Reader’s Rig: Nils’ Custom FERN Chacco

Words by Nils Swetlik (@feinkosttwang), photos by Stefan Haehnel (@stefanhaehnel)

Hi, I’m Nils. I live and work in Berlin as a human resources manager. Bikes have always had an important role in my life. Growing up, I used one to get to and from school every day, as well as for fun. Most of my life I always rode cheap bikes, but in 2009 the first MASH film changed my life. The fixed gear scene was big in Berlin at that time, and I bought my first track bike back then, which I used to do a ton of long rides and overnighters.

I love long days in the saddle, and one thing led to another. Before long I got into doing brevets, which I’ve been doing for about fir years now. The type of bike that interests me has changed a lot over time, too. These days, it’s rim brakes, lights, mud guards, and so on. Berlin has a great bike scene still today, and most of the time I ride with the great guys from Grupetto Berlin, and many of us often meet to make coffee outside.

Last year, my bike dreams came true. After a year of waiting, I had a custom bike from one of my favorite builders, Berlin-based FERN. Here’s how Flo of FERN described my bike, “When we created this new type of bike for Nils, we had in mind that this one should be equally capable to handle long distance rides such as Paris-Brest-Paris, but should also absolutely perform on hard off-road and gravel rides.”

I love the work that Flo at FERN does, and my bike is everything I’d hoped it’d be. His bikes are unique and defy industry norms, especially with rim brakes. They’re light, hassle-free, and work super well, despite having fallen out of fashion. And Robert from Velociao did a great job with the paint, and let’s not forget the handmade bags from Tine at Gramm Tourpacking.

• Frame FERN Chacco
• Fork FERN Double Plate Deluxe
• Rims 650B Allygn
• Hubs SON Deluxe (front), Shimano LX (rear)
• Tires Compass Switchback Hill Extralight
• Handlebars Salsa Cowbell
• Headset FERN
• Crankset Vintage Dura Ace 7400 with custom anodizing
• Cassette SRAM 11-42T
• Derailleur Shimano Deore XT
• Brakes Shimano Deore XT V-brakes
• Shifter(s) 1×11 Gevenalle GX2V
• Saddle Brooks Cambium
• Seatpost FERN
• Stem Fern Vorbau DeluxE
• Front bags Gramm Tourpacking Pizza Bag
• Accessory bags Gramm Tourpacking Top Tube Bag
• Front Rack FERN Brevent Ultralight
• Other accessories Sinewave front light, Supernova rear light

You can keep up with Nils on Instagram @feinkosttwang.

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