Civia from Minnesota, USA are a brand I’ve never seen this side of the pond, but have a nice relaxed range of bikes – flip-flop friendly as they say themselves. I know Minnesota has a large Scandinavian influence so perhaps some of the bike culture made its way over there too. In line with other US design led manufacturers such as Apple, they impose a style tax, so start at just under a grand.

The signature design element is their wooden sided branded front carrier, as in their Loring model.

loring

The planned Midtown model due in May 2010 looks very like the Specialized Globe Live. I wonder who inspired who ?