13 VELORETTI Fearlessly pronouncing ‘Our bicycles aren’t mass-produced and we would like to keep it that way’, new kids on the online-only bike block Veloretti balance performance and aesthetics to create simple, clean, affordable city bikes. The men’s BLCKBRD model is a modern street racer with classy style quirks – think handlebars like horns and subtly curved frame posts – that bely its €379 price tag. The fuss-free CAFÉRACERs, for men or women, come in a Pantone colour palette (Dakota Red, Gunmetal Grey, Screamin’ Olive) and boast ‘moustache’ handlebars, which can be flipped upside down for a cool courier look. http://veloretti.com
MINUTE BIKES Big isn’t always better – most especially in the case of bikes. Minute, with their shrunken wheels, may look like folding bikes but are in fact mini commuters born out of a quest for the ultimate city ride. As designer Elian Veltman says, ‘A smaller size wheel is stronger, lighter, more agile and at least as fast as a large wheel. And something you will really appreciate when you have to take your bike to your thirdfloor apartment…’ www.minutecycles.com
THE UPCYCLE Talk about reinventing the wheel. Some 40,000 ‘orphan’ bicycles are collected by the municipality of Amsterdam every year, and only a very small percentage are ever collected by their rightful owners, while the remainder are scrapped. Taking creative inspiration from this waste, The Upcycle create brand new bikes out of the best of the leftovers, scrupulously sourcing all the components to make new bikes that are distinctly more than the sum of their parts. And if you’re not in the market for a complete bicycle, the industrial-chic bikelight lamps, chain jewellery and bike-tyre belts and wallets are a little more hand-luggage friendly…
FAIR + FAIR : Herengracht 211 Thinking of Holland: Piet Heinkade 23 Amsterdam Roest: Czaar Peter Straat 213 www.theupcycle.nl