SETUPS: FELIX PRANGENBERG

"There is probably nothing I hate more on a bike than a loose chain"

22 Nov 2022

Photos by Fooman

Felix Prangenberg has had a hell of a year, between multiple jaw-dropping video parts and awards galore, it's fair to say this guy has been busy. We thought it's about time to check out the bike and parts that help him achieve the seemingly impossible things we all love to watch him do.

https://shop.digbmx.com/collections/all-clothing

FRAME: Wethepeople Pathfiner 21” – 2022 version

FORK: eclat Storm 15mm offset

BAR: Wethepeople Pathfinder 2pc 9.6” 25.4mm OS Clamping, cut to 27”

STEM: Wethepeople Logic Front Load 25.4mm OS Clamping

HEADSET: Wethepeople Compact

GRIPS: eclat Pulsar, made in the USA by ODI

SEAT: eclat BIOS, Combo prototype

CRANKS: eclat Onyx, 24mm, 160mm arms

PEDALS: eclat Centric

SPROCKET: Wethepeople Pathfinder 25t, with bolt-on guard

CHAIN: Wethepeople Demand

PEGS: Wethepeople Dill Pickle 4.5”

REAR WHEEL: eclat e440 Rim, to the new Shift Freecoaster hub with Hybrid System Internals

FRONT WHEEL: eclat e440 Rim, Cortex Hub

TIRES: eclat Creature, 2.40”

KICKS: Vans

Tell us about your new Pathfinder frame from Wethepeople, looks like you changed it up from the last version quite a bit, can you explain some of the details and improvements?

Yes, we changed quite a few things. I’ve been wanting to ride a taller standover for quite some time because I just really like how it looks. I want my seat to pretty much be the same height as my stem. So we changed the standover to a 9.666”. We also went for some longer chain stays again because I honestly never rode my old frame slammed. I always had my wheel pretty far out so I thought why not just go back to a bit longer backend. I also like how it feels now. It all seems a bit steadier for bigger stuff, transitions and manuals now.

There is probably nothing I hate more on a bike than a loose chain so Wethepeople was kind enough to give my frame some new dropouts and include some chain tensioners. Been definitely taking advantage of those!

Two things I’m also super hyped on are the two cnc machined logos. The new graphic on the head tube and the Fracture tag on the bottom bracket.

What have you been up to since releasing your Lärm video? Can you tell us what you’re working on?

I’ve pretty much been on trips non stop. Went to say hi at the Wethepeople London Haus for a couple of days and got some clips for that project, Battle Of Hastings/Nora Cup, started filming a frame promo in between trips when I was home, went on an Our House trip with Kilian, Bruno and Mo all the way through Italy, but mainly filmed for the Monster Energy - Freak video with Rich. Super hyped on the whole project and just being able to work with Rich has been a pretty fun experience. Getting to travel with Jordan for all these trips has been amazing and I’m just hyped in general about what we filmed so far. Honestly can’t wait for people to see it.

Your bikes always have a very distinctive look to them, how come you choose to ride a frontload stem and slim seat?

I think I’m still pretty inspired from the time I started riding. How bikes looked or even what I was into as a kid. My dad and me always stripped down my seat, I was riding a frontloader, small bars because I was tiny. I grew up riding a lot of park and trails and the riders I always looked up to rode that kind of bike set up I guess. I tried all sort of setups over the years and just played around with all kind of geometries but over the past 3-4 years where I solidified myself more in my riding style I just feel the most comfortable with that sort of setup.

I also feel like the frontloader and slim seat just give the whole bike some sort of dynamic look which goes with how my bike feels to me with the high pressure tires and everything.

Speaking of seats, whats up with the one you’re riding right now, it’s all one piece, right?

Yes, it’s a brand new combo seat which is super light and looks really good.

What’s on your playlist right now? Any music recommendations?

There’s a lot going on right now. So many sick new releases. The German hardcore scene has been providing loads of good new bands and music this year. I’ll try to write down some of my favorite releases this year: Echo Chamber - Demo 2022, Spark - Supernova, Force Of Denial - Demo 2022,

Fragment - Demo, Inclination - Unaltered Perspective, Choice Is Yours - Demo 2022, Thrufall - 11, XweaponX - Demo, Milly - Eternal Ring, Hippie Trim - What Consumes me, No Pressure - No Pressure. Just to name a few...

You said a few years back after putting on the eclat Centric pedal that you’ll never ride another pedal again, has your opinion changed on that?

Nope, I still stand by that. Best pedal ever made.

Your signature creature tires seem to be popping up more and more recently, can you explain what went into designing those and what you were looking for in a tire?

I wanted something with a bit more of an aggressive tread, something which is perfect for the streets, park and trails. It’s not like I don’t ride any transitions anymore. I love a good quarter pipe or trails session so it was important to me to make it work for all sorts of terrains. I was riding Ty’s Sig tire before and loved it already. So we kinda just went from there and tried to give everything a little bit of a twist. Still super hyped how it came out!

We see you’re running the new Shift Freecoaster Hub from eclat, can you tell us more about that?

The Shift coaster is super light, in the same region as a cassette hub due to the hybrid system. Just makes the whole bike less back heavy compared to when you are running a normal freecoaster. I’m definitely a big fan of that since it makes whips and hops in general a whole lot easier. Also, if you can’t make your mind up if you wanna ride a cassette or a coaster it’s super easy to change from one to the other.

What is one thing you do to setup bike up which you have to do on every bike? What else are you specific about?

I always cut my bars down about 1,5cm on both sides. Other than that I want my bars to be in line with the forks, chain needs to be tight which is an easy one now having the chain tensioners and I guess my tires need to be pumped up to like 72psi.