Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Our Reader’s Rig of the week comes from Brieuc in Belgium, who shares the fascinating tale of dreaming up and realizing his one-of-a-kind NIUM-NIUM cargo bike with an old Trek frame and some help from his friends. Meet Brieuc and learn all about his bike here…
Words and photos by Brieuc Weulersse
Hello, my Name is Brieuc Weulersse, and I’m a bike mechanic and photobook publisher based in Brussels. I grew up between Paris and Pays de la Loire in France, but I came to Belgium to pursue photographic studies at ESA le 75 in 2017. In 2020, I started Éditions La CAB, a photobook publishing house with two friends from school, focusing on documentary photography.
I have always ridden bikes, but my interest really grew when I started commuting a lot by bike with an old ’80s French Gitane. At the time, a friend of mine got an Omnium CXC, and I fell in love with the bike aesthetic and possibility—something that can do it all and that is really good looking. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford one for myself.
That’s when I fell into the 90s mountain bike rabbit hole. With one of these machines, I could make myself a bike that could do basically the same as the Omnium, if not even more, and for a tenth of the price. I spend countless nights on forums, YouTube videos, and old PDF catalogs learning about those bikes and trying to figure out what to look for.
I bought myself a 1994 Trek 950 (I like the fact that we’re the same age) and started disassembling and rebuilding it with cool components. One thing leading to another, and I started making bikes for my friends and friends of friends.
I also couldn’t afford bikepacking bags, so I learned how to sew and build bags in the same way I learned about bike mechanics—forums and YouTube tutorials (Shout out to Gary’s Project, Toasty Rides, Billo Bikes, Old Shovel, and the Xbiking reddit forum, where all my bike knowledge came from). I bought an old sewing machine for 30 euros, plus some fabric and webbing, and I made a full set of bags for my Trek 950. Two years and a few trips around Belgium and France later, they are still holding up. Actually, my very first sewing project was a stem bag from the MYOG archive here on BIKEPACKING.com.
These days, I work four days a week as a bike mechanic at Cyclo, a non-profit organization in Brussels, where we try to repair every bike that crosses our door, from vintage road bikes to high-tech electric bikes, and a LOT of kids’ bikes! I like to say that it’s the first time in my life I have a job where I don’t have ethical or moral problems, which is a luxury. I’m literally paid to help people, I have lovely co-workers, and it’s located next to a field where we can see birds, cats, and even hedgehogs and foxes from our windows.
- Frame/Fork: Custom made (rear triangle of a 1996 TREK 930)
- Rims: Andra 40 (front) / Rodi Vision 25 (back)
- Hubs: Shimano Deore
- Tires: Schwalbe Smart Sam Cargo (front) / Continental Race King (back)
- Handlebars: Unbranded motocross bars
- Headset: Contec
- Crankset: Old Shimano 300LX w/ Sumo 36T narrow-wide chainring
- Pedals: Tecora flat
- Cassette: Shimano 8-speed, 11-45T
- Derailleur(s): Shimano Essa RD-U2000
- Brakes: Avid BB7
- Shifter(s): Sunrace M90 8-speed
- Saddle: Brooks C17
- Seatpost: Original Trek
- Stem: Vintage BMX
- Other accessories: Homemade adjustable webbing
The bike I’m presenting today is my cargo. Again, it was inspired by an Omnium inspiration. The name NIUM-NIUM is supposed to mimic the sound that animals make when they eat something in a cute way. The frame was welded by Mosieurfran Workshop from the rear triangle of a 1996 Trek 930 and a bad drawing I made in Photoshop. I then sanded it and had it painted at a car paint shop. Finally, I sewed a strap system, completely copied from the one I saw in an Omnium video.
I built a set of wheels for it and sourced all the parts for the build with “cheap but reliable” in mind. It has a mix of new and old stuff, the kind of thing I do on all my bikes. I’m really happy with the new Shimano 11-45 8-speed cassette paired with a 36T narrow-wide chainring. It covers all my needs (I might have to put a front derailleur if I want to cross the Alps with it, but that’s not in my plan for now). The only downside is that I didn’t check the weight of the parts when I built it, and the bike unloaded is 24 kilograms (53 pounds), which is a bit heavy but also totally manageable.
I also made stickers and a logo for it. The cool thing is that I finally had a chance to use the font based on my handwriting that I created during the COVID-19 lockdown days. It’s completely unsophisticated and unprofessional and has plenty of flaws, but if anyone is interested, I can share it with you. Just send me a message on Instagram.
The cargo bike is really steady when loaded, and it’s perfect for all types of grocery shopping, moving stuff around, bikepacking, getting beer for everyone in the park, or carrying a friend who doesn’t have a bike yet. I’m always impressed at how much stuff I can put on it! It’s a perfect addition to my two other bikes, a Trek 950 and a Dahon Boardwalk, which are both heavily modified.
You can follow along with Brieuc on Instagram.
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