This story has several beginnings. The most important is the main character, Chrigel Braun: a veteran of the Zurich mountain biking community, godfather of the Pizzacup, who has been riding studded tires since the 1980s.

For almost 40 years, he has been buying mountain bikes that were state of the art or unique in a certain respect at the time of their creation. Chrigel has sold some of them at some point. But he has kept a great many. And he doesn't just collect, as a bike mechanic he builds and refits, restores, completes and perfects his old-school bikes, as he calls them. This has led to a collection worthy of a museum, even if he doesn't think much of exhibiting them. "Apart from a few nerds, nobody is interested."

For many years, the East Swabian, who has lived in Zurich for decades, has kept his bikes and workshop in basement rooms. His collection has already had to be moved twice.

The bicycle bunker under the ground in Zurich

Another place to start is the Kronenwiese in Zurich. During the construction of the Milchbuck tunnel from Zurich city center to Oerlikon, it was used as a construction site, machines and materials were stored there, and the containers with the construction offices were also located on this site. After the Milchbuck went into operation, the Kronenwiese remained a wasteland. In the noughties, bikers were allowed to shovel a few dirt jumps there. The remaining huts were rented by an alleyway kitchen, which was taken over by squatters over time. Then the city made a clean sweep and built a residential development on the triangular piece of land above the Letten. All this time, however, there was a large civil defense facility underneath. According to Chrigel, various bands had their practice rooms there. They all had to leave during construction, after which the air raid shelters were rented out again.

Chrigel Braun got hold of one of them, together with two other bike enthusiasts, one of whom is also an electrical tinkerer and the other a metal and wood milling expert. The three of them have an impressive 120 square meters at their disposal. Chrigel uses around half of it. 50 bikes are lined up close together or hung up. He has dismantled another 50 for space reasons. In fact, if you take a closer look around, you can always spot batteries of frames or forks on a shelf or storage area, including many rarities and one-offs.

"I've never stuck to one brand, like most collectors do," says Chrigel. Instead of a single brand collection, he has around a dozen Klein, roughly the same number of Yeti, plus several Fat Chance, early Santa Cruz, Intense and such exotic bikes as a downhill bike from Bob Sticha, a Foes with a hydroformed frame or one from the Italian brand DM; whose adventurous construction spontaneously reminds the uninitiated visitor of a work of art by Tinguely, but whose rear triangle, according to Chrigel, was the model for the mountain bikes from Specialized and Ancillotti.

The ultimate object of desire is also located in the Velobunker, as Chrigel calls the underground temple of the MTB cult. And it doesn't belong to him, but to his friend with the milling machines: a Raleigh with a muffled carbon frame and the Tioga disc wheel that reminds him of who? That's right, of John Tomac. It belonged to him, Chrigel tells us. He gave it to the Glarus sprint rocket Urs Freuler, who passed it on until it finally ended up with the master miller under the Kronenwiese. When asked about it by Ride, Freuler says: "It was a great bike that I rode for a long time. But at some point I got rid of it." Chrigel would like to buy it from the bunker comrade. "But he wants a five-figure sum. I can't afford that." At least he can look at it whenever he wants.

Zurich wants its civil defense facilities back

And so to the third beginning of this story. As we all know, the world situation has taken a turn for the worse. War is raging again in Europe and the USA has closed its military umbrella, at least rhetorically. Those responsible do not confirm that this is the reason why the Civil Defense wants to return numerous facilities, but there is a "de-rental concept", which is why many of the rental contracts, which were always concluded for a limited period, are no longer being extended. Chrigel and his fellow bunker tenants are among those who will suffer. They will have to be out by October at the latest.

Accidentally, Chrigel Braun is retiring at the end of the year. He has long planned to do more with his vintage bike collection - offer it to enthusiasts to ride, for example, or lend bike stores display pieces that suit them. He could also use his mountain bikes to show their development step by step from 1985 to 2012 - "with all the undesirable developments that quickly disappeared again."

However, he now has another problem. He has to find a new home for the estimated two tons of bike material. An affordable space of the required size in Zurich - difficult to impossible.

Wanted: 60 square meters in Zurich

Chrigel needs 60 square meters to be able to set up his empire on an equally generous scale. 30 square meters would only be enough to store the bikes, accessories and the workshop. As a temporary solution until Chrigel has found a new treasure trove. Less space? Further away from his home? He is willing to compromise. Financially, however, there is not much room for maneuver.

Maybe there is a clue to a solution among the readers of this article. Chrigel Braun will be happy to receive information about empty rooms or other possibilities at velozueri@gmx.ch.