I’ve had my Planet X Kaffenback since January 2007. Since then, we’ve covered almost 13,000km together. It is nothing special, just a simple steel frame with straight-forward components. There is nothing bling and no-one lays awake at night imagining owning one.

But this bike has been completely reliable as it has taken me to work through all weathers. There are rack and mudguard mounts to make it practical and I find the geometry perfect for covering long distances fairly quickly. 

I’ve just treated it to a pair of SKS Longboard fenders/mudguards/wheelbrows. Apparently, they give better coverage (and therefore keep you drier) than any others. These are beige[!] and made from recycled plastic.

Planet X have now upgraded the Kaffenback. The mark 2 version offers the same, no-frills dependability but with replaceable drop-outs, giving the option of running disc brakes, fixed/single. I rode the prototype of this to Poland earlier in the year, a trip that I WILL write up soon.

But in the meantime, the sun isn’t setting just yet on my original Kaffenback. And who knows, maybe more people will ‘get’ the name with the re-launch…