Pushbikers Stories: Workshop

Turn to the side of the railway track, then follow the chickens along the narrow green strip, finally you see: a long flat building on the right, a petrol pump in the background in front of tall green diesel tanks, a fallow gravelled area on the left. A truly special place almost in the centre of Holzkirchen, which you don’t really know unless you really want to go there.

Because since February, this has been the office of the Maloja Pushbikers, headquarters of the Continental road team, salesroom for bikes, and: an extraordinary workshop. Waldemar Wilhelm’s realm opens up behind large brown industrial doors. He is a workshop manager and loves bikes probably as much as we do. He is a workshop manager and loves bikes probably as much as we do.

Keeping calm is part of Waldemar’s job. Fiddling around, taking a close look, even getting inventive. He is responsible for all Wiawis bikes sold through the Pushbikers Shop and fulfills individual bike requests. The old workshop room with its partially peeling wall paint is filled with music, and countless bikes hang on the wall, ready for pickup or still waiting for Waldemar’s service. At his workplace: lots of tools, cleaning and care products, rags, spare parts and a few gummy bears. The handles run routinely and quickly, even with the complete wheel assembly: Check frame, mount seatpost, bolt attachments, tubeless assembly of the tires, program the circuit and the supreme discipline – wrap handlebar tape. He’s really the King Many steps are necessary until finally a rideable road bike, gravel bike or mountain bike is there.

And the great thing about it? “Actually, every bike is unique,” Waldemar tells us. “We don’t have off-the-shelf bikes. Through the connection to the professional team, we have many customers who have been following Pushbikers for a long time and know their way around. They trust that they will get a really good bike with the right components from us. That’s both an incentive and a pleasure for me.”