Stray Cycles

Beyond Normal was a fantastic and inspiring event. More than anything, it was amazing to experience the collaborative and vibrant spirit within the local framebuilding community. Advice, feedback, tips and tricks were shared freely; much more a feeling of “we’re building something worthwhile together” than competing for customers in a niche market.

At the same time, I found myself on the receiving end of a lot of puzzled looks from visitors trying to reconcile a steel bike without suspension, gears or a dropper post with their expectations of what a “mountain bike” should look like.

“It’s an off-road adventure bike.”
“Yeah, but why no suspension? Why no gears?”
“Why make it harder?”

I struggled at first to explain the ethos behind Stray in practical terms - features, benefits, geometry, ride feel. Then I remembered why I started it.

I wanted a bike that harkened back to a time when adventure was less about marginal gains, FKTs, biohacking and following a line on a screen, and more about curiosity, uncertainty and self-reliance. A time of waxed canvas, paper maps and compasses, cedar canoes, leather boots, some derring-do and perhaps a little naiveté.

Yes, you can go faster. You can go lighter. You can optimize until the hard becomes easy, until the daring becomes assured, until “having done” matters more than “doing.”

If that’s what you’re after, this may not be your bike , and that’s perfectly okay. Really.

At some point, more becomes enough.

🤙

I don’t build show bikes. I build bikes that go to shows.

Just finished getting one of our Swiss Edition frames - which until very recently was wearing a healthy layer of Jura dirt - scrubbed, polished and into its Sunday best for this weekend’s .bike handmade bike show in Zürich.

We went with a capable and timeless build: sturdy DT XM481 rims (loud decals removed, sorry!) laced to time-tested DT350 hubs, 29x2.6 Mezcals for speed, durability and, admittedly, the matching grey sidewalls. One of our own setback titanium seatposts topped with a honey B17 Imperial, and a comfy, cruisy cockpit built around a bar and Ergon’s new GS1 grips.

Braking comes courtesy of Shimano BL-780 dual-pull levers paired to a gorgeous set of Equal mechanical disc brakes. These beautifully engineered pieces perfectly capture the philosophy behind our bikes: Simple, serviceable, functional art built to last.

A bike that will feel at home rolling up the Bahnhofstrasse for a cappuccino or crossing an Alpine pass loaded with a week’s worth of gear.

This one has a lot of stories waiting to be written. Looking forward to seeing where it ends up. 🤙

A lovely, occasionally spicy 85km / 2,800m day out along the Jura with , riding a couple of Stray prototypes.

Seven hours in and out of the saddle across rolling hills, forest trails and alpine meadows on gravel roads and ancient footpaths - relentless climbs, chunky descents, pushes and carries. Legs done, but wrists good, back good, neck good.

No suspension, but wide rims and plus tires, short reach, a slackish seat angle, generous wheelbase, snappy tubeset, compliant fork and wrist-friendly bars all add up.

Theory is one thing, practice is another. Good to feel the difference an intentional rigid design can make. 🤙

Same bike. Two forks.

How much difference can a few millimeters make?

I’ve been riding our first prototype back-to-back with two different fork offsets, trying to get a feel for how much it really changes things.

Everything else stayed the same - same favorite loop, same setup, same pace. Just one variable.

The differences aren’t dramatic, but they’re there.

With more offset, things feel a little lighter at slow speeds or with a front load, and a bit more neutral and settled when the trail gets rough.

With less offset, the front end feels a bit sharper, more direct, a little more playful. More personality.

Neither is right or wrong. Just different ways of getting to the same place.

A good reminder that not everything needs optimizing - sometimes it’s just about choosing what feels right 🤙

Been enjoying our Pinion Edition prototype in full off-road adventure mode.

This is a bike that pulls on its leash and scratches at the door with tail wagging - begging to get out on some rugged and remote tour where grip, gears, reliability and playful all-day handling are must-haves.

Compared to my trusty Rohloff, which has served me loyally for over 12 years and more than 20,000km, the Pinion is just as butter-smooth and noticeably more planted off-road thanks to the low central weight.

Now I just need to find the right kind of adventure to let this beauty run free. 🤙

Riding bikes reminds me of this truism: whether it’s bikes, gear, bucket lists, money, status or time (or, yes, social media likes and follows), there comes a point - by choice or not - where what we have becomes enough.

Do gears make riding easier? Sure. But one works too.

Does suspension help you ride faster over rougher terrain? Sure. But going slower works too.

Do dropper posts help on technical terrain? Sure. But picking your line works too.

If fastest, easiest and most comfortable were the goals, none of us would ride bikes.

Here’s to embracing enough. 🤙

Nothing changes a bike’s character quite like handlebars and tires - or the assumptions you bring.

Having long defaulted to singlespeed off-road, I’ve been riding our .eu prototype mostly on gravel and mixed terrain, where the wide range helps you fly on the flats and turn long type-2-fun climbs (almost!) into type-1.

Today I went the other direction. Meaty 29x2.8s and a wide, sweepy riser bar.

Different personality. Same bike.

When my singlespeeder brain registers a steep pitch ahead, the response is hardwired: power in, stand until stalling, then hop off and push. That’s always been the deal.

After a few good climbs, click-clicking down as far as I needed to winch those endlessly-grippy Vigilantes up even the steepest grades felt (almost!) decadent.

Good to shake up our habits before they harden into dogma 🤙

It’s been wet, so today I went back to my favourite WTB Vigilante 29×2.8s after a few weeks on lighter rubber.

I was quickly reminded of something once wrote - you only notice heavy tires twice: the day you put them on and the day you take them off.

Today I noticed. The extra 400g a wheel, the sticky compound, the chunky k***s that like to bite, but not roll.

Heart rate climbing sooner.
Quads burning earlier on the steep pitches.

At first, frustrating. Then a reminder - embracing the hard work of self-powered motion is why we ride.

Taking the slow way.

Pushing when needed.

Finding calm through effort.

Here’s to slowing down and earning our miles. 🤙

Some bikes grow on you slowly. This one got me from the first climb.

A year of riding our .eu prototype has taken me through a lot of seasons and a lot of terrain. Snow, mud, dust, rain. Loaded and unloaded. Long days and short ones.

Reflecting on a trip through Switzerland’s Engadin last autumn reminded me why I keep coming back to this setup. No distractions, no maintenance rituals. Just the bike, the path, and whatever lies around the next corner or over the next hill.

I’ve been riding and loving my Rohloff hub for more than a decade (and still find it unbeatable for certain use cases), but I’ve been gearbox curious for a while. After a year on this one, I’m fully converted. Still not sure about the belt drive though - more thoughts to come on that. 🤙

Some bikes are built. Some are made.

A difference that’s hard to define but emerges over many miles and hours in the saddle. When the clear intent behind every detail is realized with purpose and artistry, a tool becomes an instrument.

Our Swiss Edition frames start with raw chromoly steel. Each tube carefully selected from Europe’s finest tubing makers for the right balance of weight, stiffness and strength. Carefully formed, fitted, and brass-brazed by Wim at , finished by a local family-run coating business in a phosphate clearcoat that wears its miles honestly.

A bike that looks best with a splatter of mud and a few scars attesting to an adventurous life. A bike with soul.🤙

Swiss Edition. Handmade in Zurich. DM for details. 👍