Why pay $69,000 (£43,000) for a beech wood bike without brakes? Not sure, perhaps aesthetics or conversation piece…
London-based designer Andy Martin teamed up with the furniture company Thonet to steam bend a unique bicycle that allows you to be one with the road. Designboom explains, “the fixed gear conception takes influence from the tradition of cycling; where one has a greater connection to the bike and the surface a user rides on. Built without brakes, it still has the capabilities of using several interchangeable gear ratios.”
According to LuxuryLaunches, “Thonet developed the steam bending process back in the ‘30s and today the contours of the body are cut using CNC machines after which they are reinforced with connectors and spring rods.”
Not entirely make of wood with Carbon fiber HED H3, the bike is extremely smooth and noted as lightweight, but no specifics.
Numerous blogs site that limited bikes are available from Andy Martin’s site for $69,000 — however the site doesn’t currently reference this but you can contact Martin to find out more.
If you are looking for a greener option to get around town that costs a lot less green, you might want to just pick up and drop off a bike like with Vélib in Paris — similar service is available in many large cities worldwide.