About Custombike

Custombike

Custombike is the German custom-motorcycle magazine — the choppers, the fighters, the classics — published from Mannheim. Since 1992 (as Bikers Live; renamed Custombike in January 2005) the monthly shows the custom scene: the Umbauten (conversions), the technology, the design — the customizing's possibilities. The 2025/2026 issues — the current publishing — deserve their telling. The CUSTOMBIKE 03-26 — "Frühlingsgefühle" (spring feelings) — features the readers' conversions (the Harley-Shovel-Bobber, the Softail-Chopper, the Suzuki-Edelfighter, the historic Sunbeam, the Triumph America long-forker), the Burapa Bike Week visit, Frau Reuter's workshop knowledge, the "Flying Floyd" history — Indian's 125th birthday. The DREAM-MACHINES 06-26 — the 80-year-old Heinz Steber's Bonneville Salt Flats speed-record attempt (the home-built Sportster), the Zard and Miller slip-ons' dyno — the Harley myth's monthly. The November 2025 portal posts — the Triumph T120 Xtreme (the 750 big-bore), the Sportster family project, the BMW R nineT Bull Face (the Japanese unconventionality), the Honda VT 600 — the daily builds. The subscription promise — "druckfrisch in seinen Briefkasten" (print-fresh in the mailbox), the online kiosk's 24-hour — serves the readers: the monthly's currency — the custom scene's present, documented. The CUSTOMBIKE-Show Bad Salzuflen — the European Biker Build-Off 2025 (Germany vs. Lithuania) — gathers the scene: the live builds.

Overview

The magazine serves the custom scene: the chopper builders, the Harley riders, the fighter fans — the customizers. The editorial program covers the customizing's spectrum: the choppers, the sport bikes, the classics, the fighters, the exotics — the conversions. The technology coverage — the Technik (the slip-on exhausts' dyno tests, the project bikes' E-Glide and Low Rider builds) — gives the know-how: the workshop. The design coverage — the Design — shows the art: the bikes' beauty.

The test coverage — the Fahrberichte (the newest series motorcycles), the Zubehörtests (accessories) — guides the buying: the products. The travel coverage — the Reiseberichte (the Burapa Bike Week) — takes the road: the tours. The reader-bike coverage — the Leser-Umbauten (the Harley-Shovel-Bobber, the Softail-Chopper, the Suzuki-Edelfighter) — honors the scene: the garages. The monthly rhythm — the 2025/2026 issues — follows the scene's year: the builds, the shows.

History

Custombike — 1992 as Bikers Live (the Huber Verlag's second title after Bikers News) — was renamed in January 2005: the custom magazine's identity. The Huber Verlag — the Mannheim Fachverlag — deserves its telling. Founded 1980 by Günther Brecht — the Bikers News' first publication (the German and international biker and rocker scene) — the house became the motorcycle and tattoo scene's publisher: Bikers News (1980), Bikers Live/Custombike (1992), TätowierMagazin (1994, Boris Glatthaar), Dream-Machines (1999, the Harley myth), Tattoo Erotica (2005), Dynamite! Magazine (2007, the rock'n'roll lifestyle), Reise Motorrad (2009, renamed ride on 2016, print discontinued 2017). The events — the Custombike-Show Bad Salzuflen, the Custombike Summer Days Mannheim — and the szeneshop.com (the scene clothing's mail order) diversified: the 50 permanent and 100+ freelance employees. The February 2020 insolvency — the Amtsgericht Mannheim filing ("Der Geschäftsbetrieb in Form von Magazin-Druck und Veranstaltungen soll während der Insolvenz uneingeschränkt weiter geführt werden") — and the 29 June 2020 closure announcement — ended the 40-year house: the Bikers News' Facebook farewell. The Custombike brand's survival — the 2025/2026 issues — testifies: the scene's loyalty. The CUSTOMBIKE-Show — the scene's fair — deserves its telling. The Bad Salzuflen show — the custom fair — hosted the European Biker Build-Off: 2007 Marcus Walz (Walz Hardcore Cycles) vs. Urs Erbacher (Fat Attack) — the Discovery Channel's TV show; 2008 Andreas Bergerforth (Thunderbike) vs. Peter Penzenstadler (Penz Custombikes) — the DMAX reportage (Orange County Choppers and Harley-Davidson exhibiting); 2009 Tobias Guckel (TGS) vs. Nick Gale — the 28,000-visitor record (the ProSieben/Sat.1 feature); 2010 Bodo Hayen (Bike Schmiede) — the 300 exhibitors, the 25,000+ visitors (the UAE's Mario Kyprianides narrowly losing); 2011 Independent Choppers vs. Classic Cycles (Switzerland) — the 30,000-visitor record (the 81-vote margin). The 2025 build-off — Germany vs. Lithuania (the Harley after three Indian wins) — continues: the two-and-a-half-day live builds. The show's function — the scene's meeting — defines the brand: the custom fair's magazine — the builds, live.

The 2020 insolvency — February the Amtsgericht Mannheim filing, 29 June the Huber-Verlag's closure — ended the era: the Bikers News discontinued, the Custombike's future unknown. The continuation — the custombike.de's 2025/2026 issues (the 03-26, the Dream-Machines 06-26) — revived the brand: the monthly's persistence. The 2025 build-off — Germany vs. Lithuania (after three Indian wins, a Harley in 2025) — continues the tradition: the live builds.

Coverage and Content

The editorial program follows the custom year's rhythm. The customizing craft — the magazine's subject — deserves its telling. The Chopper — the stretched, the raked — defines the genre: the American dream. The Fighter — the streetfighter (the Suzuki TL 1000's turbo, the Edelfighter) — strips the sport bike: the aggression. The Bobber — the bobbed (the Shovel-Bobber, the XS 650's "Partnerlook") — minimalizes: the purity. The Caferacer — the classic racer — retrofits: the style. The Custombike's builds — the father-son Sportster (three years, daddy's job), the Thorsten's Honda VT 600 (the building's joy), the E-Glide's weight loss (the carbon, the Batwing) — show the passion: the garages' art. The "Save the Choppers!" — the forum's cry — voices the scene: the custom culture's defense — the magazine's mission — the builders' paper. The project-bike coverage — the E-Glide's "Biggest Loser" (the carbon tank, the Batwing), the Low Rider's Sport Glide 117 ST — documents the builds: the workshop. The technology coverage — the Frau Reuter's Werkstattwissen (workshop knowledge) — teaches: the know-how.

The history coverage — the "Flying Floyd" (Indians' historic win), the FX Super Glide's "Ugly Boat Tail" — honors the heritage: the legends. The event coverage — the Burapa Bike Week, the CUSTOMBIKE-Show — reports the scene: the meetings. The test coverage — the Zard and Miller slip-ons' dyno — measures: the performance. The reader coverage — the low-budget Sportster (the cost breakdown) — inspires: the affordable.

Organization and Ownership

Custombike is published from Mannheim — the historic Huber Verlag's (GmbH & Co. KG) title, continued after the 2020 insolvency. The current publishing entity behind custombike.de and the 2025/2026 issues is not publicly confirmed in the sources consulted; the brand operates with the custombike.de portal, the online kiosk, and the app (the CUSTOMBIKE Magazin app). The Dream-Machines sister — the Harley myth — deserves its telling. Since 1999 the Huber title dedicates itself "ausschließlich dem Mythos Harley-Davidson" (exclusively to the Harley-Davidson myth): the Milwaukee legend's magazine. The 06-26 issue — the Bonneville record attempt, the project bikes — exemplifies the coverage: the Harley's world. The dream-machines.de portal — the "Frühlingsgefühle mit CUSTOMBIKE 03-26" kickstart — cross-promotes: the sisters. The Harley community — the forum's "Milwaukee-V-Twin" — reads both: the V-twin's press. The sister strategy — the Custombike (the custom scene) and the Dream-Machines (the Harley myth) — segments the market: the builders and the believers — the Mannheim house's two wheels — the custom and the legend, monthly.

The business model follows the special-interest pattern: the subscriptions (the druckfrisch mailbox), the newsstand (the Zeitschriftenhandel), the online kiosk (24-hour delivery), the app, the show (Bad Salzuflen). The Huber heritage — the 1980-founded Mannheim Fachverlag — grounds the brand: the scene's history. Detailed current ownership and circulation figures are not publicly confirmed.

Digital Presence

The magazine's digital home is custombike.de: the bike features — the daily (the November 2025 posts: the Triumph, the Sportster, the BMW R nineT) — the builds. The online kiosk — the versandkostenfrei (free shipping) orders — sells the issues: the 24-hour. The app — the CUSTOMBIKE Magazin app (iOS/Android) — mobilizes the reading: the tablet. The sister portal — dream-machines.de — covers the Harley: the myth.

The digital strategy follows the enthusiast logic: the print monthly for the collectors — the conversions, the technology — the portal and the app for the daily — the bikes, the builds. As the custom-motorcycle magazine — the 1992-founded (2005-renamed) monthly, from Mannheim — Custombike remains the scene's paper: the choppers, the craft, and the shows — monthly in print, daily on custombike.de.