Mission Log: Weis Galaxy Tour in Paris
Today’s a little different! While I’ve done event recaps here on SSS before, like with Rust Out and Love Letter Turbo, I’ve never been so much on the organizing side of things. But after bringing the Weis Manufacturing Team to their first international event in Japan last year, I started to understand what goes behind making things happen to create an opportunity for them to discover a new public, and for riders, to know more about frame-building and custom bikes. So this time, we pushed things a bit further and brought the second edition of what I now call the “Weis Galaxy Tour” series to Paris.
There’s a lot to unpack in this article: Like; why organize something like this in the first place? How did it all come together? And yes, I even used a digital camera for the first time in a decade, so I’ll talk a bit about that as well.
So why doing it?
Why would a small brand from Brooklyn fly all the way to Japan, then to Europe just six months later with little to no guarantee of covering their costs? Think about it! It’s not a small undertaking to fly six people and their bikes halfway across the world, and it isn’t cheap either. On top of that, in today’s world of social media and online shops, there’s often no need to go that far just to showcase your product. So again, why?
Well, a few reasons comes to mind.
First would be to show your craft. Because yes, we’ve all drooled over pictures of custom bikes that made us want to learn more about frame-building. But seeing these creations in person, from every angle, is something else entirely. You get to feel the bike, maybe even try it, and of course, ask the people who made it, as many question as you feel reasonable… Especially when the builder lives on the other side of the planet.
That kind of human interaction, and being able to talk directly with the people who welded, painted, and built the bike you’re eyeing makes a huge difference. You get the kind of insight and context that no product page or Instagram post can offer.
These simple two things reminds you that in our digital age, when most things feels so out of reach, some others are still tangible and very real. These aren’t just bikes on a feed posted by someone you’ll never meet. They’re the work of passionate people, just like you and me, who care about the community, the culture, and where cycling is heading as a whole. And with people coming all the way from Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, just to hang out with the folks behind Weis, I can tell a lot of you do care as well.
Of course, organizing an event like this, pretty much all by myself, was a total nightmare, and I wouldn’t wish that kind of stress on anyone. Even though I had plenty of help from the duo at Department.Global (who also make Love Letter Turbo) for the visual communication, Mass Work and Stolen Garage for hosting parts of the event, and everyone else who stepped in to manage the group ride, set up checkpoints for the alleycat, or DJ at the afterparty… It was still one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done.
Did it take a toll on my mental health? Yes.
Would I do it again? Absolutely, and I will.
The feeling of sharing my passion for frame-building and niche cycling craftsmanship, paired with seeing everyone having an absolute blast, was honestly one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. And yes, now that I kind of understand how hosting an event works, I would love to make another one, event if I believe there is still a steep learning curve in front of me.
One unexpected side effect of organizing the event was that I barely had time to document it. I did manage to take a few moody shots here and there, but I couldn’t fully focus on capturing the experience the way I usually would. To make things trickier, I was shooting with a new digital camera I picked up for super cheap, and rigged with the same lenses I use on my Leica M6 and M4. I’ll dive deeper into that setup in a future article, but in the meantime, here are a few detail shots you might enjoy.
A few more things worth mentioning here! First, a big thank you to departement.global, Mass Work, Stolen Garage, and Boss2Panam for helping bring this event to life. And of course, huge thanks to Weis for trusting me with the process and building a truly unique bike for the occasion, one that I’ll be sharing more about in an upcoming article.
One more thing! If you didn’t get the chance to be there in person, you can still buy the Zine and Shirts departement.global made for the event by clicking the image below!
Thank you all for coming. Let’s do it again!
👽: Weis MFG
💾: ???
📍: Paris
