Berlin Bicycle Week is well underway, and we spoke to Stefan Schott from 8bar Bikes as they prepare for a busy weekend at the Berliner Fahrradschau at STATION-Berlin:

Is there any new products you’re going to be showing off at the Berliner Fahrradschau?

Yes. We will show the 8bar Mitte. The 8bar MITTE is your perfect choice if you are looking for a bicycle that you can use as a Road-, Cyclocross- and an Adventure Bike. It can change its geometry completely and transform from a Road- to a Cyclocross- or an Adventure Bike. We like to invite you to be part of the creation, and therefore ask you to join our first crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.com.

Are there any products from other stalls you’re interested in seeing?

Nothing in particular. But I love to take a break from our booth and walk through the halls and check out new innovative products.

Has the bike demand changed as Berlin has changed? What trade differences have you noticed?

Yes. I think customers are more into individual products that are possible to customize and reflect their style. Customers also care more about quality products and prefer to invest into a good bicycle that lasts for a long time.

How could Berlin improve its bike culture/infrastructure? What’re your opinions on the Bicycle Highway and U1 Cycle Path Project?

There should be more bike lanes in Berlin… but not between parked cars and sidewalks as they are right now. If we are talking about cycling as a sport, it would be great if they built an outside velodrome. Berlin was pretty big in track racing and now they have just one indoor velodrome that is mostly used for concerts or other non-bicycle-related events.

I think the U1 cycle path is a good concept. But it will be pretty hard to implement as there are a lot of roads to cross.

You sell Fhain, Krzberg and Neukln model bikes. Were these shapes designed with the areas in mind? Can we expect a Pberg one with fitted baby basket?

Yes. We always give our models the name of an area in Berlin. The style of the bike has always something to do with the district but doesn’t always need to fit to people that come from this area. So the Pberg won’t have a baby basket if there will be one. ;)

In your opinion:

Steel or carbon?
Steel for commuting, Aluminium for racing.

Campy or Shimano?
Shimano.

Drop bars or straight?
Straight for commuting, drop for racing.

Geared or single speed?
Fixed for commuting, sometimes for traveling and gears for longer rides and training.

Pedals: clips or flats?
Straps for commuting, clips for riding.

Cap or helmet (or both)?
Helmet!

Clothing: tight or loose?
Casual for commuting, bibs and jersey for training and racing.

Tyres: slicks or knobbys?
Slicks for racing and city, and knobbys to go off-road.

Riding: hard and fast or slow and steady?
Fast and fast.

You can find the breakdown

Thanks Stefan!
You can find out everything that’s happening during Berlin Bicycle Week here.

8bar Bikes
Wrangelstrasse 18
10997 Berlin
8bar-bikes.com

The BERLINER FAHRRADSCHAU
Station Berlin,
Luckenwalder Strasse 4–6,
10963 Berlin

Opening times:
Freitag, 18. März: 18:00 – 23:00
Samstag, 19. März: 10:00 – 19:00
Sonntag, 20. März: 10:00 – 18:00