Bike Check: Bennet’s Custom Ballern Cycles
While I was at TXWC in Barcelona this year, cheering for the braves going through sand, dust, and sweat, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to scout a couple of potential bikechecks. Pretty quickly, I found myself drawn to a custom build by Bennet from Ballern Cycles, who made the trip all the way from Hamburg, Germany. This bike holds a special place in his heart, as he loves taking it around the world and racing tracklocross on it, so let’s get a look at what he brought.
Even though Bennet has been building bikes for over five years, and riding them for obviously much longer, this is actually the first frame he built entirely on his own. He built it a couple of years ago while still practicing framebuilding at the Stayer workshop in London. With geometry based on his previous Squid So-Ez, Bennet made a few tweaks to make it more comfortable for himself: a longer top tube, a higher bottom bracket, and a fork that’s a bit slacker, but also tapered, so it can eventually be swapped for a gravel fork for those extra competitive moments.
As a multi-trick pony, Bennet also brazed on bottle and cargo mounts, built custom racks for long “tracklo-packing” trips, and made this bike pretty much readdy for anything. Finally, the frame was finished in a beautiful purple clear coat with some extra illustrations by Jule from I Draw on Bikes. (@i.draw.on.bikes) Some varnish over a raw frame also means rust trying to make its way thought, creating these veins, remembering me of my Mash Works and how cool it was to see them evolve through time.
Detailed Parts List
Frameset
Custom Ballern Cycles Tracklocross
Chainring and Cog 43T Raketa Super Sport, 22T Raketa Cog
Crank Suicycle
Seatpost and Saddle
SqLab 612R, Ti unknown seatpost
Steam and Handlebar
Unknown Stem, and Nitto ForShred bars
Wheels
Custom Raketa hubs laced on DT Swiss XM421 rims. 45mm Schwalbe tires.
Bennet mentioned he’s also working on a custom matching stem, but in the meantime, we’ll just have to appreciate the beautiful brass top cap from Clandestine CC. I’ve always been a big fan of segmented forks, and there’s something about their look that just hits right. This one, paired with similarly styled seat stays, is completely up my alley with some raw, honest craftsmanship, exactly what we love to see here at SSS. Other crisp details include a custom anodized and engraved pair of Raketa hubs, featuring what might be the only front track thru-axle hub in existence.
You can feel that this build still carries some notes from the Squid So-Ez that inspired it, the segmented fork, wishbone seat stays, and an overall “built to last” vibe. But with a few tweaks, improvements, and a fresh dose of style, this Ballern Tracklocross build, found a true new identity as a do it all bike, and we love to see this.
Segmented everything!
🎞: Kodak Color Plus 200
📷: Leica M6
📍: Sant Cugat del Valles
