Bikester Magazine EN Summer 2021

SPRING / SUMMER 2021 

© DAVID SCHULTHEIß

NEVER STOP CYCLING 

VARIA RTL516 | EDGE ® 1030 PLUS | EDGE ® 130 PLUS 

GARMIN.COM

DEAR READER, 

Last year, record numbers of people got on their bikes, and we’ve 

been riding more than ever before. Many took a break over winter, 

but with the first rays of sunshine, the bike paths are soon filling up 

again. Watching all the people cycling is a dream come true, but it’s 

also becoming increasingly clear: something has to change. During the 

height of the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw how quickly bike lanes sprung 

up in big cities – where there’s a will, there’s a (bike) way. Politicians 

were crucial in pushing through new bike infrastructure, and we have 

to continue with the same determination. We need more bike lanes and 

better infrastructure that’s safe for everyone using the roads. 

But it’s not just politicians who can take action to ensure the cycling 

boom continues and new people start riding. We can all do our bit! 

Riding thoughtfully helps us make the most out of crowded bike lanes. 

An encouraging wave on a steep hill can help someone reach the top. 

A spare tube or puncture repair kit can save the weekend ride of a 

stranger in need. 

We can all contribute in our own small ways to this new era of cycling, 

whether it’s for fun, for our health or just to make cycling a normal 

means of transport. Our new motto is: there’s no better time to ride 

your bike! 

© LIV 

Your Bikester 

3

CONTENT 

12 

TO WORK. AT WORK. FOR WORK. 

The bicycle as transportation, facilitation and inspiration 

20 

EUROPEAN CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE DONE RIGHT! 

City maps redrawn for bikes 

26 

JUST GET GOING 

E-biking through Europe 

31 

HERE IS MY BIKE 

Jenny’s Orbea F35 

32 

SUSTAINABILITY IN CYCLING 

Making the cleanest form of transport even cleaner 

38 

RIDESSENTIALS 

Must-pack items for everyday riders 

44 

SPRING AWAKENING 

Mountainbike pros don’t take breaks 

49 


Sandra’s Norco Rampage 

50 

FROM BACKFLIPS TO AFTER-WORK LAPS 

How the German Freestyle BMX champion learned to love other bikes 

54 

FROM STUTTGART TO STELVIO 

Riding from the VOTEC HQ to the heart of the Alps 

60 


Andreas’ Bianchi Aria 

62 

PEDALLING TO FREEDOM 

How the bike empowered women 

BIKESTER

© LIV 

REACH FOR THE STARS 

5

© DAVID SCHULTHEIß 

BIKESTER

CITIES ARE 

FOR CYCLING 

7

WHAT COMES DOWN 

MUST GO UP 

BIKESTER

© ORBEA 

9

ALTITUDE DEMANDS 

THE RIGHT ATTITUDE 

BIKESTER

© CUBE 

11

Text: Ben Lubin 

TO WORK. 

AT WORK. 

FOR WORK. 

THE BICYCLE AS TRANSPORTATION, FACILITATION AND INSPIRATION. 

It‘s no secret that the bicycle is a great way to get to work. It‘s quick, sustainable and keeps you 

fit. The only downside is that you sometimes get rained on. But what if bikes were more than just a 

means of transportation? When they enrich your working life – even if you‘re not delivering anything? 

We met three people who told us why their bike is an indispensable part of their work. 

BIKESTER

© MARTIN OHLIGER 

13

MIRKO 

Mirko is a Berlin-based photographer who‘s 

also a passionate cyclist. Getting from job 

to job quickly and without public transport 

is essential for his work as he often shoots 

in remote or difficult-to-reach locations. 

Sometimes he also shoots sports events, so 

travelling by bicycle has many advantages and 

makes a better impression than arriving in a 

car. He has also been known for using the bike 

as a prop for some of his shoots. 


CHRISTIANE 

Christiane uses her bicycle to travel around 

the city, teaching children how to brush 

their teeth. Her e-bike gives her incredible 

flexibility and enables her to travel between 

appointments efficiently. Her lessons usually 

take place at primary schools or kindergartens 

that can be quite far from each other. She‘s 

also a keen bike tourist and has cycled from 

Berlin to Hamburg (and further) on her 

e-bike, having ridden 13,000 km over the past 

two years. 


BIKESTER

TOM 

We‘ve all seen paramedics in ambulances. 

But have you ever seen one on a bicycle? 

Tom Baverstock, who works for the London 

Ambulance Service, is one of 12 paramedics in 

London‘s East Merton area working on a new 

scheme visiting patients at home, by bicycle. 

These paramedics do many of the things 

people would see the doctor for. Previously, 

Tom worked as a ‘rapid response’ bike 

paramedic in Central London‘s Soho district. 

© LONDON AMBULANCE SERVICE 

WHY THE BICYCLE? 

Everybody interviewed gets around almost 

exclusively by bicycle. Mirko‘s rule for when 

to cycle is simple: “I always cycle – unless it‘s 

too far.” Thus, as long as his work doesn‘t take 

him out of the city limit, he does everything 

on two wheels. This means he rarely has to 

cycle further than ten kilometres. And that‘s 

in Berlin, a megapolis. This passionate cyclist‘s 

sporting roots emerge when he clarifies that 

he doesn‘t ride an e-bike – at least not yet. 

Christiane decided to cycle from one lesson to 

the next many years ago. Fed up with sitting in 

traffic jams, she wanted to save the cost, stress 

and effort of driving. Starting off with a regular 

bike, she switched to an e-bike a few years 

later. It also gives her some time for herself: “I 

get some exercise and get outside. It wakes me 

up before I arrive at work and gives me time to 

think and plan the lessons a bit.” She also saves 

money on public transport and only drives if 

the weather conditions are terrible. 

For Mirko, the bicycle has truly broadened his 

horizon. At sporting events like marathons, 

he can only keep up with the action on a 

bike and rides ahead to snap pictures of the 

athletes. In addition to this flexibility, he 

uses it in his everyday working life primarily 

for environmental reasons: he wants to live 

as sustainably as possible and avoid public 

transport as much as he can. This also means 

he doesn‘t have to waste time looking for a 

parking space. 

Paramedic Tom divides his current work 

between the ambulance and the bicycle. 

When not working from the ambulance, he‘s 

on the bike, visiting up to eight patients per 

day. For him, it‘s also essential that cycling 

is sustainable. Further than that, he‘s a 

great advocate for the bike‘s health benefits: 

“People see a paramedic on a bike and it 

instantly communicates a healthier lifestyle.” 

For a paramedic, the bicycle offers flexibility 

and makes accessing tricky places much easier 

and faster. This is especially true in congested 

cities, like London, where Tom used to work 

as part of a rapid-response bicycle paramedic 

team before beginning his aforementioned 

‘care in the community’ role. The bicycle 

has many advantages when it comes to 

administering ‘first aid’ and delivering 

vaccinations. It also means fewer ambulances 

on busy streets and he can use the smaller 

side streets that London is known for. As he 

explains: “You‘d be the first on the scene. (The 

bike is) quicker than an ambulance, especially 

when you‘re a paramedic having to go in and 

out of shops, bars and restaurants.” 

15

BIKESTER

THE BICYCLE AS A 

PACKHORSE 

For its myriad benefits, one inescapable fact 

about the bicycle is that it limits what you 

can carry; unlike with a car, you can‘t throw 

everything on the back seat or in the boot. 

This means you have to rely on your own 

strength to get stuff from A to B (and C!) – 

unless, that is, you use an e-bike. But for most 

cyclists, it seems packing light is only a small 

price to pay for the advantages the bicycle 

affords. 

You may wonder how a paramedic and 

photographer manage to cart around their 

stuff on a bike, but both cope fine without 

resorting to a cargo bike. Tom carries 

diagnostic equipment and can take blood 

and other samples. Yet he doesn‘t have any 

problems carrying everything in a pair of 

yellow panniers and a handlebar bag. This 

makes him a sort of ‘mobile doctor‘s practice’, 

and he brings with him a lot of the equipment 

you‘d see at your local doctor‘s surgery. On the 

other hand, Mirko carries everything on his 

back, with his backpack often weighing up 

to 20 kg. The weight of his bag depends very 

much on the type of photography he‘s into. 

For a lot of interior photography, he can get 

away with just a camera and a tripod; portrait 

photography requires more equipment. 

FAR MORE THAN A TO B 


Using a bicycle also has benefits that go far 

beyond providing transportation. Mirko and 

Christiane both incorporate their bikes into 

their jobs. Kroko, Christiane‘s hand puppet, 

rides in her bicycle basket. The children wait 

eagerly at the window to see the pair arrive 

and Christiane includes the bicycle in her 

stories, promoting cycling as healthy and 

environmentally friendly. For Mirko, the bike 

provides inspiration and variety. He‘s even 

used it to spice up boring locations and as an 

accessory for portraits. 

17

© DIAMANT 

A POSITIVE FUTURE 

For all three, the bicycle is always well received. 

Christiane‘s colleagues appreciate her cycling 

instead of driving; most kindergartens and 

schools, she says, are keen to be as green as 

possible. Some clients are surprised when 

Mirko arrives at a job on his bike carrying 

a heavy backpack, but are quickly won over 

once he explains the benefits. And naturally, 

when working with sports companies, cycling 

is much more ‘on-brand’ than driving in a gasguzzling 

car to appointments. 

Tom‘s patients are first and foremost grateful 

someone‘s visiting them at home. However, as 

he comments, “the first time they see us on 

a bike, the reaction is always very positive.” 

He hopes more paramedics will start working 

from bikes. According to him, London is one 

of the few cities with a ‘rapid response’ bike 

paramedic team and London Ambulance 

Service the first organisation of its kind to 

offer the new scheme visiting patients at 

home. He plans to take on more shifts with 

the bicycle and predicts that more cities will 

start to employ bicycle paramedics in the 

future. 

It‘s a fact that more and more people are 

replacing other methods of transport with a 

humble bicycle. Interestingly, many of these 

people are using the bike for far more than 

just transport. Just like the three people we 

met for this feature, we at Bikester believe 

that our life (together) will be massively 

improved by the bicycle in the coming years. 

Here‘s to a two-wheeled future! 

BIKESTER

IT’S TIME TO 

PACK UP AND 

HIT THE ROAD 

croozer.com 

19

Text: Oscar Hentmark 

EUROPEAN CYCLING 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

DONE RIGHT! 

CITY MAPS REDRAWN FOR BIKES 

As more and more people look for different ways to get from A to B, many are happily 

swapping their cars and public transport passes for bikes. Because of this, Europe‘s 

forward-thinking local governments are making improvements to bike infrastructure 

in and around their cities. And this, of course, is music to our ears here at Bikester! 

Urban cycling has steadily gained popularity for some time now – long before 

coronavirus forced many people to find new ways of commuting. With the evolution 

of e-bikes and growing environmental awareness, many city planners are rethinking 

things. This means ensuring bike lanes and bike parking meet the needs of modern 

commuters. 

So, we‘d like to highlight some of Europe‘s more interesting developments in bike 

infrastructure. And who knows, maybe this will inspire other creative minds to follow 

their lead! 

BIKESTER

© GEMMA EVANS 

21

MORE BIKES, LESS CARS 

We often hear this catchphrase from ecoconscious 

people or cities trying to be 

greener. One way to do this is to limit car 

traffic in dense urban areas by prohibiting 

certain cars (particularly older diesel models 

or those without catalytic converters) while 

promoting the eco-friendly and rewarding 

activity of cycling. Here are some cities that 

took this one step further. 

THE COPENHAGEN 

COMMUTE 

Denmark is a great place for cycling and 

bikes are a big deal in Copenhagen. People 

from far and wide commute by bike to the 

nation‘s capital every day. Cyclists used to 

have to ride right next to cars, which meant 

breathing in exhaust fumes and risking injury. 

To make it more enjoyable and safer, local 

governments built ‘bike highways’, separating 

bike lanes from car traffic so bike commuters 

could breathe fresher air and ride to work 

safely. Copenhagen even has dedicated bike 

boulevards and bike-only bridges. 

© STEINAR ENGELAND 

BIKESTER

STOCKHOLM‘S GREEN WAVE 

Sweden has done plenty to make life better 

for cyclists: from ‘thank you’ pillars next to 

bike lanes that count and encourage passing 

cyclists, to free pumping stations scattered 

around cities. Local governments have also 

implemented toll roads and other schemes to 

discourage people from driving in busy urban 

areas. One such scheme is the Green Wave 

in Stockholm‘s city centre. Stockholm city 

planners turned one of its longest and busiest 

commercial streets, Götgatan, into a bike 

and commuter-friendly road. This works as a 

flowing ‘bike wave’: in essence, the traffic lights 

change according to the speed and flow of 

cyclists instead of motorists. This way, cyclists 

get a run of green lights so they can ride the 

whole length of the street without stopping. 

Car drivers don‘t enjoy the same luxury. 

Knowing this, they choose alternative routes 

with fewer cyclists and pedestrians. Win-win. 

© TAISIIA SHESTOPAL 

PARK LIFE 

Most vehicles spend more time idling than 

moving; cars spend up to 94 % of the time 

parked by the road or garaged! So, tomorrow‘s 

bike infrastructure does not only need more 

cycle paths but also better parking facilities. As 

long as a large chunk of the street is occupied 

by parked cars (usually parked for free), it‘s 

unavailable for other users. The Hamburg 

project ex_kurs asked how this space might 

be used differently. A diverse team comprised 

of scientists and people who simply want 

to make a difference; they developed some 

innovative bike parking concepts. The most 

exciting of these is a compact triangular box 

that combines a covered long-term parking 

space (with enough room for a cargo bike) 

with a short-term space on the roof. Wouldn‘t 

it be fabulous to store your bike somewhere 

like this instead of desperately looking for 

a free space? In Copenhagen, city planners 

devised small garages for cargo bike riders 

who were struggling to find satisfactory 

parking. Somewhat ironically, these garages 

are actually car-shaped pink plastic shells, 

perfectly illustrating how four cargo bikes 

occupy the same space as one car. They 

even have solar panels for charging and 

places to dry damp clothes. For commuters, 

most major train stations have created 

huge areas with smart bike parking. This 

benefits those on longer journeys as well as 

commuters, promoting a more eco-friendly 

style of travelling. Many of these bike parking 

facilities innovatively stack the bikes on top 

of each other to best utilise the space. 

23

© CUBE 

AMSTERDAM‘S APPROACH 

Amsterdam is one of the world‘s best cities to 

enjoy on a bike: it has beautiful canals, cute 

little houses and charming, narrow streets. 

It was designed at a time before cars and 

garages but with mobility in mind. In a world 

where we desperately need to cut greenhouse 

gas emissions, changing how we travel is 

essential. Some cities, like Amsterdam, are 

doing this by prohibiting certain cars in 

densely populated areas. This equals a cleaner 

environment and more space for bikes and 

other types of e-mobility. 

In addition, the city has drastically raised 

parking fees in its centre, performs regular 

checks to reduce the number of “dead 

vehicles” and makes sure cabs and delivery 

vehicles have priority. And, of course, bikes. 

Most Amsterdamers use bikes to get around 

town, so this is a fantastic way for the city to 

show solidarity with cyclists. 

All of these cities, especially Amsterdam, 

are popular places for tourists. If nothing 

else, all of the initiatives mentioned in 

this article should inspire visitors to leave 

their cars behind, either at home or in a 

parking garage out of town. Instead, they 

can do what they‘re supposed to do in 

these beautiful cities – explore all the 

sights by bike! 

BIKESTER

ABUS QUIN SYSTEM 

CRASH 

DETECTION 

The ABUS QUIN system is the smart crash detection for ABUS helmets. 

On- or off-road, the QUIN chip reliably detects a crash. In the worst-case 

scenario, your emergency contacts are immediately informed 

about your location. 

abus.com/QUIN 

25

BIKESTER

Text: Martina Domnick, Photos: Carolin Töpfer 

JUST GET GOING 

E-BIKING THROUGH EUROPE 

Carolin Desirée Toepfer had big plans. In 

March 2020, the young entrepreneur was 

planning to emigrate to Tallinn to found a 

cybersecurity start-up – but Coronavirus 

and resulting travel restrictions threw 

a spanner in the works. After things 

calmed down a bit in the summer, 

Carolin decided to try again to reach 

her destination: albeit in a completely 

different way. 

Instead of getting on a plane for a 

couple of hours, she undertook a threemonth 

journey on an e-bike provided by 

Bikester. From Berlin, through the Czech 

Republic and Austria, along the Danube 

to Budapest and across Poland and the 

Baltic States, she cycled through ten 

countries and covered 2600 kilometres. 

On her journey, she met many exciting 

people, including other entrepreneurs. 

Even though many things were still up 

in the air, her goal was to move forward. 

No matter how slowly, she had to keep 

going. 

27

Last summer, you embarked on a 

journey most people can only dream 

of, spending three months on the road. 

Why did you decide on an e-bike for 

your tour from Germany to Estonia? 

I‘d done some extreme sports before, like 

CrossFit and obstacle courses. So, I know 

my body quite well and knew that I probably 

wouldn‘t be able to do it with a standard bike 

and luggage, or only very, very slowly. That‘s 

how I came to the e-bike and the cooperation 

with Bikester. Regarding trip planning, it was 

all about: what makes sense for such long a 

distance? 

Did you prepare physically in any 

particular way? 

No, I trained normally: resistance training in 

the gym, a bit of endurance, a lot of rowing 

and otherwise some exercises with the barbell 

– general fitness training. Later, it dawned on 

me that it doesn‘t hurt to have a bit of extra 

muscle when you‘re riding a fully-loaded bike: 

I had to carry it over a few railway tracks on 

the trip. But no, I didn‘t specifically train for 

the cycling. 

This brings us to our next question: how 

did you stow your luggage? Were there 

any challenges, and if so, how did you 

overcome them? 

I rearranged my luggage about five times 

before setting off! Then, at some point, I said 

to myself, „Well, I‘ve got to ride to Vienna 

first anyway, so I can sort it out there“. I 

ended up sending eight kilos back to Berlin. 

I‘d recommend this approach to everyone. In 

the beginning, I had a big backpack on the 

rear rack but realised pretty early that wasn‘t 

going to work. On flat stretches, excess 

luggage isn‘t a problem because the e-bike‘s 

motor compensates; in the mountains or on 

uneven paths it becomes more difficult to 

balance. 

So in the end, the idea is: plan well but 

keep your options open? 

Exactly. Don‘t approach it too cerebrally, 

either. I set myself a start date and resolved to 

really take off then. There are supermarkets, 

drugstores and bicycle shops all over Europe, 

where you can buy the essentials. I wasn‘t 

heading into the wilderness all alone. 

BIKESTER

DON‘T APPROACH IT TOO CEREBRALLY, EITHER. 

I SET MYSELF A START DATE AND RESOLVED TO 

REALLY TAKE OFF THEN. 

How did you plan your route and which 

(known) routes did you take? 

I had a plan at the beginning, but it didn‘t 

really work out. First, I looked up the 

Eurovelo routes and downloaded various apps 

to my phone, but it quickly became apparent 

that no one had ridden some of these paths 

before. And although the route should‘ve 

been ‚touring-bike friendly‘, I had to ride my 

bike like it was a mountain bike: often there 

were simply no good bike paths. 

The Eurovelo route stopped abruptly outside 

Prague: it was raining cats and dogs on the 

way from Prague to Ceske Budejovice and it 

was all uphill. Luckily a passing lady picking 

up a sofa with a trailer let me hitchhike (with 

my bike) to the next stop with her. 

29

Approximately how many kilometres 

did you ride per day and how often did 

you take a break? 

At the beginning, I cycled around 40-50 

kilometres a day, and by the end, sometimes 

130. In retrospect, I don‘t recommend 

starting with mountain regions, because the 

climbs are really tough. But I definitely learnt 

a lot from these early stages: what my body‘s 

capable of. Also, that I can ride for a good 

three days before needing a break to recover. 

What kind of people did you meet on 

the trip and how did they react to you 

covering such a long distance on an 

e-bike? 

I met a lot of people at petrol stations and 

in front of supermarkets and they were all 

friendly and fascinated. Women over 50 were 

particularly impressed, often saying „it‘s so 

cool you‘re doing this now when you‘re 30,“ 

because they felt too old or hadn‘t dared do 

something like this. There were also many 

people who were thinking about buying 

an e-bike. So, I also gave advice on e-bikes, 

because people often associate e-bikes with 

older or less athletic riders. I was a good 

counter-example – especially after I‘d built up 

my fitness and looked tanned and sporty from 

head to toe. 

I also think it‘s important to mention that as a 

woman, I had no negative experiences on this 

three-month tour. No one harassed me or was 

pushy. Those common fears that women have 

before they go out on their own – nothing like 

that ever happened. I was treated respectfully 

and strangers helped me. 

How was it cycling for days through 

forests and other isolated areas? 

It‘s really relaxing to be out in nature on your 

own and not see a soul for miles. You quickly 

realise what‘s important: knowing your body, 

having adequate water and food, and knowing 

where you‘ll spend the night once it gets to 

late afternoon. In this current time of crisis, 

and because I continued to work as usual 

during the tour, this was a valuable experience. 

Typical work stress seemed to affect me less – 

you realise these things aren‘t fundamentally 

important to your survival. 

A change of perspective. What can you 

recommend to our readers if they want 

to do a longer tour? You don‘t have to 

ride 2600 kilometres… 

I‘d recommend starting with 40-50 kilometres, 

a day ride. Then just camp somewhere for a 

night or stay in a hotel. That can be a great 

change of pace and almost anyone can do it. 

You don‘t have to have the perfect equipment 

at first and you‘ll soon find out what you‘re 

missing once you get going! It‘s important 

to listen to your body and research the route 

beforehand. Flatter, well-maintained routes 

along rivers and near railway lines are great for 

beginners. Other than that: just start cycling! 

BIKESTER

Orbea Gain F35 

City E-bike 

© EMELIE VOLTAIRE 

HERE IS 

MY BIKE 

JENNY — ORBEA GAIN F35 

Who are you and what do you do at 

Bikester? 

I‘m Jenny and I work at product information. 

That is – I make sure that products in the 

webshop get the right texts and specs. In 

my spare time, I offset my fancy e-bike 

commuting by riding the dirtiest trails I can 

find on my mountain bike. It can be anything 

from regular trail to enduro or downhill. I 

love messy rock gardens and I‘m trying to 

overcome my fear of gaps and doubles. 

Which bike do you ride and why? 

I ride an electric Orbea Gain F35, for a few 

reasons: The biggest? I hate, hate, HATE 

public transport. So, really profoundly! 

My whole day is ruined after a morning of 

stressful train stations, crowded buses and 

subway changes. I‘d much rather ride alone, in 

peace, instead. You can always dress for rain. 

And the electric motor means that I don‘t get 

sweaty or need to change in the office, even if 

I have some big hills to climb. 

31

BIKESTER

Text: Martin Ohliger 

SUSTAINABILITY 

IN CYCLING 

MAKING THE CLEANEST FORM OF TRANSPORT EVEN CLEANER 

Each time you choose cycling over driving 

you save a good 200 g of carbon dioxide 

per kilometre. If the alternative is taking 

the metro, you‘ll still save about 50 g 

per kilometre. Even the comparatively 

economical diesel bus still emits about 

20 g more CO ² 

per kilometre than you 

do on your bike! In addition, bicycles 

(including e-bikes) require comparatively 

few resources in production, take up 

hardly any space on the road and are nice 

and quiet. By making careful decisions 

during and after buying, you can reduce 

your already rather small two-wheeled 

ecological footprint even further, until 

only a superslim tyre track remains. 

33

HOW GREEN IS YOUR 

FRAME? 

That, of course, depends on your bike. 

Traditional bicycle frames are made of steel 

or aluminium, neither of which are ideal 

materials. Steel is heavy, and aluminium 

requires enormous amounts of energy in the 

production. Around 1600 kilowatt hours of 

electricity are needed to extract, melt and 

shape the aluminium ore for a single bicycle – 

that‘s about one third of the annual electricity 

consumption of a household of four! Both 

materials can be recycled, but it requires 

enormous amounts of energy to do so. 


Magnesium, on the other hand, offers 

a happy medium between performance 

and sustainability. This is why new-kidon-the-block 

Vaast exclusively uses a new 

magnesium alloy called ’Super Magnesium‘ 

for its frames. While the substantial 

weight savings are a welcome by-product, 

the primary focus falls on the material‘s 

sustainability. Magnesium offers a double 

advantage here, as Daniel Schlegel, who 

is responsible for the brand‘s European 

sales, explains: ”The main difference is the 

energy required to manufacture certain tube 

shapes. Magnesium requires significantly 

lower temperatures for this than aluminium. 

This is one way our alloy is a lot ’greener‘. 

Additionally, magnesium is 100 % recyclable 

– that means we can take an old magnesium 

frame, melt it down and make a new frame 

or other magnesium products from it.“ 

THE SUM OF ITS PARTS 

Riding a magnesium bicycle is a step in the 

right direction, environmentally speaking. 

But going out and buying a new bike for 

this reason wouldn‘t be right. The most ecofriendly 

bike is always the one you already 

own and ride. The longer you use a bike (and 

its parts), the better. Consider it a direct, 

beneficial contribution to the environment 

to park it somewhere dry where it won‘t rust. 

This also means saving time and money by 

taking it to the bike shop for repairs. You‘ll 

extend the service life of the components, 

which actually accounts for most of a bicycle‘s 

material consumption. Over a bike‘s entire 

lifespan, it makes a huge difference whether 

you need a new chain after each winter or not. 

BIKESTER


35

”STRAWS AREN‘T THE 

BIGGEST PROBLEM“ 

You can also positively affect your carbon 

footprint via your cycling outfits. Pamela 

Barclay from Endura knows a thing or two 

about this. Responsible for sustainability as 

co-founder and brand director, she explains 

things in no uncertain terms: ”(Drinking) 

straws aren‘t the biggest problem. We have 

to focus on global warming now, otherwise 

soon we won‘t even be able to consider 

things like recycling.“ The one million trees 

planted by Endura each year in Scotland and 

Mozambique offset the global company‘s 

CO2 emissions. The company is very keen to 

stress that this is only a temporary solution 

until viable methods make global supply 

chains completely sustainable. 

Endura is also pushing environmentally 

friendly production alternatives. However, 

this works quite differently to how you might 

imagine. At first glance, natural fibres are a 

safe bet in terms of sustainability. But cotton, 

to take just one example, has a devastating 

water balance. For one t-shirt, cotton plants 

absorb or pollute up to 4100 litres of water! 

Instead, Endura mainly uses partly-recycled 

synthetic fibres. This also helps them 

guarantee properties such as their almost 

legendary durability. So, garments don‘t end 

up in the recycling bin after one season; you 

can wear them for years and years, and they‘re 

easy on your wallet and the environment in 

equal measure. Hopefully, by the time you 

wear out the jacket you buy today, solutions 

for recycling synthetic fibres on a large scale 

will be ready for the market. 

But durable doesn‘t mean invincible. If 

you have an accident or rip a hole in your 

favourite trousers, Endura will repair them 

for a nominal fee. Many other companies 

offer similar services or organise repair 

workshops – so you can repair your clothes as 

easily as your bike. 

© ENDURA 

BIKESTER

© ENDURA 

WASHING MAKES YOUR 

FOOTPRINT DIRTIER! 

Recycled raw materials and durable designs 

are just one side of the coin. Around 20 % 

of a garment‘s total CO2 emissions are 

caused by washing it. So, you can also help 

the environment when it comes to aftercare. 

Of course, underwear has to be washed 

after every ride, as do very sweaty or muddy 

clothes. But does your jacket really have to go 

in the washing machine just because it got a 

bit dusty? In many cases, you can simply tap 

out or brush off the dirt when it‘s dry. Natural 

materials also react surprisingly well to being 

hung outside the window to air for a day. 

SUSTAINABILITY: THE KICK 

IN THE BUTT WE NEED 

As you can see, it doesn‘t have to cost a penny 

to be a little greener on your bike. Whether 

you‘re planning to buy a new bike or jersey, 

it‘s worthwhile looking for recycled or easily 

recyclable materials such as magnesium or 

certain types of polyester. This way, you‘ll 

minimise your ecological footprint whilst 

supporting companies like Vaast and Endura, 

for whom sustainability is an essential driving 

force for their development. Thanks to their 

search for more ecologically sound materials 

and manufacturing processes, we now have 

affordable, comfortable and greener products 

to choose from. If more companies start 

using sustainability to drive innovation, and 

we support them, the ride towards a greener 

future can really begin! 

37


Text: Bramm Clitherow 

RIDESSENTIALS 

MUST-PACK ITEMS FOR EVERYDAY RIDERS 

Riding bikes is fun and easy, but it doesn‘t hurt to be prepared for the odd hiccup! All of us take different kit with us on our 

rides – different bikes and locations require different tools, and our past experiences shape what we consider essential. 

We‘re all very different people, too. Some can only enjoy a ride if they‘re ready for anything, while others are risk-takers 

who‘ll leave the house with the bare minimum, safe in the knowledge that „it‘ll all be fine“. With this in mind, we interviewed 

a few riders to see what their pack must-haves are and why. 

BIKESTER

BRITTANY 


Please introduce yourself 

Hi! I‘m Brittany. I‘ve been living in Berlin for 

two years and was born and raised in Portland, 

Oregon. My trusty steed is a Bombtrack 

Hook EXT. It‘s a gravel bike that I can fit big 

comfy tyres on, has lots of mounting points 

for luggage, and a dynamo front wheel so I 

always have lights and power. 

What‘s in your pack for a typical ride? 

A Swiss Army knife (for cutting cheese and 

opening wine), multitool, spare tube, tyre 

levers, pump with duct tape around it, tube 

patch kit, zinc sunscreen, extra hair ties, 

peanut butter and jelly sandwich, raincoat, 

and cash. 

Are you optimistic or pessimistic when 

packing? 

Coming from Portland, Oregon, I grew up 

with the saying „there‘s no such thing as bad 

weather, just bad clothing.“ I‘m a pessimist so 

will always take a rain jacket with me! 

What is a luxury you take with you? 

Waterproof socks! I struggled through too 

many rides with cold, wet feet before I bought 

some – they‘re a real game-changer. 

What do you do about food? 

Food is a big part of why I love to cycle. I 

love pizza so much that me and a group of 

friends started a group called Pizza Gravel 

where we plan our rides around our favourite 

pizza parlours! When I plan a route, I make 

sure there are plenty of opportunities to 

grab a bite. I‘m a huge fan of coffee breaks, 

sampling local cuisine and will happily stop 

at a gas station for a bratwurst and cola. For 

longer tours, Haribo are essential to get me 

up long climbs! 

Do you have any cheap ’hacks‘? 

Zip ties and duct tape are the obvious hacks, 

but I once used hair ties to hold my bags 

to the handlebars when the straps broke – 

they’re very useful. 

What‘s your weirdest/most innovative 

roadside fix? 

My derailleur hanger broke on a long ride, and 

none of the bike shops we passed had a spare 

one. After ringing around all the shops in 

the area, a bike mechanic ended up grinding 

down another derailleur hanger to fit. Lesson 

learned: always bring a spare derailleur hanger 

with you. 

Would you lend someone your (only) 

spare inner tube? 

Of course! But I’d try to fix their puncture 

first. I also guess it depends on how far it is to 

the nearest town...but I‘d like to say yes. 

39

OTTILIE 


I‘m Ottilie and I‘m a teacher in London. 

My commute takes roughly 35 minutes, 

through the busy streets of central London. 

I commute every day, no matter the weather. 

My bike is pretty standard, but I added a rack 

for my panniers and lights for winter. Apart 

from that, I like it just the way it is. 


I usually take just the one pannier with some 

textbooks, my marking, a couple of pens and 

my purse. I also take a packed lunch and 

a thermos full of coffee. If I‘m going food 

shopping, I‘ll take both panniers to have a bit 

more room. 


packing? 

I‘m an optimist, so I definitely prefer to pack 

light. If it‘s boiling, I sometimes wear cycling 

shorts and change at work, but that‘s about 

the only clothing change I make. 

© CLEMENTINE CHEETHAM 

BIKESTER

© CLEMENTINE CHEETHAM 


I like to think I‘d take a picnic if I‘m going 

for a weekend ride, but in reality, I think it‘s 

much better to plan a ride that goes past a 

pub. That way I don‘t really have to take 

anything with me. 


My cycling hack is a piece of advice – don‘t 

believe the hype! You don‘t need anything to 

cycle really; no special tools or gear. If you‘re 

worried about arriving at work a bit sweaty 

and having to bring a change of clothes, it‘s 

much better to just slow down and arrive fresh 

and ready to work, rather than race along and 

need to pack spare clothes to change into. 


roadside fix? 

I‘ve never had to fix my bike really, although 

I‘ve repaired a few punctures on cycling 

holidays. The only time anything has gone a 

bit wrong was a slight gear mishap on my way 

up a big hill, but as luck would have it, the 

next person to cycle past was a bike mechanic 

who sorted the problem for me! 

Would you lend someone your (only) 

spare inner tube? 

Obviously I would! Well, if I was hours away, 

and it was dark, and I was hungry, then maybe 

I wouldn‘t risk giving my spare out, just in 

case. Otherwise, I‘d definitely help a fellow 

cyclist in need! 

41

SABINE & 

MATHIAS 

© GUIDO WIRTZ 


We are Sabine and Mathias from Wannweil 

near Reutlingen. We‘re both retired now 

so we can really focus on our passion for 

cycling. We‘re keen touring cyclists – whether 

it‘s a daytrip or a multi-week tour – and our 

ultimate goal is to cycle around the world 

in stages. We want to do three months 

every year and the first leg was meant to be 

this year, cycling Prague – St. Petersburg – 

Helsinki then back home. We ride matching 

Winora Yakun pedelecs; they‘re super stable 

touring e-bikes. Having the same bike also 

makes repairs very simple, as when we take 

one apart, we still have an example to copy! It 

also means we can share spares. 


Quite a lot! A map, first aid kit, phone (with a 

battery and charger for longer tours) tools and 

repair kit including a spare tube, bike manual, 

lemon sweets, water, apples, carrots, landjäger 

(a semi-dried sausage snack), bread, picnic 

blanket, bathing suit for spontaneous dips, 

toilet paper, pocket knife, sunscreen, chamois 

cream, tour diary, sewing kit, lipstick, a 

hairbrush and disinfectant. 


packing? 

We are realistic. If the forecast is mixed, we‘ll 

take jackets; if it’s supposed to be sunny, we‘ll 

take sunscreen instead. 

BIKESTER

Is there a luxury item you always bring 

with you? 


For me, it‘s definitely lipstick and a hairbrush 

so that I cut a „bella figura“ off the bike! 


We like to take breaks in beer gardens, but 

this year due to Corona, we‘ve been having 

lots of picnics instead. 


Cable ties, duct tape and a multitool are 

essential and plastic bags are very useful for 

trash and putting over your socks when it 

rains, etc. 


roadside fix? 

The most difficult repair was replacing a brake 

cable, but with a little patience, we fixed it. 

The wackiest repair was a burst tyre on the 

South Island of New Zealand. We didn‘t have 

a replacement with us and soon discovered 

that buses were few and far between. We 

tried hitchhiking, which is not easy with two 

e-bikes. A lovely Australian couple did some 

serious rearranging and managed to squeeze 

our bikes into their VW camper, and gave us 

a lift 80 km to town! 

Have you ever helped out someone who 

broke down on the side of the road with 

tools or a spare part? 

We‘ve helped a lot with punctures and have 

even helped someone with a spoke. Others 

have also helped us; once when we just couldn‘t 

get a tyre off, some construction workers who 

saw our struggle kindly helped us. 


43

Text: Nathalie Schneitter, Photos: Balz Weber 

SPRING AWAKENING 

MOUNTAIN BIKE PROS DON‘T TAKE BREAKS 

Nathalie Schneitter has forgotten more about mountain biking than 

most people will ever know. She was a professional in the Cross- 

Country World Cup for 11 years until she quit her job and became 

a passionate cyclist again. Hang on. What does that mean? Well, 

mainly that she wanted to ’live‘ a bit more and really enjoy riding a 

bike again. This is a short essay by a woman who knows exactly how 

happy cycling can make you. 

BIKESTER

45

Professional sport is, above all things, a 

matter of meticulous planning. The season is 

fully scheduled for autumn, meaning athletes 

know what they‘ll be doing every single week 

for the next year. Weekends at home are few 

and far between and spending nights in hotel 

rooms becomes the norm. However, being 

flexible is just as important as having the 

right plan. After all, plans should help you 

to reach your goals. If the initial situation 

or goal changes, the plan must be adjusted 

accordingly. A perfect example of this is the 

coronavirus. I‘d wager that more plans have 

been turned upside down than executed 

because of it. As an athlete, I know only too 

well how illness, injury or other hurdles can 

mean ’adjusting your course‘ becomes the 

only option. Knowing your body and how to 

communicate are crucial. Neither my coach 

nor team manager know better what it‘ll take 

for me to succeed; I am and remain the only 

expert when it comes to my own performance. 

BIKESTER

I‘D WAGER THAT MORE PLANS HAVE BEEN 

TURNED UPSIDE DOWN THAN EXECUTED. 

To progress in sport, you need goals to 

challenge and motivate you. Moreover, they 

have to become the centre of your world. 

After all, you have to pour your blood, sweat 

and tears into it, while not losing that sense of 

fun – an unparalleled balancing act! If you lose 

interest in your goals, it‘s a good indication 

the goals are either too easy or too difficult, 

that smaller goals are missing along the way, 

or that they just aren‘t that important to you. 

You obviously need to adjust your course 

if you lose focus, despite having clear goals. 

Even after a professional career, many an 

athlete will find themselves filling their life 

with new plans. After all, they don‘t know any 

other way. 

47

Since the groundwork for the upcoming 

season is laid in the winter months, the 

wonder that normal folk experience from 

picturesque frozen landscapes is wasted on 

most professional cyclists. Sure, a winter 

training camp somewhere with warm weather 

(hopefully) offers endless sunny hours on the 

bike, but on the other hand, it can become 

quite monotonous. The realisation that in 

winter you can leave your road bike in the 

garage for a few weeks, do other sports, or go 

and play in the mud on your mountain bike 

for the sheer joy of it, is new. What‘s also new 

is that you can simply go home when you get 

cold feet, or that it‘s okay to spend a Sunday 

on the sofa every now and then. You get a new 

appreciation for this if you‘ve seen it from the 

other side. 

In spring, when the days get longer, the 

sun comes out and the birds are chirping 

in the trees, this is when anticipation for 

the new cycling season is at its greatest. 

Thus, this springtime joy is new for many 

ex-professionals. Spring used to mean being 

burnt out from all the basic training and torn 

between relief and fear that the season is 

about to start. Some people regain their love 

of cycling after they retire as pros. Nothing‘s 

more fun than rocketing down trails on the 

mountain bike or exploring the forest for 

hours on a gravel bike. That‘s why I‘m so 

happy to work with Endura: their clothes 

mean I can ride in style – with an ecologically 

clear conscience – in lycra or baggies. 

Getting back into the swing of things in 

spring is, of course, nowadays that bit 

tougher. Lowering your own expectations and 

being patient with yourself is the only thing 

that helps. If you don‘t think about how fit 

you are on those first rides, but instead how 

much good the exercise and nature are doing 

you, the spring awakening can be a good 

thing. The fitness gain becomes a positive 

side effect. 

CYCLING MAKES YOU HAPPY, 

AND THAT‘S A FACT. 

BIKESTER

Norco Rampage Team 

Dirt jump bike 


HERE IS 

MY BIKE 

SANDRA — NORCO RAMPAGE TEAM 



Hi! I‘m Sandra, and I work in the Bikester 

store in Stockholm. Working in the shop, 

I can share my love of cycling every day. I 

used to be a tour guide in Europe, and when 

I moved back home to Sweden, I chose 

Stockholm because of the amazing cycling 

scene here. During the summer you‘ll find me 

riding one of the ski-lift accessible downhill 

parks, and in the winter I ride the indoor 

bike-parks so I can avoid the snow and cold! 


I ride a Norco Rampage Team with 26-inch 

wheels. It‘s a dirt bike I use to sharpen my 

jumping technique with geometry that‘s ideal 

for everything from dirt jumps and riding 

pump tracks to practising tricks in a foam pit. 

I removed the front brake and shortened the 

handlebars to make certain tricks easier and 

to get a better position on the bike. It seems 

to have worked pretty well as I did a 360 on 

my first attempt, something I struggled with 

before! 

49

FROM BACKFLIPS 

TO AFTER-WORK LAPS 

Text & Photos: Martin Ohliger 

HOW THE GERMAN BMX FREESTYLE CHAMPION LEARNED TO LOVE OTHER BIKES 

BIKESTER

It was on! The judges were merciless in the first round and had brutally 

punished him for a minor mistake. If Daniel Tünte still wanted to become 

German Champion, his final run needed to be absolutely flawless. For 60 

action-packed seconds he flew over the course without showing any sign 

of pressure. He soared over gaps upside down, he spun and sometimes 

the bike spun without him. In the end, everything came together, and 

Daniel became the first official German BMX Freestyle Champion. One 

and a half years later though, the same athlete pedals off into the sunset 

on a new gravel bike. Instead of pads, he wears Lycra, and the rides now 

last much longer than a single minute. So, what happened? 

BMX looks like a sport for adrenaline junkies who enjoy falling. Is that 

true? 

If you want to learn the most spectacular tricks, you‘ve got to be a bit crazy. But 

falling is a small part of it – you wear protective gear and learn how to fall safely. 

What did your training look like during your BMX career? 

There were no club structures in BMX for a long time. Improving always just 

meant learning the next trick or hitting new jumps. That‘s how it was for ten years 

of my professional career, but then BMX Freestyle became an Olympic discipline. 

This led to the development of club structures, a national squad was set up, and I 

got in on the ground floor. 

And then you became German Champion? 

Yes, in March 2019, that was the first German championship under the World 

Cycling Federation‘s rules. I was over the moon to win, and I‘m still the reigning 

German Champion. But in the end, it was just a contest where I could stand on 

the top of a podium. 

When you won, were you training a lot? 

Before I was in the national squad, I just went BMX riding when I wanted to. If I 

didn‘t feel like it for a week, I just didn‘t do it. I didn‘t do any compensatory sports 

either. But when I started with the squad, I began training more to improve my 

BMX performance. I started strength training with weights three times a week and 

endurance training on the ergometer (stationary bike) twice a week. Of course, I 

still rode my BMX, too. It changed very quickly and became a completely different 

sport for me, losing some of its fun. I ended up training every single day in 2019. 

51

Has training and the national squad 

changed your attitude towards 

competitions? 

Not at all. I‘ve always wanted to ride well 

and get the best results. Competitions have 

always been part of BMX for me. It‘s always 

been more about showing the people what I 

can do, whether it‘s a hundred or a thousand 

people watching. 

It was through the national squad that 

you had your first road bike experience, 

right? 

Yes, exactly. At the end of 2017, I flew to Spain 

with the team for a road bike training camp. I 

rode a road bike every day for ten days – even 

though I‘d never been on a road bike before. 

It was exhausting to ride for three hours 

through the mountains when it was overcast 

and raining. Luckily, it was a basic endurance 

camp, so the others weren‘t going too fast, 

and I could keep up. I thought it was cool, 

but I still did all my endurance training on the 

ergometer after that. I just never got around 

to buying a bike, but I decided it was time 

during the lockdown. 

Why then of all times? 

Many friends of mine here in Berlin have 

road bikes, and when the lockdown started, 

BMX and other sports suddenly fell away. 

That‘s when it started for me – suddenly 

everyone got their road bikes out again, and 

the weather gets way nicer in spring, too. It 

was really the perfect time, and so I finally 

made the move. 

Have you been training hard on your 

gravel bike? 

No, definitely not. I just rode anywhere I 

fancied, mainly on the road, to get some 

exercise. You can have a relaxed conversation 

cycling along if you don‘t accelerate too 

much. Gravel rides are the most fun for me, 

especially overnight trips. I really want to do 

some bikepacking when we‘re allowed to travel 

again. We did a tour in Saxon Switzerland in 

the summer, and that‘s exactly what I‘d like to 

do more. But I also use the road bike every day 

to get around town. 

BIKESTER

So the gravel bike isn‘t just a piece of 

sports equipment for you? 

Not at all. Sometimes I commute with it, 

and sometimes we try and push ourselves 

by setting average speed targets for the 

ride. It really can be relaxed or competitive, 

depending on your mood. 

Do you have any ambitions to compete 

on a gravel bike? 

No way, why would I do that?! With BMX 

you can have the talent and just practice the 

tricks until they work, which is really fun. But 

training with intervals and stuff like that is no 

fun at all for me. Longer rides are great, but 

the training I would have to do to get better 

and faster is really not for me. 

How has the gravel bike changed your 

life? 

I got to know Berlin and Brandenburg in a 

completely different way. I doubt I would‘ve 

visited Saxon Switzerland without a gravel 

bike, and it was a great experience to ride 

along the small paths and enjoy the beautiful 

landscape. 

Is the gravel bike just a bigger BMX 

bike? 

With BMX, the community is in the 

foreground, and everything around the sport 

is for fun. Road and gravel riding are a mixture 

of sport and community. It‘ll probably replace 

BMX for me in the future – at some point my 

body won‘t play along with a BMX anymore, 

but I‘ll still be able to get out into the 

countryside on the gravel bike. 

53

Text: Martin Ohliger. Photos: Tom Schlegel 

FROM STUTTGART 

TO STELVIO 

FROM VOTEC HQ TO THE HEART OF THE ALPS 

BIKESTER

The Stelvio Pass is more than just a mountain road; it’s a legend. The second highest 

paved pass in Europe is often featured in the Giro d’Italia and has been a ‘make or 

break’ moment for some of the biggest names in cycling. With the countless stories 

surrounding it, the Stelvio Pass has become a mecca for road cyclists looking for a 

challenge – the ultimate endurance test at 2,757 metres above sea level. 

55

Many at Votec HQ have looked south 

longingly over the years – would it be possible 

to ride non-stop from Stuttgart to the Stelvio 

Pass? The launch of the new Votec VRC, 

an all-road bike with serious long-distance 

capability, provided the perfect opportunity 

to accomplish this dream. The idea was 

simple: put together the right team and just 

go for it. 

Knowing the riders, it was clear that even 

390 kilometres with 7,250 metres of altitude 

weren’t going to cause too many problems. 

One of the riders, Marion, said it would be “a 

piece of cake” in the run-up – and this wasn’t 

just an idle boast! Like teammates Maren and 

Raphael, she’d already completed numerous 

long-distance tours like this, some of them 

over considerably longer distances. So, all 

three approached the challenge with the 

calm confidence of riders who had very little 

doubt they could pull it off. Things were a bit 

different for Lukas. Although he’s retained a 

lot of the fitness from his professional cycling 

career, he had no experience of similar rides: 

“I’d always thought I cycled a lot, but once I 

heard the stories from the rest of the group, I 

panicked. I’m completely inexperienced when 

it comes to ultra-long-distance stuff, and the 

rest of them do stuff like this all the time.” 

The ride started in Stuttgart, went to Lake 

Constance via the Swabian Alb, took in the 

Flüela and Ofen Passes in Switzerland, and 

finished at Stelvio after climbing the Umbrail 

Pass. Looking at the elevation profile, the first 

250 kilometres seem relatively flat. They’re 

not, of course, but the Swabian Alb almost 

resembles a series of gentle hills compared 

to the proper mountain stages later. The ride 

really got going at Lake Constance. To get the 

most daylight, the team planned to start at 

midnight and reach the Stelvio Pass by sunset 

– ambitious but not impossible. 

BIKESTER

“THE FIRST MOUNTAIN WAS AT 250 KILOMETRES, IT 

WAS THIRTY DEGREES IN THE SHADE, AND THERE WERE 

STILL 5,500 METRES OF CLIMBING AHEAD OF US.” 

- Raphael 

57

The group were pretty much strangers before 

the ride, so there was a bit of tension in the 

air, but it didn’t take long to break the ice. It 

wasn’t long before the team had settled into 

a rhythm and were moving steadily toward 

the mountains. With fresh legs, things went 

smoothly. The sunrise was a huge boost, 

especially for Maren: “The sun came up 

on the Swabian Alb, and I could see the 

panorama of the Alps on the horizon in the 

direction we were heading. That was a great 

feeling and reminded me of my first tour to 

the Baltic Sea, one of my first ‘aha!’ moments 

on the bike.” 

The mountains slowly got closer – something 

completely unfamiliar for a few in the group. 

Only Raphael had experience with longer 

climbs, but even he hit a low point on the 

first mountain: “We were already knackered 

after the flat part. The first mountain was at 

250 kilometres, it was thirty degrees in the 

shade, and there were still 5,500 metres of 

climbing ahead of us.” That alone would be a 

gargantuan task, let alone after having already 

ridden for ten hours. 

4 RIDERS 

389 KM 

7260 METRES 

OF ELEVATION 

17:00 H 

TIME OF MOVEMENT 

FLÜELA, OFEN, 

UMBRAIL PASS 

BIKESTER

For Lukas, however, this is where the fun 

began. Being a sports scientist, he had 

meticulously planned his nutrition for 

the ride and had already consumed twelve 

energy gels by the time the group reached 

Lake Constance. This obviously hadn’t done 

him any harm: “I felt a bit guilty because I 

suddenly got a burst of energy and wanted 

to talk to everyone! I was doing far too well 

for someone who’d already ridden nearly 300 

kilometres.” The plan to reach the Stelvio 

Pass summit at sunset was shattered on the 

first real mountain: the Flüela Pass. The 

descent had been delayed – everyone was 

riding uphill at their own pace, and in a group, 

rest stops take longer than when riding solo. 

This wasn’t a problem, as the motto of the 

tour was “experience over results”. And so, 

the climb up of the Stelvio Pass started with 

the last rays of sunshine. Raphael let Lukas 

entertain him at the beginning of the climb, 

with anecdotes from the world of pro cycling 

before having to let him go on ahead. Marion 

and Maren, on the other hand, were running 

low on optimism. Maren struggled with the 

altitude: it was a far cry from her typical 

training terrain in super-flat Brandenburg. 

As she puts it: “I thought to myself: Why the 

hell are you doing this? Why aren’t you doing 

yoga like your friends?” And then there was 

the constant threat of the support vehicle, 

an ever-present temptation to throw in the 

towel. It had helped keep morale high all 

day with refreshments but became a test for 

everyone during that moonlit climb. In the 

end, no one gave in to temptation, and after 

a good 20 hours, the group stood in complete 

darkness at the top of one of the most famous 

passes in cycling. Pure goosebumps! The 

numbers might look overwhelming, but tours 

of this kind are by no means the preserve of 

exceptional athletes. Of course, you need to 

be fit, but you don’t need decades of training 

or a support vehicle. In the end, a lot of it 

comes down to sheer mental resolve. Maren 

sums it up perfectly: “You have to be a bit 

nuts do something like this.” Would you be 

crazy enough? 

59

Bianchi Aria Aero 

Aero road bike 


HERE IS 

MY BIKE 

ANDREAS — BIANCHI ARIA AERO 



Hi! I‘m Andreas and I work as Team 

Leader for Customer Service at Bikester 

and Addnature in the Nordics. It‘s my job 

to ensure that our customer service works 

properly so that everyone who contacts us 

gets prompt answers to their questions. I like 

to ride both road and mountain bikes, but 

unfortunately, as a father of small children, 

I don‘t get as much time to ride as I‘d like. 

Therefore, I take every chance I get to go out 

on the bike! Of course, I cycle to work, and 

I often take the opportunity to go for a ride 

during my lunch break. On weekends, I like 

to do longer rides on my mountain bike in the 

Hellas forests outside of Stockholm. 


I have a Bianchi Aria Aero, an aerodynamic 

road bike that perfectly meets my needs! It‘s 

ideal for everyday commuting but also great 

on longer rides. I chose it because it isn‘t too 

harsh or too aero, despite its name. I ride it 

as often as I can, but during the winter, I take 

my trusty winter bike that‘s better for bad 

weather. 

BIKESTER

Topstone Carbon 

Lefty 

More give 

More go 

More Lefty* 

More Give. More Go. More Lefty. A gravel bike to beat all gravel bikes. Dual suspension makes this the most 

off-road capable and on-road comfortable road bike ever made. See how at cannondale.com

PEDALLING TO FREEDOM 

HOW THE BIKE EMPOWERED WOMEN 

There‘s no doubt about it – the bicycle is a great form of transport, exercise and 

recreation. But, while most of us appreciate the undeniable environmental 

and health-related benefits of the bike, not everyone knows that it‘s also 

a fantastic tool for female empowerment. 

Text: Joanna Mackiewicz. Illustrations: Carolin Stiefel 

BIKESTER.CH

ike’ made it easier to ride than its predecessor 

(the dangerously tall Penny Farthing). At the 

same time, production improvements made 

bikes more affordable than horses. 

The coinciding of this new bike and firstwave 

feminism caused what 19th century 

conservatives could call ‘the beginning of the 

fall of morality’. Bikes offered women greater 

mobility; providing independence from the 

domestic realm, and increased visibility where 

women weren‘t welcome – outdoors. 

How so? Well, let‘s 

rewind to 19th century in 

Britain. The late Victorian era was 

a time where gender roles were defined 

by separate spheres. If a family‘s wealth 

allowed, women were excluded from paid 

work. Instead, they were purely responsible 

for running the home – and expected to 

stay there. A man‘s place, however, was very 

different. He was considered to be naturally 

suited to an active, intellectual and public life. 

This century also saw one of the biggest 

bicycle crazes. The bike was invented decades 

before; but the diamond frame, chain drive 

and same-size wheels of the so-called ‘safety 

This new craze had also an impact on 

traditional fashion. It ushered in a ‘rational 

dress movement’ which advocated moving 

away from restrictive attire. Long dresses, 

corsets and crinolines weren‘t practical for 

cycling. Such skirts got entangled in chains 

or spokes, causing dangerous falls. Cycling 

demanded shorter and lighter skirts, and the 

most daring women even chose bloomers that 

resembled men‘s trousers! 

Society simply couldn‘t cope with this 

phenomenon. They feared this unprecedented 

mobility would morally corrupt women. 

Victorians wore voluminous clothes because 

it was unacceptable to show parts of the body. 

Believe it or not, nothing outraged Victorian 

conservatives more than a naked female 

ankle. Women were verbally and physically 

attacked as they rode. Some even had stones 

thrown at them. 

63

Sceptics also tried to discourage women 

from riding; fabricating faux diseases like 

the famous ‘bicycle face’. Apparently, riders‘ 

strained facial expressions would result in 

nerve damage, headaches and even dementia! 

In a weird combination of moral panic and 

entrepreneurial savviness, cycling chaperones 

set up shop; offering supervised cycling tours. 

A cycling chaperone had to be a married 

woman, widow or ‘old maid’ over 30, with 

references from women of an ‘unquestionable 

social position’ and a priest. 

Regardless of all these obstacles, our ‘New 

Woman’ kept on pedalling. No longer so 

reliant on men to get around, she experienced 

greater opportunity to work and socialise 

outside the home – and agitate for her rights. 

In the early 20th century, as the suffrage 

movement gained momentum, women 

ingeniously used bicycles in the battle for the 

vote. It was an integral part of the campaign 

in inventive ways, ranging from peaceful 

protests to militant missions. One of these 

actions even affected Winston Churchill, 

who was prevented from leaving London by 

a barricade of bicycles! 

Fast forward to today, and the strong link 

between bikes and efforts to improve the 

lives and liberation of women continues. 

Take Fancy Women Ride which started in 

Turkey. Every year, fancy dressed up women 

on colorful decorated bikes ride along the 

streets to inspire women to ride bikes and 

increase their visibility in the cities. Or 

#BIKEYGEES e.V., an empowerment 

program in Berlin that offers bike riding and 

repair lessons for refugee women and girls. 

In Afghanistan, women‘s cycling has also 

become a huge feminist statement, as 

they defy their patriarchal society. 

In 1896 Susan B. Anthony 

declared that cycling had “done 

more to emancipate women than 

anything else in the world” and, 

as we can see, the bike continues 

its worthy mission. 

BIKESTER.CH

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Move 

your mind 

at sunrise. 

#SunriseMind 

65

© KALKHOFF 

IM 

PR 

IN 

T. 

Bikester Magazine 

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Bikester Magazine EN Summer 2021

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