Bespoke spokes: This Calgarian is among handful of Albertans who build bikes from scratch

The COVID-19 pandemic not only spiked public interest in outdoor pursuits like cycling but also left some people waiting up to a year or more for new bicycles due to disruptions to manufacturing and shipping. But a Calgary man is among a handful of Albertans offering one alternate route: bespoke bikes, hand-crafted from scratch to fit the body and vision of each buyer.

Corey Kruchkowski was one of three Albertans whose hand-built bikes were showcased at a recent cycling event called Revolution 2.0 at Toolshed Brewery in Calgary, along with Edmonton-based Dale Marchand of RollingDale Cycles (who founded his company in 2016 and specializes in titanium frames) and Andy Tong of BicycleRepairHub.

Kruchkowski, whose company is called Kruch Handmade Steel Bicycles, says his waiting list stretches to July 2022.

"I think my particular brand is that they're bold because they are created one at a time or in very small batches. I can be really change-agile and my bikes can reflect sort of current market trends."

Kruchkowski, who is an oil and gas worker by day, first got into building customized bikes a few years ago.

An avid cyclist who stands 6'5", he used to struggle to find a size that fit at bike shops.

"When I had the means, eventually, I was able to order myself a custom-built bicycle that was made just to fit me … that was such an epiphany for me," he said.