Europe’s cycling renaissance has brought forth a new generation of companies whose back-to-basics bikes – including upright city bikes – promise years of happy cycling.
At Berlin's Fahrradschau Bicycle Show – one of the world's biggest – the focus was on sturdy and sustainable bikes that reflect the values of their European builders: Finland's Pelago, Latvia's Erenpreiss and Belgium's Achielle. All three believe that, with bikes, simple is better.
"There was a time when people thought the more gears a bike had the better, but people are tired of that because it's not true," said Peter Oosterlinck, who runs Achielle with his brother Tom. Named after their grandfather, who began building bikes in 1946, the company builds everything from simple city bike to delivery and long cargo models. Each is customisable, ensuring you spend money on the components you want, rather than spreading your budget across things you don't.
Simplicity and family tradition are in the blood of Toms Erenpreiss. His family name is synonymous with the quality bikes built from 1927 in his native Latvia by his great-grand uncle, Gustavs Erenpreiss. By 1941 Erenpreiss was the biggest manufacturer in the Baltic region until the Soviets nationalised the factory a year later and kicked out the founder. A decade ago Toms Erenpreiss took back his family's legacy and began renovating old Erenpreiss bikes.
“It is amazing to see these bikes still in use 70, 80, 90 years later,” he says. “The clock has come back to quality, people want to get around quickly but on a high quality bike.”
The newest kid on the block is Finland’s Pelago. Founder Timo Seppälä was always struck by the quality of the older bikes he delighted in repairing.
In today’s age of obsolescence would it be possible, he wondered, to build a new bike of the same quality as older models. That is Pelago’s mission: to put the heart back into making bikes.
From city bikes to high-end models, Pelago bikes are beautifully designed with a loyal and growing following. But quality has its price.
“Our entry-level model is a good city bike for around €600,” says Seppälä. “For half that you can get a mountain bike in a supermarket but it’s crap.”
These small new bike builders face a twin challenge of false economies and economies of scale: how to build bikes at a low price, but of high enough quality to keep people in the saddle. Despite the challenges, they believe the cycling comeback will bring far-sighted discerning bikers – and bike dealers– to them. achielle.be/en; erenpreiss.com/en; pelagobicycles.com
