Meet Ballito’s craft cycle creator

A museum of about 25 perfectly exhibited bicycles welcomes you when you enter Jasper van Vessem’s Sheffield Beach home.

The bicycles range from his first two-wheeler bought in his home country Holland in 1980 right through to hi-tech racing machines – most of which he designed himself.

“Most people have one bicycle which is their baby. When you have more than one, you have to have different ones such as full suspension and single speed, a fat bike and a gravel bike. The gravel bike is not good at anything but it can do everything,” said Jasper, who grew up in Rotterdam and moved to South Africa ten years ago with his wife Yvonne.

“I started building bicycles because shops did not have what I wanted. My passion is to build the best bicycle possible.”

His hobby grew into Cycloholic – custom made, individually crafted bicycles.

He designs anything from old-school looking bicycles complete with a basket to wooden-looking two-wheelers and then of course the speedy guys.

“The South African bicycle market is strange. People are so brand orientated – they want to spend R100 000 and buy the bicycle that won the Cape Epic, but it is not the right one for them. They think adding a personal touch to your bike means putting on a red saddle. In Europe, people go through a lot of trouble to be unique which is what I do.”

He is a master of the fine adjustments and enjoys seeing how they change the bike’s performance.

“There are so many small tweaks you can do to a frame to make it more comfortable or more aggressive – whatever suits your riding style and purpose.

“My favourite is working with titanium – it has a lifetime guarantee, it’s light, strong and the possibilities are endless,” said Jasper, who has cycled in races all over the world including the wacky single speed world championships.

“Single speeders are basically a bunch of idiots riding bicycles without gears. It’s a very fine line between serious racing but not taking yourself too seriously. We dress up and the winner gets a tattoo. When the championships were in Germany, I cycled in Lederhosen – it wasn’t the fastest or most comfortable choice.”

Still, he said nothing beats cycling in South Africa, even though he isn’t a full-blown Saffa cyclist yet.

“I am still not used to going for a long ride and then drinking a beer first thing when I get back,” chuckled Jasper, who is also the trailmaster at Holla Trails.

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