by Jorge Chapa
The sexiest and most sustainable form of transportation out there is the one you power with your own two legs. Not only does cycling get you outdoors get you in shape and give you a chance to flaunt those legs — it is also the only form of speedy transportation that comes with ZERO carbon emissions. So now we present to you our list of the cutest, most innovative, and most useful bicycles we’ve encountered. (We tried to narrow it down to five, but just couldn’t cut any of these). Counting down from 6 to 1…
EV SOLAR ELECTRIC BICYCLE
While human power is by far the most sustainable form of transportation, sometimes you might need a little help. Rather than using gasoline or diesel for fuel, Canadian Peter Sandler decided to install solar panels straight into the wheels to power the 500watt front hub motor. It’s a bit heavy, but it’ll speed you up to 30kph without you worrying about polluting the environment.
$1295 from TherapyProducts
FISHER SIMPLY CITY
Coming soon to a bike store near you, the Fisher Simply City is one of the prettiest and lightest bikes around. Rather than adding extra weight and bells and whistles, the Fisher Simply City takes the urban bike form to its simplest expression. It’s a nice combination of simplicity and elegance, which is why this bike became a showstopper at Trek World 2007. We can’t wait for these puppies to hit stores…
THE JORG & OLIF CITY BIKE
Europeans have a long tradition of riding bicycles everywhere, and when you see a bike like this one, you can understand the appeal. A modern bicycle aesthetic blended with the form of a classical Schwinn townie, the Jorg & Olif original is a beautiful bike for those who like to ride around town. It’s carefully designed to be an easy ride for those of us whose cycling knowledge is limited to watching the Tour de France.
SKEPPSHULT CYCLES
Europeans sure know how to make them! The Swedish Skeppshult bikes might be a little pricey, but they are easily the most beautiful bicycles we’ve ever seen. Skeppshult’s Z-bike (shown above), is a beauty of sleek, minimalist form in a silver steel frame. We’d probably never pay this much for a bike, but we can dream, right?
BROMPTON FOLD-UP BICYCLE
Sadly in our car-oriented culture, its hard to find enough space (and security) to store a bike. The Brompton Bicycle aims to solve the problem by making it easy to fold into a convenient package. While the certain other bikes might be cuter or quicker, we just couldn’t help but love the idea of arriving somewhere, folding our bike up into a little package, and carrying it with us.
$656 and up from Foldabike.com
PUMA FOLD-UP BIKE
While the Brompton Bicycle is the most convenient fold-up bike for urban riders, the Puma Bike is by far the coolest looking one of the bunch. A full sized urban bike that folds unto itself, the Puma bike is an attempt at solving one of the biggest problems for bicycle riders everywhere, that of security. Because the lock is integrated to the bike, the only way that you can steal it is by breaking the bike. The folded form of the Puma bike is a convenient way to take the bike everywhere you go as well, making it our winner in this list, and a finalist for the index awards of 2007.
$1158 from Biomega
Let’s face it though, not everyone can afford one of these high-end bikes. In fact, before looking at a really expensive new bike for urban transportation, how about just looking at the nearest bike shop in your town? You might be surprised to find some very cute and functional used bikes at considerably better prices than you’d pay for a new bike. As we are fond of saying, the sexiest and most sustainable transport that you can find is yourself.
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