Johann Philipp | Apprentice two-wheel mechatronics technician
"Somehow I always wanted to do something with bikes. It worked out quite well."
Portrait of bicycle persons.Johann Philipp Höfinghoff.
Johann is one of our young colleagues and has been training as a two-wheel mechatronics technician with us in Oldenburg since 2021.
Johann discovered his passion for bikes and cycling as a child and spent a lot of time on his BMX bikes. Today, Johann is 20 years old and still loves cycling - and then as now: BMX.
Facts
Bicycle mechatronics technicians specializing in bicycles manufacture bicycles and e-bikes, ensure that they are and remain roadworthy, repair them or equip them with accessories.
1983.
It was about independence from the very beginning.
In 1983, “radschlag” was founded as an independent shop – with flat hierarchies. Every employee was supposed to be able to do everything independently – from taking off a wheel to keeping the books. All of them were co-owners and managers; important decisions were only taken together. In 1994, the shop moved to its current address.
As an initiative of “radschlag”, a consortium of independent bicycle shops in Germany then created a unique cycling brand in 1987: vsf fahrradmanufaktur arose as the shared brand of the country-wide “Verbund selbstverwalteter Fahrradläden” or “Association of Independent Bike Stores”, set up on the site of a decommissioned Bremen shipyard. One of the reasons for this was the frequently unsatisfactory quality of bicycles, and the fact that bikes were barely taken seriously as a mode of transport at the time.
“The employees of vsf fahrradmanufaktur and dealers involved identified strongly with the product and the customers’ needs, which has resulted in a higher quality – a quality that was the benchmark for the entire cycling industry over many, many years.”
Christoph Behnke
Johann's custom bike idea ...
As Johann likes to ride fast, he had his eye on the stylish GX frames from our Gravel series. And that's exactly the base he used for his very first custom idea ...
... or better: ideas
Because Johann is not only fast, but sometimes also on the road for longer periods at home. So he has built two bikes at the same time.
One with the perfect equipment for everyday use and traveling (front), the other with components for more sporty use (rear).
Custom project sound interessting?
Then we recommend taking a look at the frame sets in our Gravel series. The GX frames offer an ideal basis for an individual bike build. And of course, we also offer numerous color options for our frame sets, so there's hardly anything standing in the way of your individual bike.