From Coffee Tables to Cruisers: Public Bikes Launches
Author:Lindsey Shook
Rob Forbes, founder of Design Within Reach, helped spur a widespread passion for beautiful, functional furniture. Now he’s hoping to inspire the same enthusiasm for bicycles with his brand new company, Public Bikes. Like the simple and shapely lines of a Mies Van der Rohe chair, his gorgeous, user-friendly line of Dutch-inspired bicycles are sure to win over any design lover, while the ergonomic design and functional features will make cyclists swoon (Falling under both those categories myself, I marched straight down to their offices in South Park as soon as I heard about the venture and offered to help in getting the word out in any way that I could). A long-time advocate for getting more people out of their cars and onto bikes, Forbes is employing the tried-and-true combo of good looks and good design to encourage people to join him out in the bike lane. Free of busy labels and high-maintenance external gears (bikes have up to eight speeds, the mechanisms of which are all contained in an internal hub inside the back wheel), and featuring built in racks, baskets and kickstands, the bikes are perfect for both the beginner who’s ready to hang up the car keys and the experienced cyclist ready to realize what the Europeans have known for years: cycling and style can go hand in hand.
Bikes will go on sale early next month, and you can sign up on their site for a chance win a free one.
