Bikes
with alligator skin saddles, frames adorned with 24 carat gold leaf, or
just two wheels designed to your very own personal specifications.
From
Paris to Tokyo via Milan, designer and customized bikes costing
thousands of dollars are the latest must-have luxury item coveted by
urban elites in search of “pedal chic”.
A world away from the bland utilitarianism of self-service bikes, these
top-end cycles are becoming as much a status symbol as the car ever
was.
And whether they be trendy young professionals or big names in the
business world, designers are competing to woo potential customers with
their sleek, luxury models.
Luxury firm Hermes, which specializes in leather goods, is one of the
market’s leading players. Its Flaneur model comes with a price tag of
€9,000.
For that, deep-pocketed cyclists get a designer name, eight gears, a
carbon monobloc frame and water-resistant taurillon leather saddle and
handlebar grips.
“This
bike is very successful both with regular Hermes customers... but also
with cycling enthusiasts, who find something new in it,” Francois Dore,
director general of Hermes Horizons, told AFP.
“We wanted to set out our vision of cycling as the favorite means of transport for the modern citizen,” Dore said.
On
the other side of the Alps, bespoke bike company 43 Milano turned to
Pininfarina — the Italian car design and coach-building firm — for its
“Fuoriserie” model.
The chrome steel bike, priced at €8,400, is equipped with a discreet
electric motor on the back wheel and inspired by one of the firm’s 1930s
cars designs.
“The braided leather of the saddle and the handlebar is inspired by the
interior of the car,” Paolo Pininfarina, president of the business
founded by his grandfather, said.
With just a limited edition of 30, it is aimed at “bosses who live in city centers”, he said.
The bike is said to have been invented in 1817 by the German Karl von
Drais and by the middle of the 20th century it had become a cheap and
easy means of transport for the masses all over the world.
Today it is also a luxury accessory with car-makers Mercedes-Benz,
Porsche, Maserati, Lamborghini and Ferrari all coming out with their own
top-of-the-range bikes.
“With bikes, people rediscover the independence that they had with the car, but without any of the inconvenience of traffic.
“They can exercise, they can breathe and rediscover their freedom,”
Bruno Urvoy, a marketing expert who has also opened his own bike shop in
Paris, “En Selle Marcel” (On Saddle Marcel”).
Specializing in luxury bikes, the shop sells models made by Italian, British and German manufacturers
And although they may be expensive compared with other bikes, not all designer models require a second mortgage.
For 1,450 euros, you could acquire a Siegfried from Schindelhauer which
has a sleek aluminum look. Or, for around double that you could
purchase a Ludwig 18 that can be customized according to your individual
preference.
These bikes have little in common with their more functional forerunners, which were produced in their hundreds of millions.
But for Urvoy “the real luxury is customization”. Customers can take
him their favorite all-time bike — perhaps one they had as a teenager
or the one their grandfather had — and ask him to replace certain parts, accessorize it or paint it.
“Before, the car it was very much a sign of social status. Now the bike is taking on this role,” Urvoy said.
“It allows people to say to others ‘that’s my lifestyle and my image’.
For some, it’s as important as the type of shoes they
wear.”
In Tokyo, too, there is plenty on offer for the well-heeled bike enthusiast.
Sueshiro Sano, a ninth generation yacht maker, offers bikes in Honduras
mahogany, which he says are more than a match for ones made out of the
latest high-tech materials.
“Recently, the bikes that I have made have had good results in competitions,” he said.
He has made around 20 bikes that have “seduced” customers from Japan as well as the Netherlands, Taiwan and China.
At €14,500 each, he said, they offer style and exclusivity — albeit at a price.
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