At Natooke Chengdu, we love bells and whistles. Especially when folks decide to put some on a custom Source Cycles bamboo bicycle. Christian is just one of those very special kind of people.

In from Germany on business, he decided to pay us a visit a while back to place his order. As we got out our measuring tape ready to get his body measurements to customise his new bamboo frame Christian educated us on the inseparability of Germans from high quality. Not surprisingly he continued to outfit his new bike with all sorts of nice stuff.

Shimano Alfine internally-geared 8 speed hub for smooth, precise shifting through thousands of kilometers. Internal gear hubs are great because all the moving parts of the gear system are sealed inside the casing of the hub. This allows them to stay free of the dirt and grim and water that causes pre-mature wear and tear. Also, since the chain doesn’t have to change positions when changing gears the whole drivetrain lasts longer. If these benefits weren’t enough, regular maintenance decreases to an absolute minimum in that all you have to do is make sure the shifting cable stays clean and properly adjusted. Perfect for any bike that will be riden in varying conditions.

Who would want to ruin the sustainability aspect of riding a bike made from grass by using a battery powered headlight? Certainly not Christian. He opted for a super-efficient, electricity generating dynamo front hub to power his Shimano headlight. At a measly 3 km/h that hub will make enough juice to power the LED light and illuminate the road ahead. At about 10 km/h he could even charge his mobile phone with energy he generates himself.