This couplered touring bike was built for a textile artist who spends time in Nevada and in a Chilean coastal town. The color and textures of this bike reflect an artist’s sensibility, but if you met her, you’d know that it also reflected her warm and sunny personality. I like to imagine this bike weaving together two beautiful landscapes, from the colorful Chilean markets and cobblestone roads to the cold, clear hills of home.

• S and S couplers for travel
• 26” wheels for ease of international tube and tire buying
• Rack ready for picking up treasures wherever they are found
• Solar pearl paint, a special order inspired by Japanese design

American design meets German engineering meets a little winter sunshine.

I remember being puzzled by the first ride report I got back from Ms. Fantastic after taking delivery of her step-through. But I shouldn’t have. This woman is amazing.

I had designed her custom Sweetpea to elegantly blend two different goals. First, the bike had to be cute enough to complement Ms. Fantastic’s gorgeous sense of style. Second, it needed to have some real power behind it as she was going to use it to haul her two wonderful kids. The result was a delicious vanilla sundae of a bike sprinkled with rich wood, leather and pinstripes. Look a little closer and you’ll see that this bike is a little longer than other step-through bikes, with a riding position that allows her to generate some power.

So, I was expecting to hear about how the bike trucked her kids on a trip to the library or how it easy it was to ride in a skirt. But, instead Ms. Fantastic told me how she went out for a solo cruise and ran into a local women’s squad doing some hill repeats. She jumped into the group and decided to hammer out a few repeats. The bike hauled.

That got me thinking.

Women shouldn’t have to compromise comfort and speed for style when they ride a step-through. They don’t need to be too heavy, too old, or too upright to really kick into gear when you need it. Ms. Fantastic’s first ride caused me to recognize that the pluck and grace that come so naturally to her and from which her bike took form are something that we all want a piece of.

With the design of the A-Line, I took apart everything you thought you knew about “ladies bikes” and tried to put together a new classic. Lightweight, technically modern, effortlessly stylish, and immodestly fast. As Fantastic as she is, she can’t have all the fun now can she?

• It’s ridiculously cute.
• It’s lightweight.
• It can be yours in just 10 weeks.

INTRODUCING THE A-LINE.

“Everything about that bike is foxy. Except the pedals. It’s like house slippers paired with a little black dress.”

Two things of note:
Yes, those pedals did not belong on that bike. At the time I conceded, explaining that I threw the pedals on so I could give the rig a test ride.

But no. Flat pedals are not house slippers. They are not a frumpy stand-in for something more appealing. Flat pedals are more like flip flops. More intention than substance. They are the easy ambivalence of summer, like an open patio door or a two week vacation. They invite you to come and go as you please and take your time doing it.

I’ve been riding flat pedals on my fixie for a couple of months now and it has changed my relationship with that bike. I am on and off like its no big deal, no real commitment. I’m riding and then I am not. I roll out to a coffee meeting with a customer. I cruise to the store in sneakers and rolled up pants. I even rode to a bike advocacy fundraiser in high heels and a dress.

Flat pedals nudge you in the right direction. They tell you to slow down, to enjoy the relaxation, to soak in the summer. They might not look fast, but these are the months when you want it to last.

A frame is a vehicle stripped of it’s “go” parts.
A frame, even still, has a view to the world.
Through this sparkly pink touring frame, I see nothing but flowers and endless sky.

This bike began as a big idea and a spot in line.

The big idea was that you could build a bike almost entirely in Portland from design to finished product, and that the only thing standing in the way of that was a little help from friends. So a year before last year’s Alice awards, we put a spot in line for a frame and fork, and donated it to the BTA.

Then we reached out to Michael Sylvester of Bicycle Fitting Services for the fit, Chris King for the wheels, BB, and headset, and asked River City to bring it home. This is the finished product. It took a little while to completely come together, but it showed how a simple idea can turn into something beautiful.

The soul of a bike is a hard thing to locate. Among the bikes of my lifetime, I have traded wheels, swapped parts and repainted. Is it still the same bike when you turn it into a fixie? Is it a different bike if I paint it green and put cruiser bars on it? I don’t know.

But the bigger mystery goes like this, and happens in reverse: I work on a bike for months, from the conception to the fitting, design, fabrication, paint and assembly; and at some point it comes to life in a way that is bigger than I could have designed.

This bike was commissioned to do more than simply replace my customer’s ill-fitting and ancient road bike. It is designed to be her primary means of transportation and to fit like a glove. From the 650B wheels to the Brooks saddle, the Nitto bars to the purple paint, we were crafting a bicycle that was at once a vehicle and an intimate personal artifact. You can see in the details that this bike is meant to be used rigorously and loved tenderly.

But the soul of bike wasn’t made piece by piece. It has an old soul that is inherited from a tradition of city bikes. Visible in this bike are the same inspirations and considerations that you can see the work of Ant Bike Mike or the design of Grant Peterson. Their bikes respond elegantly to the question of how you ride comfortably, in all weather, along whatever route your day requires, with your cargo on board. It is this question that informs the tradition, conjures the soul, and if you look closely, you can see it reborn for a new body.

Many of you may be in committed relationships with your road bike, city bike or touring bike. That is sweet, commendable really. But at the risk of throwing your life choices into question, I just want to say… Remember that mountain bike you loved back when you were in middle school,/high school/college? Well, the mountain bike has grown up and gotten sexy. And it is time for you to get reacquainted.  Meet the Bombshell. Hard tail, soft curves, suspension fork, disc brakes. This Bombshell may rekindle some powerful feelings. It did for me. The tailhead starts here.

• Fox F32-100mm shock with 15mm axle.
• Thomson seat post and stem
• XT drivetrain
• Portland Design Works Speed Metal Grips
• Reynolds Canyon Disc MTB wheelset
• Schwalbe Nobby Nic Tires 26 x 2.1
• Chris King Headset