Bike Check: Philipp’s Tracklo-Orlowski
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure to finally meet with Philipp during the RadRace weekend in Berlin. I feel it’s important to say that Philipp has been one of the very first supporters of our content. So meeting him for the first time was something I was really looking forward to. One thing about Philipp that always pinged my interest was his devotion to try new things, no matter how weird or funky they can be. Road components on track bikes, wacky AliExpress experiments and more, if I could open a bizarre testing lab with someone, Philipp would be that person. And you'll soon understand everything with his tracklocross Orlowsky bike check.
I have to start with the origin story of that bike. To put things into context, Philipp was at a time when he owned two very entry level fixed gear bikes and just moved back to Berlin. Riding on night rides with the FXD.BLN crew, making new friends, seeing more bikes and ultimately getting obsessed with someone else’s bike.
That bike was this Orlowsky.
Philipp went home that night thinking about the beautiful lugged steel frame he saw that day, and how he could get his hands on one.
Orlowsky being a frame builder, it was quite a jump from his entry level bike to something fully custom-made. But! A basic Orlowsky frame is 750 euros with paint, so after a few emails, Philipp was on his journey to get his first custom-built frame.
You need to respect that! Diving into the world of one-off builds as your third bike is a bold move. I’m getting my first custom frame next year, and I’ve owned many frames before being able to tell what I really wanted.
For the geometry, it was just a matter of replicating what was already working for Philipp. Adding a triple triangle or other fancy options was definitely on the menu, but ultimately, simplicity was key here. Columbus Cromor tubing, 1 1/8 max fork, 32c clearance, and that was it.
For the paint, Philipp wanted “blue”. That’s not really enough when we’re talking about a custom paint job so in a desperate search for something more precise, Philipp went on a stroll, ultimately snapping a blue Golf that he sent to Orlowsky. (It doesn’t get more German than that)
And after a few months of wait, the frame was delivered by hand to Philipp on a cold November afternoon.
Here is the cutest part of that story: Philipp decided to hide the frame from everyone to unwrap it at Christmas with his family. A present from himself that marked a big step into his cycling journey.
Detailed Parts List
Frameset
Custom Orlowsky
Chainring and Cog Specialite TA 44T, 18T Cog
Crank Sugino 75 165mm
Seatpost and Saddle
DuraAce SP-7410, Selle Italia Flite
Stem and Handlebar
FSA SL-K 110mm, Easton Monkey Lite
Wheels DuraAce C35 Tubular (prototype)
Tires DUGAST Typhoon 33C
This isn’t the first build of this Orlowsky, but Philipp’s tastes have created quite a nice little build here. Using it mainly for Traclocross, this set of prototype DuraAce wheels that he custom laced to track hubs and warped in these very expensive but extremely satisfying Dugast tires.
Some parts like the DuraAce x Easton seatpost, the Sugino 75 or even this Columbus Max fork are all sorts of an NJS take on a tracklocross bike, mixing old and new with style.
When listening to Philipp talking about how all of this came together, it felt like something very personal. Initiated by the one he saw, but evolving in its own fashion. With always new ideas and crazy experiment, I’m already looking forward to his next project. If you want to take place in the multiple tracklocross races that Philipp organize around Berlin, you can follow his account here -> @iliketrackbikes
Tubular for Tracklocross.. Trust me, it’s fun.
🎞: Fuji Color 200
📷: Nikon F100
📍: Berlin
