Bernhard’s Frame Building Course – Q & A

Bernhard attended the Big Forest Frameworks frame building course in 2022, built himself a road bike frame, and he sent us pictures of him and his bike out on the road. He took some time to write about his experience…

How did you first get the idea to build your own bike frame?
I first thought about it more than 30 years ago, when the mountain bike scene in the USA really got going. That is when I first got interested in building my own frame. But time went on, and it took quite a while before I finally got around to it.

Why did you decide to build this particular frame? Where do you plan to ride it?
Well, since I already have a few bikes at home, I decided to build a gravel bike which is something I don’t have. I live in the mountains, like to ride on the road, but with this bike I have the option of getting off the streets where maybe the surface isn’t as good as I usually ride. I am almost motivated to do a bit of touring, for which this bike should work really well.

What is special about the frame that you built?
That I know exactly why I decided on every detail on this frame, and that I actually built it myself. It was a lot of fun to build it, to do everything myself, as well as to paint it and build up the complete bike myself.

How was your time in the workshop?
It went by way too fast, and it was very interesting. I would have liked to build a second frame, I certainly had enough ideas. Robert and Konrad are very competent frame builders, the mood was fun and relaxed, and the music was great!

How does your bike ride?
It is perfect, I rode it quite a bit the past two years, and haven’t really rode any of my other bikes.