After a race in the Himalayas, BIKE reporter Henri Lesewitz threw a piece of paper in the rubbish. Now he has a new custom mountain bike without gears. A photo report.
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If you want stress, then build yourself a custom bike. That's the core of what my passion for bikes has taught me. I don't know how many bikes I've built myself over the decades. Stop, stop! Yes, I do! Of course I know: almost all the ones I've ever ridden. A bike is far too personal for me to leave its appearance and character to the whims of an assembly line manufacturer. I've always put up with the darker side of self-assembly with a smile: unclear delivery times, compatibility nerves, a worryingly dwindling bank balance. A stress that I have sworn to avoid so often. With moderate success. The fact that I have now been sucked back into the maelstrom of a custom project is thanks to the Himalayas, my rubbish bin and the translation programme Google Translate. But first things first.
Lesewitz at Sky is the Limit, the highest mountain bike race in the world
In July 2015, I travelled to the Indian province of Ladakh to report on the latest shocker on the marathon scene - the Sky is the Limit, the highest mountain bike race in the world. Six days through the Himalayas. Crossing three 5000 metre peaks and one near-5000 metre peak. Topped off by the crazy finale in the form of a 55 kilometre mountain time trial - up to the legendary 5602 metre high Khardung La, which the record books hail as the highest pass in the world. As always, I took part in the race. In the thick of it instead of just being there. Always a point of honour for me, because you have to soak up the subject with all your senses in order to be able to report on it authentically. The sporting ambitions were limited right from the start. The event photographer had already fallen ill at altitude on arrival (the lowest point of the whole event, by the way!) and was languishing in his hotel room in an intermediate state between dead and alive. So I also had to take photos on the side. I was also feeling pretty miserable. The altitude wears down anyone who spends too long in it. I can tell you from repeated experience that the human body is not made for cycling in thin air. Above 3500 metres, the ability to regenerate is switched off. The heart races hysterically. The lungs are pumping. Nevertheless, the cells are no longer sufficiently supplied with oxygen. And this happens even when lying down, without any movement. Biking under such conditions is like a near-death experience. I've never had such a hellish headache and such a nasty, disgusting feeling of weakness. But when you've got such magnificent mountains in front of your tyres, you shouldn't whine, you should tighten the chain.
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Photo: Henri Lesewitz Henri Lesewitz on the legendary 5602 metre high Khardung La Pass.Photo: Henri Lesewitz Waiting for the winners somewhere in thin air in the Indian province of Ladakh.
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Photo: Henri Lesewitz The night paddock at Sky is the Limit
First in the bin, then in Google Translate
Italian long-distance specialist Marzio Deho rode like he was from another planet, and former World Cup pro Thomas Dietsch didn't seem to mind the altitude much either. The others suffered like dogs. When I was called to the front at the final award ceremony, I didn't know why at first. I had come second overall in the Masters 1 category. I didn't care, I thought, and crumpled the slip of paper that organiser Gianni Tomé had given me into my trouser pocket. By the time I got home, I had long forgotten about the note. As I shook the remaining rubbish out of my travel bag, it fell into my hands again. "Coupon valido per ritiro Telaio Bressanbike" was written on it. Huh? Never mind, throw it in the bin. Minutes later, a strange feeling ran through me. As if the note was calling out to me. Yes, really! And indeed! When I had fished it out again and translated the Italian words with Google Translate, my heart sank with joy: it was a voucher for a frame from the custom manufacturer Bressan from Verona. No, isn't it!
The idea: a robust, stress-free everyday bike with no frills
It's not that I had an urgent need for a new bike. I'm in a good position, as "modern performers" would say. However, what a wonderful opportunity to fine-tune my fleet a little more! Between my Independet Fabrication Steel Deluxe (26-inch steel hardtail) and my Kona Explosif (26-inch steel singlespeed, rigid), a 650b steel singlespeed would fit perfectly! With suspension fork and drive belt. A robust, stress-free everyday bike with no frills that always keeps your reflexes awake, but without putting them in such a state of permanent excitement like my merciless, unsprung Kona. A bike like this was long overdue, wasn't it? But yes, it was! I had no idea what this company Bressan was all about. But when someone like me gets his hands on a voucher of this kind, there's no turning back. I decided to go through with it, like the altitude metre orgy in Ladakh. But see for yourself!
From a voucher for a custom frame to a finished mountain bike
Photo: Henri Lesewitz Advertising is a must. However, opportunities to hoist banners are extremely rare in the barren Himalayas. On the left you can see the lettering of Bressan, one of the various small sponsors of Sky is the Limit, which is organised by the Italian travel specialist Wheels Without Borders.Photo: Henri Lesewitz The ominous sheet of paper has been fished out of the rubbish again. Fortunately! Google Translate reveals: It's a voucher for a custom frame from the Bressan forge!Photo: Henri Lesewitz The question of all questions for custom fans: What colour? The answer can make your head spin. Cappuccino brown with fluorescent orange? Midnight blue with captain's uniform white? Or would you prefer alpine meadow green with porn pink? After many sleepless nights, settling on the colour code was like redemption: fluorescent grey and neon yellow. Google Translate helps with the translation into Italian: "Grigio Segnale e Giallo Brilliante".Photo: Henri Lesewitz Roberto Bressan doesn't speak English, I don't speak Italian. No matter. Anyone who clicks through the photos on his homepage will quickly realise that any special request is possible. No matter how bizarre. However, a single-speed MTB with a belt drive is also something new for Roberto, as he tells me by e-mail in sparse English. It could take some time.Photo: Henri Lesewitz After months of impatient waiting, finally! Photos of a steel hardtail in the making on Bressan's Facebook page. My bike? Maybe!Photo: Henri Lesewitz Yes, it's my baby! No doubt about it. There! The typical singlespeed sled dropouts. And there, the screwable opening for threading the belt. Roberto Bressan's workshop is in Verona, almost 400 kilometres away. But it's like being present at the birth of his child. A tear almost sloshes out of the corner of my eye with emotion.Photo: Henri Lesewitz Oh, how nice: an engraved head tube logo! What irritates me a little: The tubes look pretty chunky for being made of steel. Almost as bulky as those of a '93 Klein Attitude. Interesting, really very interesting.Photo: Henri Lesewitz The delivery from Portland has arrived! For me, Chris King ratchet hubs are as much a part of a single-speed bike as butter crumble on a rhubarb pie. The spur-toothed freewheel produces a marvellous, orchestral hum of hell - like an intergalactic swarm of insects. It's even available as a ringtone for smartphones. The bill for the pair of hubs causes your blood pressure to drop briefly. But you just have to get through it.Photo: Henri Lesewitz The Facebook photos are already many, many weeks old when I receive an email from Roberto Bressan. He wants my address. That can only mean one thing: The big moment has arrived! And indeed, a few days later, the UPS man brings the box, which leaves no questions unanswered about the contents. Sender: "Bressan Biciclette Speciali, Verona - Italy". As if I were fighting for victory in the final of the Unpacking World Cup, I tear open the box. And there it is: fluorescent grey with a neon yellow top tube band - the good stuff!Photo: Henri Lesewitz The name of the frame builder - like a signature: Bressan. The wet paint shines impressively, but is guaranteed to take a few scratches in the course of its life.Photo: Henri Lesewitz A steering wheel logo like a cave painting: the Bressan coat of arms is scratch-resistantly worked into the iron.Photo: Henri Lesewitz Nice dropouts for easy tensioning of the chain. Unfortunately in the colour silver. Quickly to the anodiser and have it recoloured. The 20 euros are well invested. Black is a better colour.Photo: Henri Lesewitz Suspension fork or rigid fork? There has always been a lively debate in the scene about whether to ride a singlespeed in its purist form or with a soft front end. As I already own a rigid singlespeed MTB, this time I want a suspension fork. After all, the Bressan is in for some rough off-road riding. The Rock Shox SID was already involved in winning the voucher. It was in the bike at Sky is the Limit. So it also fits perfectly into the concept thematically.Photo: Henri Lesewitz If there really is such a thing as object eroticism, then my fervent desire is for the sharp handlebar stem unit from Canadian MTB artisan Chris DeKerf. Unfortunately, ordering one of these is currently beyond my ability to endure. Deposit in dollars, months of waiting, unclear delivery time, then collection from customs, shockingly high bill - nope, nope. Maybe in the near future. Ritchey also has a neat handlebar/stem unit in its range. Made of carbon and available immediately. And the best thing: Finest DeKerf style.Photo: Henri Lesewitz Speaking of object eroticism. I can think of a second one. My cycling mate from childhood, Sören Marx from Leipzig, came up with it. He has founded a small, fine custom manufacturing company with the casual name "Unique Cycles". Frames, customised products, custom luggage racks and - incredibly beautiful - steel cranks.Photo: Henri Lesewitz Four years ago, the first prototype of the Unique Cycle cranks was exhibited at the Eurobike trade fair. Since then, I've been dying to have these cranks. Sturdy, slim crank arms made from high-end steel tubes. So very chic! Perhaps not quite as detail-fetishistic as those of the welding god Rody Walter from Grooy Cycleworks. But just right for the Bressan. Unfortunately, Sören is making very, very slow progress with series production. After three quarters of a year of waiting, he has now recommended that I get a "transitional crank" first. By the way, my mate Hagen from Berlin has been waiting two years for his Groovy Cycleworks cranks. He was told by Rody Walter that delivery would probably be possible in a year's time. Yes, you have to be a bit patient if you want to treat yourself to something special.Photo: Henri Lesewitz Uli Fahl will probably never get rid of the nickname he was given in the nineties by boldly formulating specialised journalists: tuning pope. His company Tune also has neat cranks in its programme.Photo: Henri Lesewitz Anyone strolling through the now huge company block not far from Freiburg will discover evidence of Uli Fahl's unbridled passion for bicycles everywhere. This here is Fahl's folding bike with various tuning measures carried out, whereby the rocket drive should be emphasised in particular. I think that's marvellous. This passionate, consistent. A reason for me to buy a crank right here.Photo: Henri Lesewitz No, these are not the supporting pillars for a new motorway bridge, but the aluminium blanks for the tune parts - the Smart Foot crank, for example.Photo: Henri Lesewitz And there she is, starting work at the Bressan.Photo: Henri Lesewitz And another package: drive belts from the US company Gates and belt pulleys. No stress with maintenance, no fizzling out of pedalling energy in groaning chain links, ultra-stable belt material. The pro arguments sound convincing. So let's go for the Bressan.Photo: Henri Lesewitz Wow, that's going to be tight. The rear pulley is one of the smallest in the range, but due to its design it is larger than a sprocket if you were to ride with a chain. This is why the front pulley is also larger, so that you don't have to "muddle around" with an ultra-small gear ratio. Mounted on the outside, it sits far enough away from the chainstay. But can the optimum "chain line" be realised in this way?Photo: Henri Lesewitz When you think of neon yellow, you think of Magura. Back in the nineties, the garish colour stood out from every World Cup starter field. The new MT7 subtly echoes the symbol of speed and high-tech. The jewel with the four brake pistons is actually intended for speed-hungry enduro and downhill riders. But hey, you can never have enough braking power. A material mix of plastic and aluminium keeps the weight pleasantly within limits anyway. So there couldn't be a better brake for the Bressan than the Magura MT7. Grey and neon yellow. Crazy! As if it were directly related to the frame.Photo: Henri Lesewitz The lever reach and pressure point can be adjusted without tools, the ergonomics are the best possible: the MT7 grips also make the anticipation of the first trail kilometres swell to the point of hippy-ness.Photo: Henri Lesewitz Interim result. Looks pretty good already.Photo: Henri Lesewitz Volunteer Ludwig Döhl is a passionate nipple turner. His spoked wheels have a reputation for being indestructible. With ceremonial devotion, he marries the King hubs with the lightweight DT Swiss XR 331 rims. Sapim Race spokes with a thickness of 2.0/1.8 millimetres were selected from the huge range of spokes on the market. A lightweight yet durable wheelset for all occasions. Ahhhhh, that awesome crunching sound of the freewheel! Simply marvellous!!!!Photo: Henri Lesewitz The Bressan stands on its own wheels. The belt runs straight. Everything seems to fit. We're lucky. Wow, and then the Ergon grips and saddle fit so nicely. I hadn't even known about these parts when I decided on the frame colour. What a nice coincidence!Photo: Henri Lesewitz One year after winning the voucher, the Bressan is ready for its maiden voyage! It's a mixture of anticipation and trepidation that always surrounds such moments. What if the riding characteristics are mediocre? What if the geometry isn't right and you don't feel comfortable on the bike?Photo: Henri Lesewitz Blessed with a breeze of original dust from the sacred Slickrock Trail in Moab, which I always carry with me for such festive occasions, I click into the pedals. Wow, the bike feels like a part of my body. A feeling of security flows through me. Yes, it's love!Photo: Henri Lesewitz A little skip: spontaneous participation in the legendary Mad East Challenge. The marathon that is notorious as the "Green Hell". The Bressan is not supposed to complete its official maiden voyage on the "Light" or "Medium" distance, no - I have ticked the fearsome "Hell" route option on the registration form. A problem of my own making, you could say. No matter! 7:45 hours for 126 kilometres and 3200 metres in altitude. 18th place and almost ten minutes faster than marathon ace Regina Marunde. But more importantly, the Bressan and I have now merged into one team.
