Reader’s Rig: Magnus’s CNC Gravel One

Words and photos by Magnus Wiedenmann

Hi, my name is Magnus, and I currently live in Hamburg, Germany, where I work as a graphic designer and occasionally as photographer. When I started my interest in cycling some 12 years ago, it was all about slick and light road bikes, riding fast, and comparing myself to other’s performance.

The more I got invested in understanding the mechanical side of cycling and fixing bike problems (gotta say, I had lots and lots of mechanicals that needed to be fixed), I kind of felt drawn towards slower riding and ultimately got into bikepacking. I’m certainly not an adventurer or athlete at all, but I always felt that preparing and fixing my bike for an overnighter or multi-day cycling trips just ticked all the boxes for me. 

The bike was initially built up in May 2021, just when the pandemic was in full swing and bike parts were scarce. A friend who lives in Stuttgart was clearing out his basement and sold it to me for only 180 euros. I didn’t even have a bike build in mind before, but it kind of grew on me to swap my more racy gravel bike for a slower and more capable steel bikepacking rig. The frame is originally from a small online bike shop in Hamburg, CNC-bike.de, that sells cheap, non-branded, steel and aluminum city and trekking frames, just some minutes away from where I live now, so it was some kind of a homecoming.

When I got the frame from my friend, it was unpainted raw steel, and that’s where I started. In the past, I had painted some bike frames before (I even attended a workshop by the late Dario Pegoretti himself at university!). So I definitely was excited for that part. The decals I chose are Japanese Kanji, “Ike No Taiyo,” which basically means “Ocean in a Pond,” a phrase I created for a photography project of mine. For the base colors, I used Spray.Bike acrylic paint and a matte clear coat, which isn’t very durable and got scratched and squeezed very soon, but it all adds to the personality of the bike.

The components for the build had to be on a budget but should still be of decent quality. The only available and affordable carbon fork with triple mounts back in Summer ’21 was the Fyxation Sparta fork (at least in Germany). It does the job very well, although the clearance could be bigger. I chose TRP HY/RD hybrid brakes so I could use the cheaper SRAM Apex mechanical brake levers and wouldn’t have to worry about hydraulic brake installation and maintenance. It turned out to be one of the best features of the bike! I still wonder why we don’t see those HY/RD more often. They’re great and definitely worth the money.

• Frame/Fork: CNC Gravel One / Fyxation Sparta Carbon
• Rims: Spank Wing22 32H
• Hubs: Novatec
• Tires: WTB Riddler 700x45C / Teravail Washburn 42-622
• Handlebars: Ritchey Comp Beacon Road 460mm
• Headset: Cane Creek 40.EC44
• Crankset: Easton EA90 + Wolftooth Cinch 42T
• Pedals: Xpedo CXR
• Cassette: SRAM XG-1175 10-42
• Derailleur(s): SRAM Apex/Force 1×11
• Brakes: TRP HY/RD
• Shifter(s): SRAM Apex 1
• Saddle: Brooks Cambium C17 Carved
• Seatpost: Ritchey Comp 2-Bolt
• Stem: Bontrager Elite 70 mm
• Front Bag(s):
• Frame Bag(s): Blackburn
• Rear Bag(s): Rapha Seatpost Bag
• Accessory Bag(s): DITW Toptube Ecopak
• Rack: Allygn Diamond Rack Neon-Orange

The Spank wheelset was built by my brother a year before (shout-out!), but with a 142 mm Novatec rear hub, which didn’t fit the 135 mm QR rear on the frame. Luckily, I found a conversion kit after some frantic research; I really didn’t want to buy a new wheelset for this build. The frame is kind of old school, so besides the 135 mm QR rear, it features a 31.6 mm seat tube inner diameter and doesn’t have a standard threaded BB but pressfit shell. I decided to use an Easton PF30 mm Cinch BB and my EA90 cranks I already had. Together with a Wolftooth 42T chainring, these cranks simply look and feel amazing.

As all bikes never stay exactly as they were built in the first place, and I’ve made some additions over the past two years. Worth mentioning is a SRAM Force 1 rear derailleur, the Allygn Diamond Rack in neon-orange, which also holds the Knog PWR Trail light. Its battery, which is also a power bank, lives in the super nice top tube bag by DITW and some multi-purpose rails on the downtube for optional bottle holder positions.

I still remember the first ride, which completely surprised me with how well and stable the bike handled, even though the wheelbase is really short. When it comes to rough terrain, even fully loaded, it still feels agile, reliable, and safe. Before the build, I actually didn’t think (or know) much about bike geometry and just hoped it would fit me somehow. That being said, I often felt this bike was kind of sloppy with all the amateurish painting and piecing together components for the first time. But whenever I meet other riders, I get a lot of comments and questions about the bike, which has kind of boosted my confidence that the bike turned out quite well and unique in the end. Ultimately, I learned a lot in the process and still am happy and proud about it, which was the most important part about the whole thing for me.

You can see more from Magnus on Instagram.

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