Part One | Part Two | Part Three (coming soon)

Manufaktur83

Located in north-central Germany, a few kilometers south of Hanover, Manufaktur83 specializes in gravel bikes. Their Vagabund Iron P12 is built with Columbus Zona tubing, runs up to a 45mm tire and incorporates the Pinion Smart Shift electronic gearbox (it's not an ebike, just electronic shifting).

Milara

Milara doesn't appear to be an official exhibitor at Bespoked, but Rory saw this utility bike with 20" wheels and a big cargo tray on a stand that looks great considering the size of that tray. He thought he'd get the shot, so here it is. It looks like there are no custom geometry options, and they're having frames made at a factory in Portugal. Given how so many of us tend to be living and operating in smaller spaces these days, a bike like this rather makes sense, especially if you're over carrying a backpack around.

Milli

It's difficult to see in this photo, but the seat tube is custom-squashed down a the bottom bracket, with a cross-section of 20x36mm, which is more than Columbus Max (26/37mm). The frame builder, Janosch Huettner, admits he has taken the tube modification to the limit. The bike is still in prototype, so it will be interesting to see how it works out. The idea is to make a stiff, yet comfortable all-road experience with an emphasis on improved performance. Note the additional material behind the head tube, which is for aerodynamic enhancement.

Ornus

Carbon fiber isn't the only material the enables fiber orientation to improve stiffness and flex characteristics in key areas. The wooden frame parts are joined using internal connectors made of aluminium alloys. Just because it's wood doesn't mean it is a slower bike. This model was ridden by Mirk Balducci a few days before the Bespoked show to 1st place in the Masters 45-49 category of the European Gravel Championship. Can't argue with that!

Pinion

The Pinion gearbox ebike with belt drive makes a lot of sense, and we're starting to see a lot more Pinion systems period. Now all we need is for Geos to offer this with custom geometry!

Quokka

 This French beauty has to be about as mean a track machine as you'll find. And the the beauty of its simple lines quietly delivers a clear message: "Ride Me!" Still in prototype, this model uses a mixture of tubes including Columbus Max, and that tiny gap behind the seat tube is 1.2mm in case you're wonder. The frame is brazed, not welded, and those forks... we're hoping to do a dedicated story on this bike in the coming weeks. 

Raketa

The Czech components manufacturer noticed that track bike hubs, which are different to other hubs because track bikes don’t use thru axles. There are some options, but not really, not for track racing. Go to a world cup track meet and you’ll probably see a lot of Raketa hubs. They’ve been working on track-specific designs for several years now and have a great looking track hub. As the photo shows, Raketa makes cranksets and chainrings too, and an aero spider, but their hubs are what we’re most excited about. Automatic pre-load adjustment, double seals, non-slip endcaps, oversize bearings… all of these things reduce stress for trackside mechanics. It’s worth visiting their website to read about their hubs.

Qvist

During and since the Mountain Bike boom of the last century, a lot of young engineers who otherwise may have been destined for the golf course or tennis court got diverted to cycling instead. As engineers tend to do, they started improving existing products, and now the cycling world is full of small companies run by inspired engineer cyclists who want to make better products. We love this!

Qvist is fully rider owned and operated. And yes, engineers. Their hub looks great. It’s a double ratchet system with 120 contact points that achieves 3 degrees of engagement lag without using pawls or a sprag clutch. They’ve brought the ratchets inside the hub shell, which enables a larger size and more load spread, which should lead to a more reliable mechanism. If you want to know how they came up with Qvist as a company name, you’ll have to visit the website.

Rohloff

Take a mullet and run with it... Rohloff chose the Munich-based Sayle No. to show their esteemed gear hub. The Pinion mid-mounted gearbox has taken a good slice of the bicycle gearbox market, but for a cargo bike a hub-based gearbox makes just as much sense, if not more, given the legendary Rohloff quality. If you're looking to use a Rohloff 500/14 Speedhub with an electric drive system, Rohloff has the E-14. This is compatible with Bosch and Panasonic FIT1 technology.

Sour

Founded by Christian Suess in 2019, Sour has quickly grown as a popular brand in Germany and beyond. Although they don’t offer custom geometry, the constant redesigning of Sour bikes means there’s a good chance customers will get a bike that few others own. The company is innovative in every step of the process, and sells framesets or complete bikes. The pictured bike may be the only one in the show using a predominantly Hope build kit. 

Stolen Garage

A bike company with a cafe, in northeast Paris, just 650m outside the Peripherique. Sounds good right? They offer custom builds and welcome customers to visit during the build process to enjoy a coffee, maybe some food, and watch the work-in-progress on their bike project. Frames are made using a range of Columbus tube sets.

Tim Tas + Rek

Bikepacking setup from the Dutch baggage expert Jean Michel Timmermans at Tim Tas + Rek, who does great things in his home workshop. And check out that Gazelle frame vintage re-think. Box section chainstays with disc brake, Mavic 801 mech circa 1984, long-trail fork, it looks like bolt-on seat stays (nice bottle placement, btw). We'd like to know who did that conversion work. And that's a nice worn-in Gilles Berthoud saddle, in case you're wondering.

More Bespoked Dresden24 Coverage...

Part One | Part Two | Part Three (coming soon)