Bespoked Dresden 2024: Drust Cycles Collapsible Touring Bike – Josh Weinberg | The Radavist | A group of individuals who share a love of cycling and the outdoors.

Yesterday, Josh bumped into Konstantin Drust of Drust Cycles on his way to Dresden for this year’s Bespoked framebuilder and maker showcase. Konstantin was picking up the luggage for his show bike from Kristin Heil’s Gramm Tourpacking workshop in Berlin. Josh was so enamored with the bike that he couldn’t wait to see it again at the show, and he documented it on the spot. Continue reading below for a detailed look at the Drust Cycles collapsible touring bike…

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.

Last year, Konstantin Drust won “Best in Show” at Bespoked. Say what you want about awards at bike shows, but his 29-inch wheel cargo bike with Pinion gearbox and truss fork was undeniably impressive.

Just as I was getting excited thinking about all of the incredible bikes that would be on display this weekend (and what previous award winners would do to up the ante), I spotted a tri-colored touring bike with a quintessential Drust truss fork sitting in the workshop of fellow Berlin makers Gramm Tourpacking and Fern Bicycles.

What the Fork

Konstantin was there to pick up the color-coordinated bags made by Gramm. But before we look at the uber-fresh bags, let’s dive into this uber-interesting bike straight out of the paint booth.

The motivation for this collapsible touring bike came from various sources, but it mostly started with the fork. For traveling and easy disassembly – which is not a concept usually associated with truss forks that mount above and beneath a stem – this bike’s steerer tube and preloaded headset can be left in the headtube when removing the fork. Then, as he says, a complete folding primary frame was the most logical thing to follow.

Pivoting Collapse

Drust has recently been experimenting with making frames foldable and collapsible, and this is his latest iteration. The rear end pivots around a thru-bolt on the seat tube, and a single S&S coupler keeps the frame together.

While this was inherently a challenging and eye-catching project, having a frame with small packed dimensions is useful when traveling. Even though this is equivalent to a size XL frame (for Drust at 6’2″ with a long inseam) and rolls on 29-inch wheels, it would fit easily in the overhead compartment of a train and can be transported as luggage.

A reliable Pinion C9 9-speed system propels the bike, as Konstantin is partial to wide ratios with fewer gears. Yet, the folding mechanism with belt drive is not a quickly executable action. To keep the belt safe when storing the frame in a folded position, there is a 3D-printed dummy pulley that fits on the through axle and keeps the belt under tension.

Geometrically, the steering and overall build follow what Drust had determined to be a typical approach to ATB/backpacking/touring flat bar bikes. I hopped on the bike for a brief pedal around the workshop yards and thought the long reach, high stack, and steep seat with slack head angle offered a familiar and comfortable riding position. And I guess that’s what Konstantin was going for because he told me I was correct in my appraisal.

A Post-Punk Reference

The bike’s color scheme might be familiar if you are a fan of turn-of-the-century post-punk. Konstantin had wanted to reference the album cover of ESG’s 2002 album Step Off for some time, and this collapsible build’s three distinct frame components were the perfect fit.

Tine of Gramm, always up for a challenge and generally fun projects, found the perfect fabric to match the paint in both a deep custom frame bag and color-coordinated Diamond Baw with Micro panniers for their Allygn Diamond Rack and Fork Racks.