From Workshop to the End of the World
18. February 2025
What makes a bike truly yours? For this student, it started with curiosity—an interest in understanding the materials, process, and design behind a bicycle frame. But it was also practical. He wanted a bike that fit his needs, both for weekday commuting and weekend gravel adventures, but couldn’t find the right one off the shelf. That’s when he discovered Big Forest Frameworks and the idea of building his own frame became too exciting to ignore. From selecting materials to fine-tuning geometry, his journey through the frame building course was hands-on, rewarding, and even included a few unexpected surprises. Here’s his story.
It’s a twofold story. On the one hand, I was curious what it takes to build a frame, to understand more about the material, the process, and the design, and how it eventually comes together as a bicycle frame that has certain ride characteristics. Basically, this was fed by a curiosity towards- and appreciation of what makes a bike a bike. On the other hand, I was looking for another bike and was not able to find one that ticked all boxes. I was even considering having a custom built frame. Then I stumbled upon Big Forest Frameworks’ website, and imagined how cool it would be to learn to build a frame, and how nice it would be to cycle on a bike with a self-built frame.
Why did you choose this frame, and what do you plan to do with it?
Robert advised me on the geometry of the frame, and on the selection of the materials. We started off with the geometry of my current road bike, a Scott Addict RC, that fits very well. From there, we started to adjust the geometry based on my wishlist. For the materials, I picked the tubes based on a mix of esthetics and function. Since I knew I wanted to have the bike painted, I did not opt for stainless steel. And although weight was not a criterion, I am surprised how light the frame actually is. I would have expected a steel frame to be more heavy.
What’s special about your self-built frame?
I think this is a tricky question, because to me it is very special, but I understand that this may be less so for a neutral observer. What I like, besides having built it myself, is the combination of modern and traditional features. It is a steel bike, but with disc brakes. On the traditional part, the headset has external cups at the bottom (but is zero stack at the top), the seat stays are non-dropped, and the brake housing runs partially outside the bike. On the more modern aspects, it facilitates a UDH, has an internal T47 bottom bracket, and has an electronic shifting SRAM 1X drivetrain. My son decided on the color, and when I saw the purple I got the idea of mixing it with silver colored parts.
How was your time in the frame-building course?
It was great. My normal day to day job is in an office, and it was great to work with my hands for a week. Konrad and Robert are very patient teachers and very experienced frame builders, and I benefited greatly from their detailed instructions and guidance. There was ample time for my questions, and there was some room for trial and error (my largest obvious mistake being a hole drilled on the wrong side of a chainstay). Since I am not from the area, I took the time outside the course hours to explore the area. I managed to squeeze in some runs, a ride with Robert and the Thursday group ride departing from the BFF headquarters. It was awesome.
How does your finished bike ride?
