The 10 Most Beautiful Bicycles

Wheels of change 

According to the world Policy Institute, a US-based environmental support cluster, bicycle production quadrupled between 1950 and 2007. throughout identical amount, automobile production simply doubled. it is a trend that continues to the current day, accelerated by rising fuel costs and concrete congestion. and through the last ten years, the bicycle has enjoyed one thing of a renaissance, because of ever-greater accessibility of light-weight materials, advanced safety and luxury options, and electric-motor-assist systems.Bicycles are getting additional lovely, too. little makers, custom outlets and freelance designers ar reinventing the standard two-wheeler with stylish shapes and technologies. Herewith, we have a tendency to decide ten of our favorites. (Photo: Cykno electrical cycle, courtesy of Engeenius)

BSG Wood.b Duomatic
**Country of origin:** France

**Details:** French bike maker BSG’s Wood.b line of cycles mixes metal items with structural elements fabricated from exposed ash plyboard. The finished product – that is as-is expensive because of its appearance – looks nearer to art than machinery. do not be fooled: BSG’s frame guarantees exceptional sturdiness, and also the use of painted metallic element elements keeps weight to a manageable 35lbs. This beauty may be a beast.


**Price:** €3190 (about $4230)

Pashley Parabike
**Country of origin:** Great Britain

**Details:** Bikemaker Pashley, that has been in business since the times of King King of Great Britain, is thought for its classically titled, eminently English cycles – bikes with Brooks sprung saddles and noise bells and large wicker baskets. Pashley's new Parabike mines British history, as well, albeit a less cultured chapter of it. The cycle recollects a WWII-era two-wheeler referred to as the mobile bicycle, that was carried into occupied France by British paratroopers. Pashley's version, whereas not designed with a jump in mind (the original featured a folding frame that strapped to the 'trooper's body), could be a classic in its title, with a bowed multi-tube frame that's directly homesick and forward-thinking.

**Price:** £545 (about $900)

Vanmoof S Series
**Country of origin:** Holland

**Details:** Amsterdam's Vanmoof has been colonizing the gallery districts of major world capitals since 2009, winning aesthetes over with its bikes' Tinker Toy-like forms, powerful materials and decidedly Dutch complete of sprezzatura. The S Series commuter bike builds on the essential original cycle while not cluttering up the works. associate degree eight-speed Shimano internal hub helps a rider handle hills, whereas disc brakes give the stopping power of much more refined – and much pricier – road bikes.

**Price:** $1,048 (S3 model, 28in wheel)

Donkey Bike
**Country of origin:** Great Britain

**Details:** The Donky Bike could be a nontraditional beauty, to be sure, a motorcycle that prioritizes strength, simplicity and concrete maneuverability over sensual lines or luxurious trappings. The cycle – that was nominative for a style of the Year award by London's style repository – is BMX-inspired, with powerful 20in wheels and a thick frame bisected by a supporting steel beam, upon that area unit mounted front and rear wares racks. it is a devoted hauler, however not like ancient wares bikes, which may stretch eight feet or a lot of finish to finish, the Donkey is compact enough to park within the front corridor of a typical town flat. 

**Price:** £499 (about $830)

Viks Steel Urban Cycle
**Country of origin:** Esthonia

**Details:** it had been simply a matter of your time. Given single-speed cyclists' pathological fixation with art movement, Estonia's Valonia – a dress shop studio supported and manned by Indrek Narusk – has lopped the seat tube right wherever it stood. The ensuing bicycle, the Viks, could be a noodly abstraction designed from simply 2 steel tubes, joined at the top tube below the bar. Shown higher than in "Lamborghini Orange" powder coat, a Vikes may be organized for either mounted or freewheel riding, though Naruse cautions that handlebar-mounted brakes area unit a tough work, given the bar's uncommon 30mm diameter. Best to travel brakeless, in different words.

**Price:** dependant on build specification.

GreenChamp Original
**Country of origin:** Singapore

**Details:** Youth, same martyr Claude Bernard Shaw, is wasted on the young. therefore is that this merely lovely bamboo balance bike, created by Kickstarter-funded GreenChamp. For the uninitiated, a balance bike could be a pedal-less two-wheeler meant to show riding skills a lot of effectively than that ancient staple of childhood, the wheeled vehicle. on the far side such worthy concerns as property and carbon footprint, the GreenChamp Original could be a triumph of style. Bamboo fibers area unit infused with honey (yes, honey) to stop cracking, and also the tubes feature dual-wall construction for highest rigidity. To be young once more...

**Price:** $165

Cherubim HummingBird
**Country of origin:** Japan

**Details:** provider to the Japanese national sports team at the 1968 Olympics in the national capital, Cherubim has pride and source to spare. Its gift of a steel-frame sculpture is currently carried forward by Shinichi Konno, son of company founder Hitoshi Konno. With a style for retro-tinged velodrome machines that take daring detours – the apodiform bird builds higher than forgoes a conventional seat tube and arches its back precariously over the rear wheel – it's safe to assume Shinichi-san isn't eyeing Olympic glory. He should content himself knowing that he builds what area unit wide considered the foremost lovely bikes within the world.

**Price:** N/A

Faraday Porteur
**Country of origin:** U.S.A.

**Details:** electrical bicycle builders are becoming wise housing ugly batteries and motors out of read, nevertheless few builders hide these pedal-power supplements as dextrously as a physicist. based mostly within the sports mecca of Portland, Oregon, physicist builds its Porter utility bikes with lithium-ion batteries packed within the frame tubes, conserving the cycle's clean, collegial lines. Up to fifteen miles (24km) of electrical assist is accessible at the push of a button, and light-sensing LEDs begin to blink at sunset. Up front, associate degree nonmandatory integrated rack is prepared to lug the groceries, books and well-cultivated complacency of the lucky rider.

**Price:** $3,500

Engeenius Cykno
**Country of origin:** Italian Republic

**Details:** newer mind the worth tag, that is bigger than a brand new Alfa Romeo MiTo: there's nothing wise concerning the Cykno electric-assist two-wheeler. This Italian beauty options a monocoque frame, front forks and 26-inch radial spoke wheels fabricated from carbon fiber composite, which, despite associate degree array of electric-drive hardware, keeps weight to a not-unwieldy 57lbs. The Cyano's leather-wrapped center section contains a 250- or 500-watt motor, a lithium-polymer battery pack associate degree an onboard charger with cable. A full charge from a regular unit outlet takes four hours, and also the Cykno can cruise in a pedal-assist mode for generous thirty-seven miles – good for an extended day of Roman roamin'.

**Price:** $22,000 (est)

World Bicycle Relief Buffalo
**Country of origin:** Angola/Kenya/South Africa/Zambia/Zimbabwe

**Details:** to several eyes, the bike you see here is, well, simply a motorcycle. however to ample individuals across continent World Health Organization believe the pedal power to maneuver themselves, their families and their merchandise, the Buffalo is incredibly lovely, indeed. The production of the US-based charity World Bicycle Relief, the Buffalo is assembled by trained native employees at facilities in many African nations. From there, the bikes area unit given to non-governmental organizations or sold to shoppers across the continent. It's prim look meant to recall classic British road bikes, belies real muscle. Like its bovine someone, the Buffalo bike is made for the trials of African use – significant hundreds, rough track and sporadic maintenance (each one includes a little carpenter's kit and a tire pump). 

**Price:** $150 (est)

*Bonus* The Aeolian Ride
**Country of origin:** U.S.A.

**Details:** Created in 2004 by New York-based transmission creative person Jessica Findley as a response to the destruction molded in Lower Manhattan 3 years previous, the Aeolian Ride renders each bicycle, notwithstanding however tumble-down, beautiful. Riders don hoods of Findley's style, that inflate as the wind passes through them. The sight of Aeolian riders in the dark (the name is associate degree mention to the Greek god of the four winds), their hoods light from at intervals, is directly spectral and cartoonish. Since the inaugural ride, events have taken place in Diamond State Janeiro|Rio|city|metropolis|urban center} de Janiero, Milan, metropolis, and l.  a.  , still as in smaller cities like Halifax, star Scotia, and Bremen, Germany.

**Price:** Free