Let’s Go Ride a Bike

Bicycling in Denmark is, to put it mildly, a way of getting to point A to point B far more often than one might imagine (assuming that one isn’t in that country): according to the Cycling Embassy of Denmark, 90 percent of Danes own a bike.

More to the point, they use them, with the average Dane (of which there are approximately 5.7-million) riding 1.6 km per day. This isn’t just recreational riding, as 34 percent of the trips are to go to work, 12 percent to go to school and 15 percent to run errands.

It is calculated that 16 percent of all trips in Denmark are taken by bicycle.

Which brings us to Copenhagen Bike Company, a new firm established by three seemingly disparate outfits, MediaGroup Worldwide, a marketing company, Danish Network Association, a consultancy, and Norm Architects. Yes, an architectural firm, which is responsible for the design of the bikes, which are available in both human-powered and electric configurations.

Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen, owner of Norm Architects, explains, “We have a strong belief that bicycles are the way forward for people living in metropolitan areas around the world. Bicycles are all about a cool and sustainable mode of transport. Biking is, and will continue to be in the future, the optimal way to move around in big cities. It's cheap, healthy, relaxing, extremely environmentally friendly and offers a unique mobility.”

These bikes are hand-built, with frames formed with CrMo steel tubing for strength and lightness. The forks are hand-welded German pressed steel. There is a clever polypropylene chair runner that helps protect the rider from getting caught in or soiled by the chain.

There is a high-level of detail throughout the design and engineering of the bikes, which one might expect from an architectural firm.

What’s interesting to note is that although these are hand built, they’re not all that expensive.

That is, the City Cruise Lady (shown here) starts at 8,499 DKK, which is about $1,328.

If that’s your go-to form of transportation—as, we’ve noted, it is for a large number of Danes—then getting something with that level of style is worth it.