If you want to know what 1600 euro worth of city bike looks like, then ask the Germans in Weltrad

I love the way they show us the craftmanship and engineering that goes towards creating these beautiful machines. No beautiful models astride the bikes, just welders, designers and engineers.

Based on a comment by Dermot on carrying kids in trailers I thought I’d look at what bike trailer based options there are.  Aside from style, the other aspects putting me off these are their bulky size, the stability / maneuverability of them, the comfort they provide to the kids and of course the general safety of sharing the road with others who may not give you the desired space and time.

I do admire the industrial design of some (but not all) of them however

You’d never see any of these in Ireland, with only the occasional sighting of the tent style trailer with a very nervous looking small person peering out from inside

So how to carry a 3 year old on a bike.. After much searching for both front and rear child seats, I went for this one where she sits in the middle. This leaves the front and rear still available for carrying my bags, lets me see what she is up to and also gives her a chance to help with the steering ..

Has anyone else tried this type of child seat, or do you prefer the back rack mounted ones, or the full seat that sits up front ?

Imagine for a moment we had a new cycle bridge over the Corrib, with an architectural competition to select the best design – where would you like it located and what type of design ? Should it be for pedestrians also ?

They have done it in Copenhagen, so why not here

Is there other cases of bike only bridges in cities ?

Cycloc

The award winning designer storage solution for those of us with limited space in the house for our wheels.

I can’t help thinking though that you could achieve the same result with a plastic bin or flowerpot for a lot less than the 60 quid they are asking for this.

Available at cycloc if you do want to take the plunge

Seems expensive, considering this one is just over a tenner

I’m not convinced you need facilities like this, since by slow cycling you should be able to stay in your normal clothes and arrive at your local destination without need of a shower, but if they did exist do you think it would increase bike usage and how much would you be prepared to pay ?

While common in other northern european countries, Dutch style bikes are hard to find in Ireland. My local bike shop owner tried desperately to talk me out of getting one of these upright  ’sit up and beg’  bikes, complete with integrated lock, skirt guard, lights and racks, pushing me towards the ubiquitous hybrid style bikes. They lost a sale, and I got my Velorbis elsewhere.

Of course the Dutch don’t call them Dutch bikes ; they just call them bikes.

Dutch Style - Velorbis Victoria classic

They do tend tend to come in a bit heavier than the normal hybrid bikes, but for around town this is not really a factor, even on slopes such as the Dublin road. Adding all required extras such as lights, mudguards and racks to other bikes, which come as standard on the dutch style bikes,  will bring them up to a similar weight

They do tend to have less gears, but I’ve found you can manage just fine round the city with 3 or at most 7 gears. 21 is just greedy. We’re not doing le Tour after all boys, we’re just getting around town.

The best Dutch, Danish & even Swedish brands are now becoming available in Ireland, either direct or via Britain, though not yet in Galway

Gazelle is now stocked by 2wheels in Sandymount

Velorbis is now available from their UK website and also through ThinkBike in Rathmines, Dublin, who also do BSP.

Batavus is also for sale in the UK as is the swedish icon, Skeppshult

Viva bikes, launching in Spring 2010 are available through Nigel’s on the Tuam Road

Let us begin. I doubt you needed proof that smart people cycle, but just in case, here is the great man himself. Hopefully the first of a series of ‘famous’ people on their wheels.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”

Albert Einstein