Spitzel - The Handlebar iPhone Holder

The SPITZEL is really truly one of the products we've been waiting to see pop up on the market. An attachable iPhone holder- we were told it adapts brilliantly for nearly any activity and its equipment- shopping cart, baby carriage, golf bag, you name it. We, of course, promptly attached it to bicycle handlebars to give it the Cycle Chic test.

Just as promised, it is super quick and easy to install. Less than 30 seconds quick and easy. With the flexible holder, my phone was readily and snuggly perched on top of the handlebars, and we were heading toward our meeting in no time. This model was designed for an iPhone 4, but my 3G fit neatly in anyways.


One of the selling points is that it's better for safe cycling. While we are safe riding these streets as is, the SPITZEL certainly proved that it's better for social cycling. It held up to our expectations while sipping coffee and texting on the ride to work. In addition to texting, navigation ended up being the perfect use for the phone holder- and my favorite use.

No more taking gloves on and off, digging in my coat pocket for my phone to check the unpronounceable - and therefore impossible to remember - road name we'd be turning on. The phone was there, the map was there, and my fingers could be warm in their mittens (had I actually remembered them).


Oh and while we're at it, their cycling handbag is pretty cool too. It attaches to nearly any part of the frame and is big enough for your netbook or tablet.


As an added bonus the SPITZEL, and all other Fahrer products, are made out of recycled materials and in cooperation with sheltered workshops in Berlin. You can check out their online shop here.

Cycle Chic Testdrive - Velorbis Leikier

Here's a bicycle that Cycle Chic has been riding around on for a few weeks. It's fun to test drive new bicycles in the ongoing search for cool urban transport. It's an ocean out there, filled with schools of groovy rides.

Taking a bike for a test drive is great, but I don't think you really get a sense of the bicycle by staring at it intently and riding it around the block or on a parking lot or at a bike fair. The best way to test drive a bicycle is to use it for a longer period.

A short test drive places all your focus on the bicycle and is a bit nerdy. Because it's not about the bicycle. It's about you on the bicycle. So here at Cycle Chic we figured we'd test drive bicycles for a longer period. In order to become comfortable with the machine and, in a way, to forget the bicycle.

Once you ride a bicycle around for more than a couple of days, you don't notice it. You're looking around your city, going from A to B. Then it's possible to return to thinking about the ride.

The bicycle featured here is the Velorbis Leikier. It's a co-branding effort between two Danish companies. Lars Leikier is a respected bikesmith, located here in Copenhagen. Together with his business partner he produces that proud workhorse of the Danish cargo bike fleet - the Sorte Jernhest, or Black Iron Horse.

Here's a Sorte Jernhest in action in Copenhagen.
Lars Leikier is inspired by the American choppers from the 50's and 60's and the Leikier is an offshoot of this fascination. On their website it's described as a Stately City Floater [statslig byflyder]. He crafts 15-20 of these bicycles each year in his bikesmithy. Totally con amore.

Now Leikier and classic Danish brand Velorbis have entered into a co-branding of the bicycle. Taking it to the next level. The result can be seen here.

So what's it like to ride? First of all, the bicycle is a real headturner. You can't pedal anonymously through the city on this puppy. Men, women and teenagers notice it and admire it as you roll past.

I've found that the description "Stately City Floater" is a perfect way to decribe riding the Velorbis Leikier. You sit grandly upon the saddle. The design makes your mother proud in the way that you're sitting up straight. I've discovered that it's virtually impossible to ride with two hands. One hand is magically drawn away from the handlebars to hang casually at my side or to glide into a pocket.

You feel like a king on this bicycle. You rise up above your city and survey it from a two-wheeled perch. All desire to go fast is removed from the design - although with 8 gears you can get up to speed if you need to. It is the poster child for the Slow Bicycle Movement. And it looks bloody fantastic, too. Oh, and super easy to find in bike racks filled with hundreds of bikes. It's the tallest bike around.

I like it when you ride a bicycle and just kind of forget about but somewhere, somehow you just feel good on it. If you notice your bicycle too much, it's not necessarily a good thing. It's like holding hands with someone you fancy. It should be natural. You should know exactly how you both like to hold hands and when your fingers intertwine it should feel nice for a moment and then just become natural.


During the Velo-City Conference 2010 I loaned the Velorbis Leikier to my friend Joel, from Ottawa. A good choice. He dressed for the bicycle.

- The Velorbis Leikier is available from Velorbis - www.velorbis.com.
- It retails for 10,000 kroner - $2995 in the States. There are only 15-20 of them hand-made each year at the moment.
- They come in two colours; black and silver.

The verdict? Cycle Chic approves.

Velorbis Scrap Deluxe - A Bicycle For Feminine Urban Living

Velorbis asked Wifealiciousness and I to review the new Scrap Deluxe for Ladies, which they have recently launched. We're always up for a World Premiere, so we took the bike out for a ride last week.

I know the Scrap Deluxe well, since I have the Gentleman's model. As I've mentioned before, riding this bike around Copenhagen is a treat. In a city that has seen it all regarding bikes, the Scrap Deluxe is a real head turner. Men and women alike.

We whipped up a little film about our test drive:


Wifealiciousness blogged about it on her styling blog Modler Style - in Danish - so I'm going to let her take it away - after a quick translation into English:

"I enjoyed riding for the sake of riding and not having to go anywhere. My husband already has a Gents Scrap Deluxe and we really caused a stir as we rode around on our 'headturner' Velorbis'.

The bike is in a league all its own - the super cool grey, steel frame combined with the creme-coloured wheels, the gorgeous brown leather on the hand grips and saddle and the perfectly formed fenders and lights were an elixir for the eye. Not to mention the little 'number plate' with the Velorbis logo. The bicycle is simple, classic and completely unique.

The frame's form gives you a feeling of sitting up high, straight-backed and with a complete overview of your surroundings. The wheels seem, somehow, smaller than on other bikes and it gave me the feeling of riding a mini-bike - in the funkiest way.

It was an all-round, wonderful experience and a bike that begs to be tried - not least for the aesthetic kick!"


The most important thing from the photographer's perspective is that MAN, Wifealiciousness looks good on the Scrap Deluxe! Riding high and looking beautiful.

It's the perfect bicycle for feminine urban living. Smooth, gorgeous and downtownalicious.

No, we don't know what it weighs, so don't ask. Check Velorbis' website for more info if strange weight or tech spec questions persist in your head. :-)