We’re all hoping for a release from this whole lockdown situation, although it provides an impetus for many to explore their local landscape. Switzerland’s Lambert Cycles’s new build is one piece of equipment we’d like to incorporate into a daily exercise regime.
Already a highly sought-after wheel builder, Olivier Lambert also recently enrolled in The Bicycle Academy’s frame building course. He obviously has a strong appreciation for the technical aspects of bicycle mechanics and construction, but also its craft.
Olivier is one of those people who has a healthy relationship with tools, gauges and other instruments of measurement, understanding their intrinsic necessity to achieve a result as perfect as possible.
The wheel building side of the business is called Les Roues d’Olive and he has been putting his recently-acquired skills to good use under the banner of Lambert Cycles. Today’s grey graveleur is one of the latest to leave the workshop.
Olivier built it for a customer who is in-between conventional bike sizes, which instigated the search for a local craftsperson who could bring a bespoke bike to life, one that could easily handle the type of terrain it was photographed against.
Consisting of Columbus Spirit and Zona tubing, the top tube length of 535mm fits a rider caught between a Small and Medium-sized mass-produced bike. The classic angles are complemented by small diameter tubes, making for a very comfortable off-road ride.
It’s led by a 3T Fango fork and driven by SRAM’s Force1 groupset, rolling on a very light and dynamic wheelset built by Olivier himself: White Industries CLD hubs laced with tied and soldered Sapim spokes to Duke World Runner rims.
Olivier’s workshop is based in Bex, about halfway between Geneva and Bern, a location that looks to be surrounded by spectacular riding, both off-road and on. Lambert Cycles look well-placed to provide a local remedy for the lockdown blues.
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