We still have loads more to share from an uber-busy weekend at the Bespoked artisan frame builder and maker showcase in Dresden, Germany! Today, our 2024 Bespoked Dresden Part 03 reportage features some stunning bicycles and products from Abes, Actofive, Avalanche, Cicli Bonanno, Cyber Cycles, Garage 66, King Fabrications, Qvist, Raketa, Starfish, SON, and Tim Tas + Rak. Continue reading below for a look at more stunning craftwork…
We’d like to thank ERGON for sponsoring our Bespoked Dresden coverage. Lots of us over here at The Radavist ride Ergon’s grips and saddles. We’re honored to have our hard work supported by such a great company.
ABÉS Longtail
Paul of Berlin-based ABÉS recently completed a framebuilding course at Big Forest Frameworks, where he made his first frame. For his second bike, he embraced an appreciation for 20-inch wheels and created a longtail bike around them. The geometry was intentionally designed to have a more aggressive stance than a typical cargo bike, as evidenced by the saddle to bar drop.
The rear rack can haul anything from a baguette to additional loaded bags for both commuting and off-road tours. Strapped to the Bike Technology 20” suspension fork, Paul borrowed the mini pizza cutter he designed and 3D printed for a friend that introduced him to the Berlin Pizza Gravel community. While fairly simple-looking, there is a lot of thoughtful design in this build, including the fitment for Pinion’s 12-speed gearbox, internal dynamo routing, and the custom belt drive pulley. Well done, Paul! We’re looking forward to seeing more of your future work.
See more at ABÉS Longtail
Actofive I-Train Downcountry/Trail Full Suspension
The Actofive I-Train is the Dresden brand’s downcountry/trail bike that can take either a 120 mm (rear) /130 mm (front) suspension setup, or if you need to go bigger, it is also capable of up to 140 mm rear and 150 mm front travel. The frame is also adjustable with four main pivot settings equating to different anti-squat behaviors for rider preference and terrain specifics.
We saw the first iteration of this CNC frameset at last year’s Bespoked with an alloy rear end. This year, Simon Metzner brought an updated version that he’s been able to fully machine in his workshop. Without having thrown a leg over an I-Train, I am tempted to say this bike is as good as it gets. From the suspension versatility to the lightweight alloy construction, I-Train riders are a bunch of lucky ducks.
See all of the techy details over at Actofive
Avalanche Cycles Touring MTB
Known mostly for their dropbar road and touring builds, Avalanche is adept at incorporating truss forks and racks with strategically chosen 3D-printed elements. I had never seen a flat-bar bike from them, so when I saw this raw stainless steel chubby tire touring MTB, I had to take it outside for a closer look.
Made for a customer who was very specific about every element on the bike, from its setback geometry to the selection of parts he wanted to use, the 27.5”-wheeled frame looks quite capable. Avalanche’s design expertise is on full display here with all of the special elements needed to carefully integrate cable housing and dynamo light routing in addition to the gorgeous racks and fork. Let’s hope we see more mountain bikes from Avalanche in the future because this one is wonderful!
See more at Avalanche
Cicli Bonanno Stayloco ICR Gravel
Part of the Light Wolf Studio collection of custom bikes, this Cicli Bonanno Stayloco is a perfect example of the Berlin fabricator’s craft. This is the first time Bonanno has built an integrated gravel bike that features Enve’s In-Route fork. The chainstays are stainless steel, which are formed in-house, with the rest of the frame Colombus Spirit. This race-oriented gravel bike was built up for a customer by Light Wolf and features a custom paint finish from Schon that references the customer’s favorite coffee roastery.
Nico rode from Berlin to Dresden on his recently constructed titanium prototype bike. While he doesn’t offer ti frames yet, he is considering it. And from the looks of it, he knows what he’s doing. Will we see more titanium from Boananno? Maybe we’ll find out next year…
See more at Cicli Bonanno
Cyber Cycles Dropbar MTB
Following this year’s Single Speed World Championships, held in Germany, Christian of Cyber Cycles was approached by a friend who had just become enamored by the style of riding he saw at the event. He happened to have a box of interesting and rare parts to design a bike around, so Christian got to work.
Inspired by dropbar MTBs of the 1980s and 90s, this bike has an upright position and is meant to be ridden in the drops. Additionally, Cyber Cycles has in the past made Accu Trax-style unicrown forks for vintage mountain bikes, but this time they made one to fit 29-inch wheels. Of course, it’s called a Accu-Rate!
See more at Cyber Cycles
Garage 66 Modern Patterson
Possibly the most unique build at the show, this modern take on an 1880s Pederson bicycle blew many minds. Polish builder Marcin Marynowski is on a mission to bring back old, forgotten designs and build them with modern materials and manufacturing techniques.
This tribute to Michel Patterson reimagined the inventors’ idea of the past with modern road bike geometry. Modern aspects include TIG welding construction and a Sturmy Archer hub, while the woven saddle and pivot steering are of the past. To create the steering mechanism, Marcin had to reset his brain and forget everything we assume about how a bicycle behaves. The result is certainly interesting, and it is also a joy to ride.
See more at Garage 66
King Fabrications Flat Bar Gravel
Oakland, CA-based Li King of King Fabrications was one of this year’s four SRAM Inclusivity Scholars to attend the show. This flat-bar gravel ripper allowed Li to fabricate an ideal setup for cutty local East Bay terrain. While the build is an overall gravel bike geometry with wide flat bars, Li’s background in tracklocross and cyclocross is apparent as the front end resembles a tracklocross bike and the rear is more toward the gravel side.
Made in-house, the striking one-piece handlebar might be the only one I’ve seen with a negative stem and riser bar, which nets about 30 mm rise overall. Li also applied the paint, which is a crackle color from Montana Cans, masked off perfectly to reveal the frame’s raw steel front end.
See more at King Fabrications
Starfish Bicycles All-Road
Based in Denmark, Starfish was one of last year’s SRAM Inclusivity scholars. I love their tagline, “Soft bikes for soft people,” which comes across clearly throughout their builds. This all-road bike uses a mix of skinny Kaisei and Columbus tubing for a spirited ride feel, and fabricator Tore Jørgenson hand painted the frame with a made-in-Denmark linseed oil paint, in addition to the custom logo lettering.
Brass bits and fabric bar tape add a cozy feel to this well-appointed machine. Other handmade details include the stem, racks, and even the heart-shaped cable guides. The silver heron front rack, in particular, is made in small batches and can be ordered through the Starfish website.
See more at Starfish Cycles
Tim Tas + Rak Randonneur & Custom Bags
Jean Michel of Tim Tas + Rak is an active bicycle tourer and randonneur. While he is primarily a bag and rack maker, he also builds and modifies bikes for personal use. His bikes serve as rolling canvas for his innovative bag designs and are quite remarkable in their own right, as Jean Michele marches to the beat of his own drum. With this latest rando build, he chopped off the rear end of a touring bike and welded a removable rear end from stiff square tubing stock to achieve durability and desirable riding long distances. The fork, then, with it’s pronounced rake, purportedly carries weight well and is very comfortable.
There are so many clever details in all of Jean Michele’s bags, from the colors to the construction. This bike is equipped with a double-decker handlebar bag that side loads from the bottom with a separate top-loading compartment (I thought the bottom part would be a perfect fit for a little Chihuahua riding companion). Additionally, the frame bag is quite wide at the front end, which offers more overall storage on this large front triangle and is easier to access than a flat bag would be.
See more at Tim Tas + Rak
Qvist and Raketa Components
Qvist have been designing and prototyping hubs in Dresden for quite some time. Now, their hubs are in production and available for purchase. It’s quite exciting to see this development from a very small brand (owner-operator Roman Elsner is an active member of the Saxony community and plays a prominent role in this bike show’s success) with competitive pricing and amid challenges of protecting intellectual property.
The hubs feature a double ratchet design for reliable high engagement. The Qvist site has pages of technical information about the technology, but in a nutshell, the German-patented double ratchet design distributes forces alternatively rather than all at once, as is the case with single ratchet mechanisms. I find the audible sound made by the hubs’ 60-tooth 120 POE quite nice and hope one of our testers can bring in a set for testing soon for a full evaluation.
Raketa has recently begun moving operations from Russia to Dresden, Germany. They will partner with Qvist to continue production on their beautifully anodized parts, including cranks, chainrings, bottom brackets, and hubs. Their components are very popular in road and track cycling, as they use an aerospace-grade 7075 aluminum alloy, unique in the cycling industry. And, of course, their anodizing capabilities are out of this world, as evidenced by the “galaxy” design on their Spyre show bike.
SON Nabendynamo Lighting Systems
SON’s new accessory charging system that was teased at the Manchester Bespoked show, is now in production. Seen here in Dresden, the Ladelux is in its finalized form with remote charging via a clever USB charger. The light unit contains a small battery buffer that outputs a consistent charge for accessory devices. Additionally, the light is controlled by a touch-sensitive button that can be operated even with gloves on or when wet.
Additionally, SON showed a new type of Dynamo hub called the SON 29 S. This sleek-looking hub weighs about the same as their traditional hubs and utilizes the quick coaxial connector. Still, the 29-inch wheel-specific component is refined for power output even at low speeds. Additionally, it uses a straight-pull spoke pattern that balances stiffness and load capacity.
See more at SON
Thanks again to the builders and the Bespoked team for a wonderful show! We’ll be back again tomorrow with more!
Browse saddles, grips, and more at ERGON.