1936 - Wendl

Graz is closely connected to Steyr and Puch as well as to what´s called heavy industry. Dealing with  Puch and Austro Daimler you´ll most probably think of Peugeot either; competition bicycles taken from mass production and with an equipe achieving some success they formed a small team dealing with the equipes needs in really small numbers.

Consequently you´ll count Styrias capital more likely into bicycle mass production rather than a hot spot of small, fine frame builders that can compete against their well re-known Vienna brothers.


Franz Wendl started building steel frames in the mid-1930s and became known for frames created and soldered for e.g. Rudi Ottitsch and Ferdinand Gatternig, who in 1935 became Staatsmeister on a Wendl.

In 1939 Wendl passed the master craftsman exam, started working as an apprentice trainer in the local wagon factory and later as a calculator at Puch, turning most of the frames made by Wendl into prewar products.

In the present case, this already attracts the details; the OsGear dropouts come from the 30s and were rather unused in the post-war period.

Stay tuned!