Cycle Chic Guide - The Bikes of Copenhagen #4 - Sweetly Swedish

Like most European countries, Sweden has a proud bicycle making history and many of the classic Swedish makes are seen regularly on the streets of Copenhagen. Sweden is, after all, only four kilometres away from Denmark at the narrowest stretch of sea. You could almost throw a bicycle from one nation to another, so it's not surprising that Swedish 'cyklar' are a part of our bike culture.

The hottest brand in the bespoke end of the market is the Skeppshult, seen in both the above photos. We'll save space here by merely saying that we have a write up about the cool brand over at Copenhagenize.com.
Skeppshult.se - in Swedish and English.

Kronan The Barbarian

You can't muscle your way past the Kronan if you're discussing Swedish bikes. This former Swedish Army tank on two wheels enjoys a revival these days. It's still heavy and looks laboriously clunky but it has a certain retro appeal and is updated for the modern market. Meaning it is much smoother to ride. The number plates on the back are, by the way, a retro design addition. Bikes aren't registered like cars. That would be a silly idea, as we discussed over at Copenhagenize.com.

Especially now that other colours are available like this pinktastic version. They're pretty reasonably priced compared to other brands, which we suspect is because they tend to appeal to the young studenty crowd. Kronan do a line of prams and strollers, as well. On their website the call it Kingdom of Kronan which we reckon is heavily borrowed from the Republic of Fritz Hansen marketing angle, in the hopes that a bit of golden design association will drift their way.

Kronan.com - in Swedish and English

CRESCENT


When in Sweden you notice many bikes from Crescent, one of the largest bike brands and one with a lot of history. In particular their old school chainguards are quite fetching.

They also have a long line of cool retro posters like the one above.
Crescent.se - In Swedish

Cycle Chic Guide - The Bikes of Copenhagen #03 - Dutch Treat

Let's get one thing straight. This strange North American tendency to call the kind of bikes featured on this blog "Dutch bikes" is odd, to say the least.

A Made-in-Netherlands bike is a Dutch bike, silly.
It's like calling cars "American vehicles". Our fine friends, the Dutch, must be giggling at this branding of classic European bikes as "dutch bikes", just because some tourist at some point went to Amsterdam and went home to coin the phrase. Yes, we're bitter. :-)

This is a Dutch bike. Only because it's made in the Netherlands. The Old Dutch.
And it's happening again, this time in a more modern, marketing orientated way, with the advent of the Bakfiets cargo bike import wave to America. All of a sudden a normal "ladcykel" or cargo bike, of which there are hundreds of makes all over Europe, are called Bakfiets, just because they are the first kind people have seen.

It's kind of like the first white man to visit a remote tribe in the jungle somewhere tells the locals his name is Bob and then all white people are called Bobs from then on. :-)

The Dutch don't even call them Dutch bikes, for heavens sake. In the Netherlands and Denmark we just call them bikes. In Denmark these bikes are sometimes called "bedstemor cykler" or grandma bikes, just as in the Netherlands they're called 'Oma' and 'Opa' bikes. On many bike brand websites they are often called Classic or Retro. But by and large they are referred to as "damecykler" and "herrecykler" - lady and gentleman.

Another Old Dutch Dutch bike from the Netherlands.
I like the British term "sit up and beg bike", which is lovely and descriptive, as I'd rather sit up and beg than hunch forward in some strange, unnatural position. If I'm racing in a time trial on Day 15 of the Tour de France, I'll want some hunched over aerodynamic goodness, but the rest of the year, I prefer a humane, ergonomically correct position. My mother taught me to sit up straight.

But I digress. Bikes from Dutch bikemakers are often seen in Copenhagen. They don't dominate by any means, but they are aesthetically pleasing additions to our bike culture.

The Old Dutch bikes above, as well as the DIVA at the top are all from Batavus. If you fancy going Dutch, Batavus is a great place to start. They have an amazing catalogue.

A propos brands that are only avaible in certain countries in Europe, Batavus have several models unique to Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. They even have a Danish Collection - "Batavus has developed certain models especially for the Danish market. The Danish bikes are carefully aimed at the demands and specifications regarding design and quality that many Danish cyclists have."

Visit Batavus' international website and click on the different flags to see the difference in products from country to country.

Cycle Chic Guide - The Bikes of Copenhagen #02 - Danish Delight

In the first post about The Bikes of Copenhagen we started with Raleigh of China [formally Nottingham], which was a bit silly considering the dozens of Danish brands that dominate the market here.
We'll rectify that tout suite. Many of the Danish brands only have websites in Danish, which really shows that they are content to concentrate on the local market.
Nevertheless, it's interesting to see their bikes and I've provided links after each brand.

VELORBIS

There are big players on the market in Copenhagen and Denmark but the new kid on the block is Velorbis. The very idea of starting a new bike brand in this market is, on paper, rather silly. But Velorbis are enjoying great success, not only at home but abroad. Their bikes are being bought by Danish county councils and city councils who provide bikes for their civil servants and they are making a splash in the UK and North American market.

We have a post about Velorbis in our Bikes We Like feature over at Copenhagenize.com. Michael at Drunk and In Charge of a Bicycle out of NYC blogs about his new Velorbis Churchill.
Velorbis Website - In English.
Made in the EU.

KILDEMOES

Kildemoes is one of the brands you don't hear about elsewhere, and yet they produce 100,000 bikes each year. They are the largest brand on the Danish market but they're now owned by an Italian company.

TAARNBY

Taarnby is another big player on the Danish market with a great selection of bikes to choose from.
Taarnby Cykler - In Danish.
Taarnby Retro/Shopping Bikes - In Danish. Click "Klik her for se alle retro/shopping bikes" to see their selection.

SÖGRENI

Upmarket brand with emphasis on design and style, as well as functionality. Very cool bikes to be seen on in Copenhagen. Read our BIKES WE LIKE POST about Sögreni.
SÖGRENI WEBSITE - In English.
SÖGRENI DISTRIBUTOR IN US - In English.

MBK

MBK Cykler are quite popular. They have a broad selection.
MBK Cykler - Ladies Bikes - In Danish.

EVERTON

Used to be an independant brand, now owned by an Italian company but still produced under their own name.
Everton Bikes - In Danish.

JUPITER

A large chain of bike shops with both their own brand and others.
Jupiter Website - In Danish.
Jupiter Ladies Bikes - In Danish.

JAGUAR

I don't know much about Jaguar bikes, just that I see them quite often. They might not even be Danish, shockhorror!
An online shop selling Jaguar. In Danish.

MUSTANG

Mustang bikes are mostly sold in large supermarkets. Usually quite inexpensive compared to other brands.
Mustang Cykler - In Danish.

ROCKY

Another brand sold in supermarkets.
Rocky Cykler - In Danish.

There are many other brands, but these are the Danish brands that you seen most often on the streets. We'll cover some of the foreign brands in upcoming posts.

If anyone knows of distributors or websites where these brands can be bought internationally, please let us know.

Cycle Chic Guide - The Bikes of Copenhagen #01

Wifealiciousness rummages through the basket on her Velorbis Victoria Classic for her keys.

We get alot of lovely emails and comments from readers about what bikes feature on the streets of Copenhagen, what bikes are cool and what bikes we can recommend. It's a tough subject. Mostly because the vast majority of bikes in Copenhagen aren't available abroad and are made by companies most of you have never heard of. Which is a shame, really. We're spoiled for choice in this bike-saturated market but in regions like North America only a few brands of European bikes are on the market.

Only a few Danish and Dutch brands are geared for export. The majority of the well-established companies are content with producing their bikes for the Northern European market. The brands that are exported to North America are generally very fine bikes and this is reflected in the price. They tend to market themselves for the upscale crowd. Fair enough, we say, but still a shame that so many cool bikes are inaccessible to bike culture lovers abroad.

We'll try to highlight some of the brands seen in Copenhagen in some upcoming posts, as well as cool brands from elsewhere in Europe.

GENERIC BIKE PLEASURE AND OLD SCHOOL RETRO-LOVING
There is a bike boom happening in Copenhagen, which seems to have started within the past five years. There are lot of new bikes on the bike lanes with new, bright colours and forms available after a century of black frames. We'll focus on bikes for ladies - the classic 'Bedstemor cykler', or 'Grandma bikes' as they're called in Danish.

By and large, however, most of the bikes are classic workhorses and many are of a rather generic nature.

I don't know what brand the bike above is but I see them, and others like them, all day long. They do the job. There are hundreds of bike shops in Copenhagen and many of them sell these basic "bedstemor cykler" - or Grandma bikes

Raleigh of China [formally of Nottingham] enjoy a strong prescence on the Copenhagen bike lanes. Vintage bike lovers will wet themselves standing on a busy street corner. Old Raleighs roll past in their scores and new Raleighs accompany them.

The bike above is a newish Raleigh. One of the travesties of the bike marketing world is that Raleigh produces classic models only for the Danish, German and Dutch market, leaving the rest of you out in the cold. You can see the contrast when looking at:
Raleigh's Danish website - elegant girl in heels on the front page - and then looking at
Raleigh's US website - agressive sports orientated image, or even
Raleigh's UK Website - outdoorsy weekend cyclists and loads of 'gear'.

On the Danish website there are 8 Ladies models under 'Shopping' and a classic retro model under Tourist De Luxe. On the US website there are four 'women's bikes', with only one resembling a normal everyday bike.

Old Raleighs are, in many ways, much lovelier. A bit of rust adds so much character. Many young women choose these trashed bikes as an image statement. They are coolest with heels and elegant clothes, for some reason. We have spotted a tendency to wear shoes by Louboutin while riding an old Raleigh.


It's not just old Raleighs, there are so many old brands that still do service on the bike lanes. In most cases, it's not about the bike, it's about the person riding it.

A fancy, expensive and wonderfully designed bike is cool, but you don't want people noticing the bike when they should be noticing you.