7 Years Later: “Now Is the Time.”
17. March 2026From Rider to Builder
Build your own bike frame — from your own workshop, step by step, without getting lost in technical overwhelm.
Most people who join have never held a torch before.
They start with an idea.
And end up with something that’s truly theirs.
Why Isabell Decided to Build Her Own Steel Frame
From hospital shifts to exhaustion
Isabell loves her job – but she loves road cycling even more.
She’s 37, a doctor. Dedicated, precise, compassionate.
It has always been a calling.
But even callings can wear you down.
Shifts. Weekends. Decisions by the minute.
Even on her days off, her mind stayed loud.
Her phone always within reach. Sleep shallow.
What she needed was space.
Escape, one hour at a time
On the bike, things were different.
Long climbs. Early mornings.
The quiet rhythm of breathing and effort.
When Isabell rides – her long blonde braid tied back, leaning over the bars, relaxed, in the flow – that’s when she’s fully herself.
Effortless. Fast. Grounded.
She doesn’t ride to prove anything.
She rides because the bike takes her away – from work, from pressure, from noise.
Sometimes just for an hour.
But that hour is hers.
Continue reading
She’s finished the Maratona dles Dolomites, the Ötztaler Radmarathon, and the brutal Race Across the Alps.
She lives for long climbs, tired legs, and that one moment at the top when it’s just her and the sky.
A perfect bike – but not her bike
Right now, she rides a carbon Wilier with Di2.
It’s stunning. Fast. Technically flawless.
That first ride? Pure magic.
But over time, something shifted.
A quiet thought she didn’t really want to admit:
“It’s not really my bike.”
Sometimes she even feels awkward about how much she paid for it.
Because the truth is – anyone can buy it.
What it lacked was connection. Meaning. Pride.
And maybe she felt that way because she remembered what real steel feels like.
Her first road bike was a Koga Miyata, a gift from her father.
A classic steel frame – simple, honest, beautiful.
She still remembers the hum of the tubes.
The calm confidence. The quiet strength of that ride.
The Wilier was perfect.
But the Koga – that was hers.
The moment everything changed
Then came the 2024 Spreewald Marathon.
200 km. Cold. Rainy.
Many riders didn’t even start – and Isabell almost didn’t either.
But she wanted to finish this year.
She knew her legs could carry her to the line.
And once she was rolling, she was glad she had started.
50 kilometers to go.
The hardest part behind her.
Her rhythm steady. Her mind clear.
And then—at kilometer 156—
the battery was dead.
No shifting. No adapting.
The ultra-modern bike? Useless.
She stepped off. Wet. Cold. Exhausted.
Looking at the bike she once adored.
And suddenly, she knew:
“Never again a bike that tells me when I’m done.”
The decision to build something of her own
She didn’t want a product.
She wanted a bike she understood.
Steel. Mechanical shifting. No hidden systems. No excuses.
Just something honest.
And hers.
And one step further:
Not buying it.
Building it.
A different kind of workshop
But this time, it didn’t mean taking a week off and going somewhere.
She would build it at home.
In her own space.
On her own schedule.
—
Still, she knew she didn’t want to do it alone.
Not with something like this.
So she joined the online framebuilding course.
Not to disappear into endless videos.
But to follow a clear path.
To have guidance when things got unclear.
And to be part of a group of people working toward the same goal.
People in different places, different lives, different professions.
All starting from different points.
But sharing the same idea:
To stop thinking about building a frame one day—
and actually begin.
—
So while Isabell worked from home, she was never really doing it alone.
There were others, spread across countries and time zones, moving through the same process.
Sharing progress. Asking questions. Getting stuck. Figuring things out.
And taking the next step.
Step by step
At the beginning, it still felt unfamiliar.
She had never held a torch in her hands before.
Never brazed a joint.
Never looked at a set of tubes and thought:
I know how this becomes a frame.
—
But that was the point.
Not knowing.
And starting anyway.
—
Step by step, it came together.
First the understanding.
Then the preparation.
Then the first cuts.
The first filing.
Moments of hesitation.
And then the first joint.
Careful at first.
Uncertain.
Then steadier.
More confident.
—
She learned how brass begins to move when the heat is right.
How much attention the work demands.
And how quiet the mind becomes when your hands are fully in it.
—
No hospital.
No constant noise.
No switching between things.
Just her, the material—and the work in front of her.
A frame that will never let her down
Over time, the separate pieces became something whole.
Tube by tube.
Joint by joint.
Until one day, she was no longer imagining her frame.
She was holding it.
Her own frame.
Not perfect.
But real.
Not made for anyone else.
Just for her.
These days, Isabell still rides after work.
Not because she needs an escape—
but because she can.
And every time she gets on the bike, she thinks:
“This one won’t let me down.”
Looking back – and ahead
Sometimes her thoughts drift back.
Not to a place.
But to the process.
To those moments of focus.
To the first joint.
To the people she built alongside—even if they were far away.
—
And she knows:
It was more than just building a bike.
It was a step back to herself.
—
Next year, she’ll ride the Haute Route.
On her own steel frame.
And like Isabell, most people who start this journey don’t begin with experience.
They begin with an idea.
A quiet thought that building something with their own hands might mean more than buying the next bike.
You don’t need to know everything before you start.
You just need a clear path.
👉 That’s exactly what this course is built to give you.
What this course actually is
This is an online framebuilding course that guides you from the first idea to your finished steel frame.
You work from your own space.
At your own pace.
But you’re not doing it alone.
You’re part of a group of people around the world building their frames alongside you.
Following the same process.
Solving the same problems.
Taking the next step.
This course is for you if:
- You’ve thought about building your own frame for years, but never knew where to start
- You enjoy working with your hands and want to create something real
- You don’t want another product — you want something that’s yours
- You’re willing to learn step by step
You don’t need:
- Prior experience with metalwork
- A background in engineering
- To figure everything out on your own
Most people start exactly where you are now.
