Exotic bikes for the city: Schindelhauer Wilhelm: luxury e-gravel bike for the city
Timo Dillenberger
· 18.10.2024
Schindelhauer is still more of a manufacturer than a big player. This in turn has the advantage that you can focus much more on customisation. The custom programme of the Wilhelm e-gravel bike alone is so broad that you will very rarely, if ever, come across someone with the same configuration.
Schindelhauer Wilhelm: Luxurious custom E-gravel bike
The basic frame in four colours is a superbly crafted aluminium frame, refined here with a carbon fork. This reduces the weight, but also increases the price by a good 500 euros - money that can be saved for other components, especially for the Pinion gearbox.
Shifting through twelve gears in one plane using only an electronic button - that's quite something. The little bit of extra weight is absorbed by the super-agile drive; in terms of steering, the Wilhelm runs very well in a straight line and steers well.
The e-bike only dislikes very snappy manoeuvres - which would be more significant as a gravel bike than in the city. You also have a choice of tyres: slightly coarser or finer, depending on what the future trails look like.
More gravel bikes in the test:
The strengths of the Schindelhauer Wilhelm: equipment, retrofittable parts and robust gears
The Schindelhauer Wilhelm E-gravel bike is light and sporty and yet still a fully-fledged city bike - with a height-to-length ratio of 1.42. If you are not put off by the basic price, you could even upgrade the Wilhelm with a lighting system and mudguards; although this would again affect the sporty, clean look.
The Pinion gearbox on the Wilhelm makes a lot of sense. Certainly to be regarded as luxurious, it is currently the most robust shifting solution on the market; together with the belt drive, the maintenance intervals are huge. The whole thing is mounted on a sporty frame: The Wilhelm is a custom build that is also available as a gravel bike or single speed.
The wheel is nowhere near as eye-catching as the Rose Hobo (here in the BIKE test)But insiders will immediately recognise this little piece of cream in the high-quality aluminium frame. The smart front carrier emphasises: this is a practical e-bike and it belongs in the city!
Schindelhauer Wilhelm: Technical data and features
- Price: from 4,495 euros
- Weight: 12.6 kg (incl. carrier)
- Frame: Aluminium custom frame, Seido RGT carbon fork, lowrider eyelets, gearbox mount, internal cables
- Drive: Pinion C-Line, electronic 12-speed transmission, Gates "CDX" drive belt
- Brakes: TRP Hywire, hydraulic disc brakes 160 / 160 mm discs
- Tyres: WTB Sendero 622 x 47 mm
- Special features / accessories: Brooks leather saddle
Conclusion on the Schindelhauer Wilhelm
Unfortunately, when elegant design, individuality and high-end components come together, it gets expensive. For a fast commuter bike, the Schindelhauer Wilhelm E-Gravelbike comes pretty close to the optimum - but then probably via bike leasing!
