Downhill pro Neko Mulally has been building and racing his own bikes for a couple of years now but heres something altogether new: a prototype bonded frame, which also hides an unreleased electronic Fox shock and prototype ENVE wheels.Displayed on the Continental stand at the Sea Otter Classic in California, the front triangle features aluminium tubes bonded into CNC-machined lugs. The existing production downhill frame from Frameworks, Mulallys brand, uses conventional welded construction.Atherton Bikes has been making waves with its bonded frames and this is Frameworks take, brought to life as a result of a partnership with Quebec-based engineering company Faction Bike Studio.Neko Mulally's new downhill frame features a bonded construction. - George Scott / Our MediaMulallys bike also teases a couple of other unreleased tech gems: a Fox shock with what looks to be an electronic lockout, and unreleased ENVE wheels.Mulally describes the bonded frame, which uses a carbon fibre rear triangle, as an experiment.The bike also hides an electronic Fox shock. - George Scott / Our MediaThe advantage of going bonded is that there are no heat-affected zones, adds Mulally. You can be more creative in the way you make the bike, compared to welding.When the bike is finished, the tolerance of everything is going to be perfect; the accuracy of all the pivot points is going to be perfect.Prototype ENVE wheels for Neko Mulally. - George Scott / Our MediaThe bonded frame, which has the same geometry and suspension kinematics as Frameworks existing DH bike, is also lighter, with a claimed weight saving of around 300g versus the welded frame.This is a prototype being real-world-tested by Mulally after undergoing lab testing. He says hes ultimately not sure of the future of the frame, but he wanted to try a different construction technique and to see how it stands up to riding and racing.The wheels are said to offer improved comfort. - George Scott / Our MediaThe bike also sports a wireless Fox shock. We dont have any details on this but theres an accompanying remote on the handlebar.Finally, Mulallys bike gives us another look at ENVEs unreleased wheels, which we first showed you on Brendan Faircloughs Scott Ransom a couple of weeks ago.The fancy build continues with a set of 5Dev cranks and an Ochain device to handle pedal kickback. - George Scott / Our MediaAn ENVE representative told BikeRadar that the wheelset is still being fine-tuned, but the wheels are built to offer more compliance, partly to combat the rising stiffness of frames and forks.Well bring you more when you know more. For now, you can check out all of our coverage from Sea Otter 2024.