Three Podcasts About Making Cool Stuff At Home

The winter months are in full swing in the northern hemisphere and that's usually a great time to get some workshop time in, to give the bikes some much needed TLC and to finally work on that project you've been thinking about all summer. For some of us it's just cleaning out the toolbox or a fresh workspace in the garage, for others, however, it's overthinking carbon layups, understanding hydraulics or weighing up the pros and cons of brazing over welding steel tubes. Wherever you stand on that spectrum, we've got you covered with a trio of recent conversations about making cool stuff at home below. Dive in!


Scar Cycles, Gearboxes & Home-Made Bikes with Stefan Lorenz


I sat down with Stefan Lorenz to talk about Scar Cycles, some recent projects and how he came to make his own bikes in his garage. With the HFS high-pivot gearbox prototype bike on show at the recent DT Swiss Craft Bike Days and a @TEBP feature of Brotlos Designs mpEV01 that he helped bring to life, Stefan’s work was front and center at the end of 2022. It was great to hear his perspective on the two very different bikes and how the feedback and discussion in the aftermath help to steer his future projects. We also get the inside view of how he got to make his own frames, the meaning of “Scar”, his choice of techniques, materials and styles, the builder community and why we should all try out a gearbox bike.


612 Parts, Curiosity & Die Bremse with Felix Lüttin


We sat down with @FeLuetti to talk about curiosity, solving bike puzzles and the journey with his brand 612 Parts so far. Having been featured by @TEBP , Felix’s Die Bremse (the brake in German) has certainly made waves online and it was also on display at the recent DT Swiss Craft Bike Days. Of course we had to go behind the scenes of their development and hear the stories of inspiration, early prototypes, picking raw materials and suppliers and, naturally, the testing results. The brakes are not alone, however, as there are more bike parts that are tickling Felix’s imagination, including brake rotors, chainrings and a stem and it was interesting to hear his ideas and projects for the future.


Home-made Carbon Bikes & Other Workshop Projects with Reto Aebischer


We sat down with @SleepingAwake to talk about his home-made carbon bikes, learning by doing it wrong and his many workshop projects. Starting out with making kiteboards and skis, he quickly progressed to his first carbon road bike and is currently working on the second iteration of his high-pivot enduro bike. And no, unfortunately, you can’t pre-order one at this point. Naturally, Reto and his friends also jumped at the opportunity to sign up for Red Bull Flugtag with a self-made “flying machines” and we get to hear the story behind their record attempt – and win! – at the event in Lausanne in 2021. Finally, to fellow Pinkbike users, Reto is known as a thoughtful commenter and forum regular and it was great to put a face and voice to a handle that many in the community have stumbled across on the web.