PENDLR NewsCollaboration
For the Day of Creativity, we paid a visit to Bas from Lievens Bikes. At PENDLR, we were curious about the story behind his workshop, where he builds custom bikes tailored to individual needs.
How It All Started
His love for tinkering began in his youth in Rosmalen. Together with his identical twin brother, he used to fix up mopeds. “We were fifteen and loved nothing more. That fiddling around, improving things with care—that’s just in me.” When he moved to Utrecht for his studies, he had to stop working on mopeds, as hauling one up the stairs to his student room wasn’t really practical. “So I bought a few old racing bikes, hung a bike hoist in my student room, and started working on bikes there. It went so well that I eventually sold half my furniture and turned my room into a mini workshop.”
“So I bought a few old racing bikes, hung a bike hoist in my student room, and started working on bikes there.”
From Marketing to Wrenches
What started as a hobby gradually grew. First through coworkers at his side job at the city theatre, who found out he was repairing and selling bikes. Later, after graduating and working a marketing job at a hospitality wholesaler, he couldn’t quite let go of his passion. “I was earning well, but I still wanted to keep tinkering,” Bas shares. “So I rented an anti-squat property and spent one day a week working on bikes, usually on the weekends.”
Eventually, he started getting bold, Bas laughs: “I’d walk into thrift stores and buy up lots of old bikes to fix and sell.”
His love for craftsmanship continued to grow, and Bas eventually scaled back his marketing job to four days a week, dedicating one full day to working on bikes. That proved to be a turning point: he registered with the Chamber of Commerce and set up shop at his current location, Vechtclub XL—a creative hub in Utrecht where entrepreneurs support each other. “At some point, I realized: I can actually make a living doing this,” Bas says. “That’s when I made the leap and went all in.”
Custom Bikes as an Extension of Identity
The love for creativity and custom work started young, but there was another inspiration behind building custom bikes: “I was hugely inspired by that show about OCC Choppers—you know, the guys who built custom motorcycles. I thought: why don’t we do this in the cycling world? You can make a bike just as unique and cool.”
“A bike isn’t just a product. It’s an extension of your identity. And that should be visible.”
Today, Bas builds bikes entirely based on the customer’s wishes. “From the color to the components—anything’s possible. I love involving people in the process. We grab a coffee, I hear their story, and together we come up with a plan. It works—people love it when their bike becomes a reflection of who they are.”
His most unique project? “That was a fixed gear bike with a fully custom paint job. The client had made a kind of childlike drawing in Paint of how he wanted the frame to look. I hired the best paint shop in the country to turn that sketch into a real design—complete with the Lievens logo. I had to modify the frame to allow for a belt drive. That guy’s a GP and now owns three custom bikes from me,” Bas laughs.
The City Is Changing—And So Is the Bike
Bas sees a clear trend in how people view bicycles. “Bikes are no longer just functional. People want a bike that suits them—it’s become a lifestyle product.”
He also sees big changes in urban mobility. “In Utrecht, more and more people are leaving their cars behind. The city is getting congested. Especially downtown, it’s faster to get around by bike.” Bas sees this trend not only among individuals, but also in the business world. “I’m selling more and more Bullitt cargo bikes to contractors and entrepreneurs. They park outside the city and ride in with an electric cargo bike full of tools or products. Perfect.”
Delivery services are also catching on. “There are guys who deliver coffee and come to me for a Bullitt. For them, it’s the best way to work efficiently in the city.”
Working Together Based on Shared Values
To build his bikes, Bas uses high-quality components—and that’s where PENDLR comes in. “I heard about you through another shop. PENDLR is a great supplier,” Bas says. “The prices are fair, delivery is fast—which is crucial for a small business like mine—and the product range is broad and well-organized.”
He especially likes the workshop packaging from brands like KMC. “It’s well-priced, not over-packaged, and more eco-friendly. That matches how I want to work.” What he appreciates most is that PENDLR seems to share the same core values: solution-oriented, practical, and service-minded. “You have to surround yourself with people who fit your way of working. That goes for customers, but just as much for suppliers. That’s how you grow together.”
“We share the same core values: service-focused, no nonsense, just get things done.”
Building More Than Just Bikes
Bas’s ambitions go beyond custom bikes. “I want to grow my brand, Lievens. But also: train people. Especially people with a distance to the labor market—teach them the craft, build something together.” He also dreams of having his own building in Utrecht. “A place where people come not just for bikes, but also to connect. A community spot where people enjoy dropping by.”
And his own dream bike? Bas chuckles. “I’ve built at least ten dream bikes for myself,” he says with a wink. “But they never stay mine for long—eventually, they end up in the shop and then someone falls in love with one and buys it.” So his dream bike keeps changing—both in form and owner. But he doesn’t seem to mind one bit: as long as he can keep building his dream—and his bikes.
