The Radavist

Germany is an epicenter of cycling innovation and production. Home to a lengthy list of big brands including Canyon, Diamant, Focus, Bosch, and so many more, the central European nation is also inhabited by an ever-growing community of smaller bicycle and gear fabricators, builders, and makers.

While we saw many examples of cycling-related German craftsmanship on display in our Bespoked coverage last month, those examples just scratched the surface. On his way to Dresden for the show, Josh stopped over in Berlin and spent his brief amount of free time learning about the city’s special place within the larger German—and global—cycling industry context.

Read on below for a primer on Fern Fahrraeder/Allygn, Gramm Tourpacking, Drust/Akinn Cycles, Velociao Paint, and Velo Saloon!

I’m in Germany for the 2023 Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show, which is taking place this weekend, October 13-15 in Dresden. Prior to traveling to Dresden, I was in Berlin with Flo and Tine of Fern/Allygn Bicycles and Gramm Tourpacking where we had an action-packed day visiting various makers around their workshop in the east side of the city. One of our visits was to meet Dan Pleikies of Wheeldan Custom Bicycles. Dan isn’t able to make it to Bespoked, BUT I was able to pull aside a client’s stunning randonneur bike he had on hand to document. Let’s check it out below!

Back in March, as part of the Kolektif Bike Fair in Berlin, the team behind Rad Race put on the 9th annual Last Wo/Man Standing fixed gear race at the winding indoor Mobikart go-kart circuit track. Additionally, the bike fair featured a handful of stunning custom builds on display from an array of framebuilders including Drust, Omnium, Rossman, Morassi, Trout, ten:07, and Vetra. Petor Georgallou was there for it all and shares a full report and massive image gallery below.

e r t z u i ° film make some spectacular videos and part of that lies in their love for the bike, while being able to document the importance of the ride. Over the years, I’ve fallen in love with their videos and it wasn’t until the Berliner Fahrradschau that I got to meet Martin, one half of Ertzui.

We actually first met on the King of Gravus ride, where he was pedaling his Indy Fab Planet X on Panaracer Pasela tires amongst a sea of cyclocross bikes. Now, you don’t see a whole lot of Indy Fabs in Europe, especially not well-used and loved rides like this. The bike has patina, character and functionality all over it. At the moment these photos were taken, it was built up as a light tourer, since Martin had just ridden it around 100 miles from his home town of Leipzig to the show in Berlin.

Some of my favorite details: the Tracko sticker, the tooth brush in his feed bag and his Edelux lamp mount (which was difficult to document.) Kristian and Martin from Ertzui have some exciting projects on the horizon and I for one can’t wait to see the final product.

The two-man team behind Fern Cycles really impressed me. Florian Haeussler and Phillip Zwanzig craft frames in Berlin, designed to handle their specific style of riding. In 2012 they toured throughout Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey on two Chacha prototype frames. Their time on the road enabled them to dial in their preferences as to how a touring bike should handle and allowed them to design a line of bikepacking bags to compliment their custom racks.

This bike was built with Sugino cranks, Shutterworks generator hub, Supernova lights and Shimano Sora derailleurs but the standout products are the bags!

Gramm Bags are made in Fern’s shop and have some clever detailing, as well as minimal branding. Personally, I thought this was the best touring rig at the Berliner Fahrradschau and had a lot of fun documenting this bike.

Nice meeting you guys!

Man oh man. I had no idea what to expect these past few days. I’ve always heard the Berliner Fahrradschau was a good time, and I’ve always loved Berlin. So when Ken from ENVE invited me on a two-part trip in Europe, including Barcelona and Berlin, I couldn’t say no. So, what is the Berliner Fahrradschau all about? Well, it’s part of Berlin Bike Week, 7 days of events, races, rides, ultimately culminating with a three day expo in Station-Berlin, an old train depot in a post-industrial neighborhood.

When in Berlin, photograph German frame builders, right? Troica Cycles is a Berlin-based builder, specializing in tig-welded, steel cyclocross and road bikes. While their website’s offerings look beautiful, Florian‘s bike is a little different. This all-road, light tourer, randonneur, or what have you, features a beautiful segmented fork with a custom rack to boot. Its paint job is accented by the sour apple Chris King, ENVE M50 wheels and a bright turquoise Chris King headset. This bike is colorful, yet subdued at the same time…

Today I got to spend four hours with Florian and his Troica, admiring its subtle style and capabilities. Check out more for yourself in the Gallery!