Bicycles intended for city use really don't need to be complicated. This is where Tokyobike come in. As the name implies, the company was founded in Tokyo where their bikes were conceived for simple, urban tasks, and what's more they don't look like they're worth stealing.
The latest from Tokyobike is a basic model, designed for the super-hip Ace Hotel in London's achingly cool Shoreditch, the Tokyobike x Ace Hotel is a machine of understated elegance. Keep your mountain bike for the mountains, Tokyobike suggest, and by corollary, your racing bike for the track.
The emphasis is on comfort over speed. That means a classic leather Brooks Team Pro saddle and 26" wheels with snazzy white-sidewalled tyres for an easy ride over city potholes.
Forget those umpteen gears too. The Tokyobike x Ace Hotel is a single speed bike. You'll find yourself peddling at an appropriate pace, rather than trying to out-accelerate other cyclists at every turn.
The handgrips are beautifully finished in vegetable-tanned leather by bike specialists Gropes, run by two London-based Japanese bike lovers.
The Toyobike x Ace Hotel is now available for sale, in four colour-ways. Its calm simplicity suggests the same qualities will suffuse your urban commute.
