Hi Paul – thanks for taking a few minutes to answer our questions about your time in Potsdam and the frame you built in our 5-Day frame building course!

How did you come up with the idea of ​​building your own frame?
I have been working in the bicycle industry for over 5 years now, designing frames and attachments. So I am familiar with the design process and some manufacturing techniques, albeit for aluminum bikes. 3 years ago I worked as a product designer for Riese and Müller, now I am at Schindelhauer Bikes in Berlin. Personally, I rode a Koga Miyata Randonneur years ago and wanted to design my own bike because I find the slim profiles of steel tubed frames very elegant. But paired with wider tires, there wasn’t anything I could currently find on the market.

Why did you choose this frame? What do you plan to do with it?
The frame and the bike are actually a mix of many existing types of bikes. I pieced together the features that are most important to me, so to speak. The tire clearance of up to 650b x 2.5″ on MTBs, the slightly more upright seating position of Dutch bikes and the basket and lighting system of city bikes. For me it is a bike for day trips through Brandenburg or for heading down to get some ice cream.

What is special about the frame you built yourself?
The integrated cables, Gates belt drive, eyelets in the front frame triangle for a frame bag and the 35mm down tube. Maybe the color (:

How was the time in the frame building course for you?
Very educational and exciting but also exhausting at the same time. Physically and mentally, because if you drill one hole too many or a bit off center, you have a mistake in your own frame 😉 However, Robert and Konrad made sure that this didn’t happen and were very good and relaxed teachers. I really liked the calm atmosphere at the Big Forest Frameworks headquarters in Potsdam. I also liked the tools and tidy workshop!

How does your bike ride?
It is very comfortable and rolls over everything!