding season starts again).
Eggbeater 11 Ti pedals
Supacaz Ti bottle cages
Light Bicycle AR56 (DT240, CX rays)
25mm Grand Prix 5000 S TR (front), TL (back)
Selle Italia Boost SLR S3

Beauty shots:







When first built before the vinyl work and 3d printed small parts:


Seat post cover:

The frame looks fantastic. The Crank Bros are a unique pedal choice....can you elaborate?

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[recoilfx]

Thanks! I am a small guy, and I love floats and walkability. Lighter weight carbon soled shoes such as DMT KM1 is plenty stiff for me. Never had an accidental unclip while doing town line sprints either. I believe the overall system weight (pedal + cleat) is pretty competitive too.

[recoilfx]

I ride a size L in a Rere aero model (same geometry as the Koko) in the USA (I bought mine direct from the company but Chapter2 does have at least 2 substantial US sellers with online presence, Wrench Science and Glory Cycles). No noticeable toe overlap and at least on flat roads it corners / leans superbly. (I haven't been on curvy descents for a while due to health reasons.). Agree that the bike has a large Asian presence judging by Instagram and the TV show Cycling Across Japan, where one featured rider is I think the company's Japan agent.

As to the weight, based on 2 data points I think the Koko frame is 1050 to 1150 depending on size. That is heavier than some, such as the new Soloist, but even my heavier Rere frame built up to a fully loaded 7.4 kg without weight weenie parts (albeit with shallow and not deep rim wheels). Basically, I think it competitive, and you get stiffness and stability for the weight.

I want to throw a cautionary tale on Glory Cycle. I ordered a Tere frameset about 4 years ago with no problem at all, so I decided to go with them again for the Koko. I was able to negotiate a sweet deal with them, but 2 weeks after payment, I asked for a status update - nothing. No big deal I thought, as the frameset isn't in stock yet according to C2's website. ~2 weeks later, I emailed, and then called. Nothing. I then reached out to C2 directly to see if Glory Cycle had placed the order at all. Nope, Glory Cycle never did.

Mike Pryde suggsted me to raise a Paypal dispute to get my money back, and I could place an order direclty with C2 with the same discounted dprice. The frameset was shipped 24hrs later, and the goods were delievered in 4 days.

During the Paypal dispute, there were no communications from Glory Cycle at all, so thankfully PayPal defaulted the win to me. I am not sure what happend over there at Glory Cycle, but I wouldn't use them again.

[Stendhal]

I ride a size L in a Rere aero model (same geometry as the Koko) in the USA (I bought mine direct from the company but Chapter2 does have at least 2 substantial US sellers with online presence, Wrench Science and Glory Cycles). No noticeable toe overlap and at least on flat roads it corners / leans superbly. (I haven't been on curvy descents for a while due to health reasons.). Agree that the bike has a large Asian presence judging by Instagram and the TV show Cycling Across Japan, where one featured rider is I think the company's Japan agent.

As to the weight, based on 2 data points I think the Koko frame is 1050 to 1150 depending on size. That is heavier than some, such as the new Soloist, but even my heavier Rere frame built up to a fully loaded 7.4 kg without weight weenie parts (albeit with shallow and not deep rim wheels). Basically, I think it competitive, and you get stiffness and stability for the weight.

I want to throw a cautionary tale on Glory Cycle. I ordered a Tere frameset about 4 years ago with no problem at all, so I decided to go with them again for the Koko. I was able to negotiate a sweet deal with them, but 2 weeks after payment, I asked for a status update - nothing. No big deal I thought, as the frameset isn't in stock yet according to C2's website. ~2 weeks later, I emailed, and then called. Nothing. I then reached out to C2 directly to see if Glory Cycle had placed the order at all. Nope, Glory Cycle never did.

Mike Pryde suggsted me to raise a Paypal dispute to get my money back, and I could place an order direclty with C2 with the same discounted dprice. The frameset was shipped 24hrs later, and the goods were delievered in 4 days.

During the Paypal dispute, there were no communications from Glory Cycle at all, so thankfully PayPal defaulted the win to me. I am not sure what happend over there at Glory Cycle, but I wouldn't use them again.

Good to know. I may have bought components in the past from Glory but I bought the Rere direct from C2. And I had the pleasure of meeting Mike Pryde at Sea Otter when he introduced the Ao gravel bike.

[DartanianX]

The Koko is lovely, 7.3kgs as pictured.





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[justkeepedaling]

Nice bike, frame fork design is slightly reminiscent of the S5

[Whipit]

The Koko is lovely, 7.3kgs as pictured.





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Looks awesome!

Is it XL? Any more photos

[RDY]

Word of warning to anyone else who has one. The instruction manual states 8-10Nm for the seatpost clamp in either flex or normal position. On the shop page it says 6Nm. We went with 8Nm or less when it was built as 10Nm seemed very high.

After taking the tape off the bolt holes to lower my saddle today, I noticed cracking around the bolt hole. Appeared that the carbon was cracked around the hole, but thought I'd inspect after re-tightening. At that point I hadn't realized the difference in values, but after 6Nm it made loud cracking noises and the cracks got visibly worse. I stopped at 6.5Nm. Then went and trawled their site to see if there was any other info, and lo and behold it says 6Nm elsewhere. I've now backed it off to 5.5Nm as quieter cracking noises begin above it.

I don't know which is the correct value, or whether it's the cause of my now *f##k* frame, but beware.

Flaking the paint off for a better view, there are stress cracks in the carbon all round. The big one at 6 o'clock is particularly bad.

Until this is replaced, do you think it's safe to ride with inspection every ride? The cracking now it's there is only going to get worse with the flex design. Particularly the big one heading down. This is just above the seatstay bridge. I suspect it won't last too much longer though.