It's about the bike

[pvpatty]

Thank you for the pictures.

Bicycles make so much more sense than cars in most cities, although I would not risk my life (or my suits) riding one in Paris.

Frog in Suit

There was two years ago and I am sure still is, quite a large contingent of bicyclists in London but, in the craving for a sense of security (probably quite false) they tend to wear those nasty little pointed plastic helmets and thick rough clothes; thereby sacrificing the style which is evident in the photographs above.
NJS

...but possibly saving their brains from being squashed?

Form over function?

[Pangur]

Riding in Style is really a nice thing, but from personal experience (I drove to University for 5 Years, every morning 12 kilometers in max.30 minutes through woods and parks, very nice way to start your day, watching birds and squirrels and stuff) I have to say:

- be careful about your shoes. Lether soles do not go well with steel pedals and a water high shine polish ist quite easily scratched
- the trousers get really worn in the crotch from the stress (even jeans are no good here) and the hemm gets dirty easily.
- at the beginning of your ride you will always be cold and therefore wear to much. After 15 minutes heavy cycling you do not know were to put all yout stuff (cramming a suit jacket in a rack-basket is not a nice thing to do.)
- when you arive at your destination, the cooling wind will stop to blow a you will start to sweat all over.
But it IS worth it, if only for yourself and of course for the ladies you meet on your way.

And wasn't it B.Wooster who had some hard words for the man who invented the bicycle? So keep on cycling and save some petrol!

[garu]

Gentleman, Riding in Style is not only possible, it should be expected! Not convinced? Here is an observation from the wonderful book Need for the Bike (Besoin de vélo), by the French writer Paul Fournel:

My city bike gets me special attention. When I attend official functions I park it between the chauffeured limousines; the drivers stare at me, eyes wide open, as I ride up in a suit and tie. I even had the pleasure of a very worthy official bicycle when I was director of the Ramsay publishing house.

One morning when I was having breakfast at Fouquet's (not really a habit of mine) with Bernard Pivot to show him our book list, he insisted on accompanying me to the sidewalk to see me get on my bike and merge into the flow of the Champs-Elysées. On my way down to the Place de la Concorde I thought about the kind of car I would have had to have in order to make the same impression.

Of course, one can ride any bicycle, just as one can wear any suit, or odd jacket, or pair of shoes. However, we are in the pursuit of elegance. Should this not extend to our two-wheel transportation? A proper city bike should have full mudguards, with a rain flap on the front mudguard, to protect the rider from rain, dirt, rocks, and other worries, as well as a chainguard to protect the rider's trousers. Its design should include integrated racks, wide enough for a bag or attaché, and self-powered lighting (generator or hub-dynamo). It doesn't have to be flash or funky; after all, we are not going after the Thom Browne look...

I don't know what kind of bicycle M Fournel uses for his city bike, but perhaps he bespoke a city bike from Alex Singer, such as this one:


1947 Alex Singer City Bike

(By the way, don't bother looking for a Singer at your local bicycle shop - all Alex Singer bicycles are custom jobs. The current waiting list is about two years...)

For you North Americans, Curt Goodrich makes a very nice bespoke product as well...




As Pangur has noted, riding a bicycle to work is a very nice way indeed to start one's day. By the way, Pangur, rubber block pedals give leather soled shoes good grip and they won't upset your shine, and a good leather saddle (Brooks - or, even better, an old Idéale) will keep both your trousers and your crotch happy. And Frog In Suit, don't worry about riding in Paris. Fournel notes that

...Paris is a festival of cycling. Montparnasse is a real mountain, the Champ-de-Mars is a real plain, and the Champs-Elysées is a real false flat.

...For sure, sometimes you need some courage to go and visit friends who live way up in Montmartre. But there's a huge reward when you cross a bridge over the Seine when the sun is setting, or when you calmly thread your way through an endless traffic jam, smiling at the drivers who are drumming their fingers on the wheel or picking their noses.

I ride regularly to work, in suit (or odd jacket) and tie. With a bit of precaution and common sense, one need not worry about staying elegant, as these chaps in Milano demonstrate:

http://bp3.blogger.com/_qjpwnPW4c1o/RfV ... ADBike.jpg
http://bp1.blogger.com/_qjpwnPW4c1o/RlQ ... ikeman.jpg

There are no helmet laws where I live mandating that one wear a helmet, so I don't when I ride to work. Still, as NJS has suggested, a good weight Coke would do nicely (after all, I seem to remember that it worked for Paul Newman's character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1650759680/tt0064115

All kidding aside, riding a bike to work is a fine way to start the day. Here in Japan, everyone rides bicycles to work, from students, to construction workers, to bank presidents and international lawyers. My bespoke city bike will be ready towards the end of the year (if you are impatient for a bespoke suit or a pair of bespoke shoes, try waiting over two years for a bespoke bicycle...). Just like creating an article of bespoke clothing, my city bike will reflect my vélo thoughts, beliefs, and experience.

A tip of the hat to Gruto for a fine thread. Just one thing, though: the bike is important, yes, but it's not about the bike; it *is* about the bike rider...

Cheers,
garu

[culverwood]

I am a convert to bespoke frames. A good steel bespoke frame costs less than most carbon fibre off the peg ones and will last as long as you will, which the carbon fibre one probably will not. If you are really keen why not build one yourself. Dave Yates runs frame-building courses http://www.daveyatescycles.co.uk/ and you can build pretty much what you want, in steel of course.

When cycling in Italy and Spain I have been very impressed by the stylish citizens of the towns on the plains cycling into work. I think that the reason there are so many bikes there is a combination of climate, old city centres with no space for cars or parking and apartment living being the norm.

All I would add to the Singer photo would be a small saddle bag, Carradice http://www.carradice.co.uk/saddlebags/index.html do lovely ones, to carry ones odds and ends plus a spare tube of course.

[storeynicholas]

Beautiful bicycle, garu. It reminds me of an old bicycle which I had as a boy, after it had been reconditioned - with its leather seat. But, sadly, it all got lost along the way.
NJS

[garu]

Thanks for your kind words, NJS, but, you know, it isn't too late to bespeke another bicycle... Culverwood, I agree with you completely - steel is more durable than carbon fibre, and more comfortable, too. Carradice bags are great (I have a handful, collected over twenty-five years), as are bags by Gilles Berthoud (who took over the old Sologne "factory").
garu

[couch]

In the late 1980s I worked at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Some of you may know that great collection. The museum's distinctive building commands a view of the city (seen in "Rocky") from the top of a hill that was once the city's reservoir, when Philadelphia's public water system was the most advanced in the world (http://www.fairmountwaterworks.org/about.php?sec=3).

The then-president of the Museum, Robert Montgomery Scott, was a late middle-aged lawyer who was the son of Hope Scott, the model for the Katherine Hepburn character in the play and movie "The Philadelphia Story." R.M. Scott lived on the family compound out on the Main Line, where he enjoyed beagling, among other country pleasures. Scott used to commute the fifteen or so miles to work every morning on a battered old touring bike, and his ruddy face and rumpled pinstripe suits were a familiar piece of local color for many motorists. I'm not sure he rose to elegance, but he certainly exhibited nonchalance and a certain retrocentricity--perfectly in keeping with the family tradition!

[storeynicholas]

Couch - that's a nice piece of history that we would be unikely to find outside this place.
NJS

[Simon]

It's designed for ladies, but pictures of the following cycling cape just arrived in my inbox, and I thought I'd share. The detailing on the button and shoulders is reflective...

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_F4i6pMD7MeA/S ... G_3528.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_F4i6pMD7MeA/S ... G_3520.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_F4i6pMD7MeA/S ... G_3517.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_F4i6pMD7MeA/S ... G_3542.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_F4i6pMD7MeA/S ... G_3562.jpg

[Costi]

Very nice cape, Simon, thank you for sharing the pictures. That is, indeed, riding a bicycle in style. I wonder what the lady's male company would be wearing...