Velorbis: Danish style, German quality

Last year I inherited a nice, well-kept 1950s classic bicycle from my grandfather, and was immediately struck by its ride quality. Upright, laidback - and so much fun. Danish bike maker Velorbis delivers the same feeling, I believe, in their super-cool, brand new classic bikes.


Looking at the Velorbis bicycles, I wouldn't bet on 2009 as the production year. But these striking beauties are hand made in Germany as we speak, in high-quality cromo steel, made into lugged frames with a lifetime warranty against failure. That show what kind of quality the danes put into their framework design.

The equipment are surely chosen to match: The leather saddles, fender mudflaps and leather handlebar grips are all from the legendary Brooks brand. Wheel rims are stainless steel from dutch quality maker Van Shothorst, tires from German market leader Schwalbe. The list goes on, the attention to detail will please even the most critical connoisseurs.



It's also fun to check out the practical features: Enclosed drum brakes and hub gears, working undisturbed in rain, snow and dirty winter streets. Also cool: The top-notch German Bush & Müller front and rear lights. They are both powered by the dynamo front hub, and controlled by a sensor that automatically switch on the lights as soon as you ride into a dark tunnel, or into a dark street.






Weight shouldn't be your top priority when choosing a classic european city bike like this. But despite the old-skool heavy duty, double powder-coated steel frames, the full, complete standard equipment - Velorbis try to save weight where possible, easing the burden of those having to carry the bike upstairs to a secure storage, and also contributing to an easy ride feel. The bikes weigh in between 17 and 19 kilos, no featherweight by any standard - but a little lighter than similar bikes of lower quality.



Velorbis is a rather new brand, born in 2005. Their website tells the story like this - go check them out:

"Velorbis was born from the hunt for a desirable bicycle to use in London as an alternative to public transport after the London bombings in 2005. The founders - a Dane and a Swede living in London - brought up with sit-up-and-beg style bicycles, couldn't find what they were looking for and therefore decided to design their own.

Velorbis has an exclusive new concept store in Copenhagen, Denmark to cater for their growing popularity in the Scandinavian market. They also plan to extend their network of concept stores in other major European cities in the near future. Velorbis are currently expanding their worldwide retailer base with a focus on markets such as Scandinavia, the UK, Germany, Holland, Spain, the US, Canada and Australia. For further information, please visit www.velorbis.com"

All these pictures courtesy by Velorbis - check out more on their Flickr set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/velorbis/

Want to know how the bikes actually ride? I haven't yet had the pleasure of riding a Velorbis, but these nice folks have:
http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/2008/08/velorbis-scrap-deluxe-bicycle-for.html
http://commutebybike.com/2008/07/25/first-look-velorbis-churchill-balloon/