The Namibian bicycle company Onguza has launched its new Bliksem gravel bike, which you can customise to your heart’s content, specifying everything from cable routing to frame graphics.
Former professional cyclist Dan Craven set up Onguza in 2021 in his home country of Namibia, and it released its first bike in 2022, the Gravel Model 1.
Now, after three years of development, Onguza says the Bliksem is introducing a new way for you to design and order handmade steel bicycles.
“The business model we’ve always aimed for”
Onguza’s factory is in-house, making it “uniquely able to offer truly customisable, handmade framesets at a price much closer to mass-produced brands”.
As with the Gravel Model 1, Onguza’s frames have standardised geometry, but beyond that you can customise almost everything on the Bliksem gravel bike.
“This is the business model we’ve always aimed for, and finally we’re in a place to bring it to life,” says Onguza.
“The customer can select which of three different cable routing options they want installed on their frame, extra bottle and luggage bosses add-ons, all before your choice of paints and special graphics go on,” the brand says.
There are 18 frame colours and 10 graphics colours to choose from, inspired by Namibia’s landscape and culture.
A fast and responsive gravel bike
Taking its name from the Afrikaans word for 'lightning', Onguza says the Bliksem is its most responsive, fast gravel bike.
The steel gravel bike is said to have a “subtly aggressive geometry”, which avoids going too low on the stack figures for “all-round great riding capabilities”.
It also has clearance for 50mm gravel tyres, which is said to suit “high-paced training and racing, while keeping the adventure fun on brutal terrain”.
This reflects how gravel tyre widths have grown. When Onguza launched the Gravel Model 1, it had clearance for 700x42c gravel tyres. Craven told BikeRadar this was because it was the most popular width he saw while riding in the UK, Girona and elsewhere. Fast forward three years, and brands and riders are running wider tyres.
Elsewhere, the Bliksem has a T47 bottom bracket shell, which means Onguza can offer three cable-routing options, while using the same chassis.
The frames are hand-mitred and fillet brazed with Columbus Life and Zone tubes, and feature stainless flat mount bosses for durability.
How much does the Onguza Bliksem cost?
Onguza says the Bliksem frameset pricing starts at £2,390 / $3,032 / €2,890. The price includes shipping, duties and taxes.
The US price excludes state sales taxes. “With current international duties and shipping challenges, we believe this is a necessary step to ensure bikes arrive with no hassle,” says Onguza.
Onguza has also updated its website with a frameset-building feature. Once you place an order, you will receive an estimate of the final cost, along with an image of your selected paint choices and a confirmation of your chosen specification.
“[W]e believe more people should have access to the truly special experience of riding a customized, hand-made bike, so for us, we see this new model as our future,” says Onguza.
We can expect to see more models from Onguza in the future, including a gravel adventure bike and two road bikes.
