A while ago I was contact by a German magazine, Fahrstil. I hadn’t heard about it before, but with its emphasis on bike culture, it sounded like a magazine I’d like to read.
Fast forward a few months and there was a thud onto the doormat – well, there would have been if post wasn’t left in the mailbox, as is the way in the States. At 160 pages, Fahrstill is a veritable tome.
The print quality is great, I love the layout, and I was delighted to see the photos on building a framebag had been given a full 12 pages, with ample space for them to breathe – including an embarrassingly large double page spread of me…
Although I can’t decipher much of the text, the rest of the magazine looks really interesting – a feature on Fatbikes, an article comparing car and bicycle brand name graphics, and a retro-lycra fashion spread (page 132 is a favourite) to mention just a few.
Incidentally, the photos were shot on a Panasonic GH2, in horribly low lighting conditions. Having seen them in print, it’s reaffirmed how impressive Micro Four Thirds cameras can be, especially given their incredibly compact size.
You can see more of Scott’s skilled work on his Porcelain Rocket Fickr page, and the original blog post here.
If you want to buy a copy of Fahrstil, you can do so here.
Nancy und Fahrstil das Radaculturmagazin.
A sweaty (and dreadlocked) me on the road in Panama.
Scott, of Porcelain Rocket, tracing out a pattern in his mancave.
Working his magic on the sewing machine.
Time out for Kaboom.
Cupping the finished framebag like a newborn baby...
On the road and dusty - like all bike gear should be.
It looks a fantastic magazine. Are they all your pictures they used? I’m very tempted to order that, despite not having a word of German (well, apart from shadenfreude, but I don’t think that counts).
Glee? That’s a nice word.
That’s the full spread. It’s 15 Euros, but it’s a massive magazine with very few adverts. Well worth it, though I guess speaking German helps…
(It’s cool to support small magazines too…)
It is indeed, in fact, I just ordered a copy (or at least I think i did, their order page is very confusing, or maybe its google translate that’s made it confusing). I’m sure there’s a German word for that.
It looks really great, Cass. Thank you!
Scott
I’ll translate for you! Would love to check out the mag, will have to order a copy!
Hey Cass…love the magazine feature. I saw Rob yesterday at the Bespoked show in Bristol. Don’t know if you heard but Rob won best in show for his new Randonneur…it is stunning! If you haven’t seen it as for some pics. Very proud of him…there was a lot of high quality competition! Hope all is well.
///Simon
That’s great to hear! Robin’s 650B ‘Camponneur‘ looks stunning.
Oh wow, congrats – what a fab spread – the pics and layout are enough for me!
Cheers Bridget!
Let me tell you it’s the best german magazine on cycling culture you can get. Love it since the first issue. I’m normally ordering my copy online but skipped that for I went to EHBE (European Handmade Bicycle Exhibition) – wich was as great as the last one two years ago though way too small – and got it there. Didn’t even had a peek inside for I wanted to read it at home with relish. My girlfriend opened it up on the drive back and every 5 minutes she was like “Oh, you’ll love this issue!” And I did. Great surprise to see you in there. Congrats. ^^
Thanks Andi. Magazines like this make a welcome break from the more mainstream ones – I’m really glad they exist.
I’d be happy to translate anything you need too – am a freelance Translator by profession. I’ll translate for free because I enjoy reading your blog so much – so that would be a fair trade!!! Just get in touch 🙂
Lisa
Thanks kindly Lisa!
Congrats on your success and to being in Fahrstil. I’m an American living in Germany and friends with the guys who run the magazine. Interestingly, I just finished the TDR a couple of weeks ago and am also in the process of trying to start up making bags for the Euro market. I have to say that I was seriously jealous when I saw that you’d landed in the pages of the magazine and hot me.
FYI – To the best of my knowledge there’s nothing like Fahrstil in the States but it’s pretty similar to a German version of Privateer if anyone knows that reference.
Good luck on your bag building venture! Let me know your website if you have one.