Video: ‘Glow’ feat Andres Biersteker

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This project came to mind after the COVID-19 pandemic locdown in the summer of 2020. However, when we started gathering all the necessary pieces to bring it to life, the pandemic came back again, making everything much more complicated to achieve. Learning to do new things is always motivating, but the difficulty in obtaining all the bike parts or materials for shooting due to lockdown was an
additional challenge to overcome.

Composite Doctor discovered how to apply phosphorescent paint between the light-colored base and the clear coat, and believe us, it wasn’t easy. We wanted a nice daytime color, not a white bike that would work better in the dark for the phosphorescent effect. This “baby blue” light blue doesn’t tell that the bike glows in the dark once night falls, and it’s really cool!

The bike of the project is a Cannondale Habit Waves edition, from which we kept distinctive features, unique graphic linkages, and a special badge created by Max Nerurkar from the 50to01. We transformed Cannondale’s trail bike into an efficient slopestyle bike, saying goodbye to the 12V and 29-inch wheels, and instead, we assembled components that can handle more aerial riding. This build could only come to life with the support of Reverse Components, Formula, Michelin, Alugear, and Purebike; thanks to them!

For this, we needed 300-meters of white LED strips to light up the track on its contours, a 10-meters white tube, and 20-meters of red LED strips to create a modern version of the American stuntman’s fire circle. Thanks to Relief Equipments, which made a special outfit for this shoot, in shades of blue and white to help Andres Biersteker be visible in the pitch-black of his garden.

The Bluegrass Legit Carbon also got its phosphorescent paint, making the bike/outfit combo impeccable, with a Smith Optics Get Wild mask to complete the kit!

The Glow Habit weighs 14.5kg fully equipped, with a 10-speed Zee transmission, a short cassette, 27.5-inch wheels, Vink Signature components, a stem and pedals with unique graphics, and a front hose passage for rotations—a pure shredding machine.

Riding at night is a challenge for all riders, as the epic enduro riders can confirm, but riding a slopestyle at night is another level, especially without lighting on the bike. The rhythm and originality of the track make it even more complex at night, so we hope you enjoy this project as much as Andres’ commitment. Each shooting night was a challenge, setting up dozens of meters of LED lights at dusk, waiting for nightfall at 30-35 degrees Celsius, sometimes filming late into the night, dismantling, recharging batteries, and starting over.

The extra of this shoot is that the bike will have a second life through our association Rivieride. They have been quite a while to try to win the Cannondale Glow Habit from the shoot, as well as other prizes offered by our partners Smith, Relief Equipments, and Bluegrass during the Roc d’Azur 2023 trade show. We are glad to congrats Paul, Lysandre, Josué and Mathieu the lucky winners of the prizes, and we are thankeful to all the people who engaged into our lottery.

And to see some bloopers and fails or how we made this project happen, the BTS Glow project video will show you behind the scenes.