Reader’s Rig: Stefan’s Cicli Bonanno Stay Loco

Words and photos by Stefan Haehnel (@stefanhaehnel)

My name is Stefan Haehnel. I’m living in Berlin and I’m getting lost in Brandenburg quite often. Professionally, I work as a photographer, but I’m a professional amateur cyclist as well. Call it a hobby. Almost 10 years ago, when I was studying photography, I accidentally got a job in a second-hand bike shop that specialized in old road bikes.

There, I met charming people who threw me into the ditch called cycling, and I couldn’t escape. My first sporty ride was a vintage road bike named after the Dutch cyclist Bert Boom. During winter time I mounted wide(!?) 35mm tires on my CX bike and went out for off-road rides around the outskirts of Berlin. Yes, I know it’s now called gravel riding and I’m still loving it. I also can’t say “no” to an enduro shred every now and then. But more than anything, I’ve been hooked by ultra-endurance rides. In the beginning, it was road brevets like Paris-Brest-Paris and similar stuff, later on, more and more off-road events like the Atlas Mountain Race.

Let’s jump over to the facts about my beloved Cicli Bonanno, a custom frame made here in Berlin. It’s one of the very first Stay Loco builds Niccoló Bonanno produced, and also an early frame (#17) by the young Italian frame builder.

Originally, the bike was intended to be a 1x gravel bike. But it seems I just couldn’t stop experimenting with its use, switching parts and setting it up in multiple ways. It proved to be a great all-road touring bike (see my Oman story in The Bikepacking Journal 03). It also got me through the rough High Atlas quickly and safely during the first Atlas Mountain Race in Morocco. And it’s my first choice for campouts and weekend rides around my home town.

Right now the bike is wearing its second paint job (always by VeloCiao) and I set it up with a Shimano GRX groupset. The double crank makes it a good all-road bike (optionally with 700c tires) with smaller gear jumps than a 1x set up and still offers a huge ratio. The Allygn carbon fork is light, stiff, looks stunning, and handles extra loads as well as wide tires. And I even can run the dynamo cable internally. The Sinewave Beacon is my first choice in terms of having a minimal USB charging solution (I tried a Supernova Plug III on that bike earlier, but no). It’s very bright, which also means the beacon is blinding other pedestrians and cyclists because it’s not directed like the SON or Busch+Müller lights, a little downer.

• Frame Bonanno Stay Loco
• Fork Allygn The M.U.D. (prototype)
• Rims WTB KOM i25
• Hubs SP 8X Dynamo (front) / Hope Pro 4 (rear)
• Tires WTB Ranger 27.5 x 2.0″
• Handlebars Ritchey 46cm, custom polished
• Headset Chris King
• Crankset Shimano GRX 48/30
• Pedals Shimano XTR
• Cassette Shimano 11-36
• Derailleur Shimano GRX Di2
• Brakes Shimano GRX Di2
• Shifter(s) Shimano GRX Di2
• Saddle Pro Stealth Offroad
• Seatpost Thomson Elite 27.2
• Stem Thomson X4 90mm
• Front bags Gramm Tourpacking Handlebar Roll
• Frame bags Gramm Tourpacking Half Frame Bag
• Rear bags Gramm Tourpacking Seat Bag
• Accessory bags Outershell Stem Caddy, Gramm Tourpackinng Top Tube Bag
• Lights Sinewave Beacon Front light / Supernova E3 Tail light
• Other accessories Ass Savers Mini Mudder & Fendor Bendor / King Cages / The Rvmble Bidons

I got the great chance to get a custom set of Gramm Tourpacking bags, made to measure in Berlin, especially for my bike. I particularly love the full top tube bag (already copied by the big players) where a ton of snacks fit in. As for tires, I switch them quite often. For wet and muddy winter times, the 2.0” WTB Ranger is a solid solution, they also brought me through the Atlas Mountain Race without any issues by the way (but now I would even go for wider tires for this style of riding).

Looking ahead, I’m already curious how the next build of this frame will look…

See more from Stefan on Instagram @stefanhaehnel and at StefanHaehnel.com. Stay tuned for a visit to the Bonanno workshop in Berlin soon…

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