Bikes of Dead Ends and Cake 2024

Matteo Steiner

Age: 42

Location: Ponte Capriasca, Switzerland

Bike: Canyon Grail CF SL 8 GRX Di2 with 32mm Conti gp5000

Key items of kit: Cyclite saddle bag, Revelate Designs half frame pack. Light sleeping bag and some warm clothes and safety kit (emergency bivy sack, first aid kit, charger and cables, bike repair kit).

Claus Siegert

Age: 49

Cap number: 81

Location: Hamburg - Germany

Bike: 8bar Mitte V3 allroad

Key items of kit: Lights Saddle-Bag (sleeping system / spare clothes) Frame Bag (tech equipment, powerbank etc.) Top-tube bag (Food & tiny things) Food pouch (more food) 2 bottles (1300ml) Tool Box (Tools, spares)

Viviane Buchmann

Age: 35

Cap number: 63

Location: Grafenort, Switzerland

Bike: Cube Nuroad EX

Key items of kit: Restrap Adventure Race Top Tube Bag, Deuter Mondego Frame Bag, Silk Sleeping Bag, Garmin Edge 830, warm Jacket

Sabine Verzier

Age: 28

Cap number: 21

Location: Lyon, France

Bike: I will be going out with my T-Lab X3, custom-made titanium frame in Montreal with Boyd Jocassee gravel wheels and Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass in 35mm. There is a SON 28 dynamo hub in front, powering a Sinewave Cycles Beacon and Supernova E3 Taillight. Groupset is Sram Force AXS (Rival AXS for the 160mm crank) in 10-36 & 33-46 in front. The frame and food pouch bags are from Copra Bikepacking and are custom-made for the bike in Paris. Saddle and top tube bags are from Apidura's racing serie, although I might switch out the saddlebag for the expedition version as it seems it is going to be a wet and cold trip and I might need to pack more warm layers!

A change from two years ago during the Three Peaks include the Revelate Pronghorn front bag, which holds my sleeping kit (sleeping bag, liner, mattress, bivvy...). I am still wondering how this will turn out with the storms planned so far... If needed, I'll swap the sleeping kit for some more clothes in the front and will leave with the racing saddlebag. Answers on the final choice on Friday morning when we will be departing!

Key items of kit: The camera that will be on my back, to capture all the beautiful views from the many many climbs, and to photograph all the cakes that will inevitably end up in my stomach.

Michael Neumann

Age: 32

Location: Stuttgart area, Germany

Bike: Cube NuRoad C:62 Pro, Shimano GRX 1x11 (11-42 cassette, 40 chainring), 32mm Conti Gatorskin tires.

Key items of kit: Bags: Apidura 14l saddle pack, top tube bag, 5.3l frame bag, packable backback; Cyclite food pouch. Sleeping kit: a thin sleeping bag and a warm jacket. Lights: Lupine SL Nano AF, Lupine Piko (helmet), Lupine Rotlicht (rear). Special item: A pair of extra shoes for hike-a-bike sections.

Orphea Sommer

Age: 35

Location: Switzerland

Bike: Tour de Suisse Gravel Bike

Key items of kit: Shimano GRX DI2 11speed with Classified Powershift, Shimano Brakes DT Swiss Rim with Continental Terra Speed Tires Supernova Front light Random Bags from Ortlieb, Apidura, Cyclite

Maximilian Abbe

Age: 25

Cap number: 57

Location: Hesse, Germany

Bike: Orbea Orca - I have ridden over 40.000km and crisscrossed through the Alps multiple times with it and it still brings a smile to my face.

Rebuilt it just in time with 12sp Ultegra Di2 for Dead Ends and Cake!

Key items of kit: Got a pretty minimal setup, as I plan on taking only power naps. Got my spare bike clothes (puffy, rain jacket, etc.), repair kit and some snacks in my Cyclite Saddle Bag.

And then just a lot of snacks in the Tailfin Top Tube Bag!

After Dead Ends and Cake this setup, with a few off-bike clothes, will accompany me on a big trip further into the Alps through Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.

Patrick Djuga

Age: 38

Cap number: 49

Location: Horb am Neckar

Bike: Cannondale Topstone Carbon 3

Key items of kit: Zefal saddle bag, Platzangst frame bag, Wahoo Elemnt Roam, Knoog Blinder, Vittoria Terreno Dry

Lisa Nemetz

Age: 32

Cap number: 4

Location: Munich, Germany

Bike: My bike is a pretty simple gravel bike (Cube Nuroad Pro) that's been converted over time to an allroad endurance bike. I'm happy with the 10-speed mechanical GRX groupset the bike came with and am hoping the 30-to-34 ratio will be enough for the steep hills on the way to cake. I've got a sturdy Hunt wheelset with tubeless Conti GP 5000s, an incredibly comfortable Ergon saddle and Decathlon aerobars.

Key items of kit: I love my Alpkit Koala 13l saddle bag, I've had it for years and it's super practical and doesn't sway (using the Alpkit exo-rail for that). My other bags are Restrap and I'll also be using an Apidura hydration vest to make up for my small frame and carry extra snacks. My lights are a mix of Knog, Supernova and Lezyne, plus a Petzl head lamp. I'm also taking all sorts of waterproofs - given the forecast, but hoping I'll need them less than I think.

Nicole Albrecher

Age: 38

Location: Bern, Switzerland

Bike: Rose Backroad 35 mm Condinental Terra Speeds

Key items of kit: Handlebar bag: mainly repair stuff (hopefully nor needed), chargers and snacks! Top tube bag: more snacks... Seat bag: warm clothes, waterproof clothes, socks...

Stefano Bergamaschi

Age: 40

Cap number: 74

Location: Switzerland

Bike: Open UP, Shimano GRX groupset 2x11 46-30, wheels DT Swiss ERC 1400 50mm, Saddle SQlab 612 ergowave, Fizik Cyrano handlebar, Profile Design Neosonic Ergo 45AR aerobars

Key items of kit: Apidura expedition bags (to fill with as much Cakes as possible)

Lena Kleeb

Age: 29

Cap number: 33

Location: Fürstenaubruck, CH

Bike: older Focus Gravelbike, borrowed from a friend for a year (merci Mau!), commuted to work with it, and as a farewell-trip we'll hunt for cakes (hit me up if you want to sell your gravelbike, am 165cm tall)

Key items of kit: Garmin Edge 830 to not miss out on the beautiful views I planned in on my route, top tube bag for easy access snacks, frame bag for warm/waterproof clothes, Flamingo bag stores the bivy-material, handlebar bag for power bank, snacks & tools.

Franziska Schöni

Age: 39

Cap number: 84 (Pair mit Orphea)

Location: St. Gallen

Bike: Tour de Suisse Gravel aka Hummeli

Key items of kit: - GRX 1x12

• across all road wheelset
• reflective Safety Cake
• fidlock bottles
• Son dynamo hub
• tailfin framebags
• ortlieb saddlebag
• 3T aerobar

Laura Indermuehle

Age: 35

Cap number: 63

Location: Luzern, Switzerland

Bike: Canyon Grail 7 AL

Key items of kit: Restrap Race Saddle Bag, Woho X-Touring Stabilizer, Blackburn Outpost Carryall Bag, Restrap Race Top Tube Bag, Zéfal Z Adventure C2 Frame Bag for all the rain gear, some spare clothes, a warm jacket, first aid kit, repair stuff, a powerbank, spare lights, toothbrush & snacks.

Garmin Edge 830, Magicshine Evo1300 front light, Magicshine Seemee 50 rear light

Stefan Wendler

Age: 50

Cap number: 35

Bike: Cube Cross Race TE

Key items of kit: Just a very normal bike-packung setup.

Kamil Biedermann

Age: 31

Cap number: 3

Location: Zürich & Liechtenstein

Bike: Good old Tarmac SL6 with 11-speed Ultegra Di2. Switched to a 50-34/11-34 gear set up for Dead Ends because the host loves to torture us with some incredibly steep climbs ;) Might not be the best bike for gravel sections but smooth on tarmac.

Key items of kit: Never did a ultra race before but tried to be as lightweight as possible as i did before on bike packing trips. The horrible forecast with lots of rain forces me to pack way more clothes than i initially planned to. Hope for the best we don't ned them too often.

Hugo Karas

Age: 25

Cap number: 30

Location: Zürich

Bike: A Basso Astra built up from the frame with ultra's in mind. Hunt Carbon 40mm wheels, GP5000 AS tyres and SRAM Force AXS

Key items of kit: Light & Motion rando light with pass through charging. Apidura frame and top tube bag

Simon Geiser

Age: 30

Cap number: 43

Location: Bern

Bike: ARC8 Eero Shimano GRX 1x11

Key items of kit: PACKS Framebag Apidura Race Toptube&Saddle Bag

Simone David

Age: 34

Cap number: 28

Location: St. Gallen

Bike: Mix and ride :) Frame: Open MTB Wheels: Spengle Gravel

Key items of kit: Ortlieb Sattelbag

Jacqueline

Age: 35

Cap number: 5

Location: Regensburg/ Deutschland

Bike: Cervelo Aspero

Key items of kit: Garmin

Tobias

Age: 37

Cap number: 52

Location: Switzerland

Bike: Cannondale Synapse, upgraded with Hollowgram wheels and illegal Ultegra-GRX subcompact crankset combo.

Key items of kit: Ortlieb and Brooks bags and equipped for sleeping in hotels only. Finally got to attach the handmade safety-cake from the first Deadends&Cake edition at its intended place as a reflector.