Hot on the heels (or wheels) of announcing our new Velorbis dealer, HUB in New York, we’re excited to say that our US expansion is continuing from East Coast to West Coast. Over in sunny San Francisco, California, My Dutch Bike (MDB); the importer and retailer of the best handmade city bikes, will soon be stocking a selection of Velorbis designer bicycles.

Flying Pigeon LA is also flying the Velorbis flag in Los Angeles, California.

It’s wonderful news that Velorbis bicycle icons and Copenhagen style are being embraced by My Dutch Bike and the cosmopolitan and dynamic residents of San Francisco. What’s the perfect accessory for cycling around San Francisco (other than riding a Velorbis)? Wearing a flower in your hair of course!

Velorbis bicycles are continuing to be embraced by style lovers in the US. We’re pleased to announce our new Velorbis dealer: Hudson Urban Bicycles (HUB) located on trendy Charles Street in West Village, Manhattan in iconic NYC.

Hudson Urban Bicycles (HUB) is dedicated to supplying upscale New Yorkers with the very best designer bicycles. HUB and Velorbis are therefore a match made in heaven, bringing a touch of chic Copenhagen style to customers who know how to dress to impress.

Such is the mood towards fashion on two wheels in the US, that the The New York Times has devoted an article to this significant trend that started in Copenhagen. In “Bicycle Chic Gains Speed” by Ruth La Ferla, the owner of Hudson Urban Bicycles (HUB), George Bliss, sums up the philosophy perfectly: “Women, mostly young, have given the image of cyclists ‘an extreme makeover’...The idea now is to look like a pedestrian on wheels...And most are turning their backs on the once-customary aerodynamic helmets and latex shorts in favor of a look as fetching as it is genteel.” Fantastic!

Read the The New York Times article “Bicycle Chic Gains Speed” in full.

Velorbis was proud to be included as part of the Dublin Cycle Chic Fashion Show with our friends from Copenhagen Cycle Chic at Dublin City Hall in June this year.  A selection of Velorbis bicycles were on hand to represent the Danish cycling culture elements along with other noted brands.

Chic cycling culture inspired by Copenhagen is really becoming popular with discerning Irish trend setters, who are embracing the revolutionary concept of blending high fashion with bicycles. Velorbis previously took part in the Cork Cycle Chic fashion show last year in November 2009. View the video. 
 

Velorbis Dannebrog ladies bicycle at Dublin Cycle Chic Fashion Show 2010.
*Photo courtesy of Copenhagen Cycle Chic. 

Velorbis is proud to be selected by the Cycling Embassy of Denmark as the bicycle brand to represent and promote Danish cycling culture and excellence, and its worldwide benefits.

The Cycling Embassy of Denmark has chosen a comprehensive network of expert members from private companies, local authorities and non-governmental organizations: first class bicycle design (as represented by Velorbis), city planning, cycling promotion, parking facilities and cycling tourism. Velorbis is working with the Embassy and other members to promote and communicate cycling solutions and know-how on a global scale so that other international locations can incorporate happy, healthy cycling cultures into their social infrastructures.

Denmark is known as one of the countries with the most cyclists. International interest has never been as great as now, particularly with the focus on sustainable, carbon conscious travel and healthy lifestyles. It’s also the fastest and easiest way to get around a city.

Here are some quick fire facts about cycling in Copenhagen:
•    9 out of 10 Danes have a bicycle.
•    The number of cars in the centre of Copenhagen dropped from 319,000 in 2002 to 289,000 in 2008.
•    37% of Copenhagen’s citizens cycle to and from work. The city’s objective is that 50% of its citizens will use a bicycle as their means of transport by 2015.
•    Every Dane cycles 1.1 km on average each day.
•    17% of adult males and 36% of adult females use a bicycle to get to and from work or education.
•    45% of all Danish children cycle to school.
•    Approximately half a million bicycles are sold in Denmark each year.
•    Since 1993, there have been 11 national cycle routes established in Denmark; covering a total of 4,233 km. Regional routes cover 5,874 km. Local routes cover 2,298 km.

Embassy Secretary Lise Bjørg Pedersen says: “The bicycle is the healthy, quick and inexpensive alternative to the car that many countries are seeking. But it takes time and requires know-how to create a cycling culture in a country with few or no cyclists. We have the knowledge and the solutions that are sought, and with the new Cycling Embassy we are ready to export them.”

It’s a fantastic, positive cause that all urban epicentres can benefit from. Find out more about incorporating a chic cycling culture - the Copenhagen way - by visiting the Cycling Embassy of Denmark.

It’s great to see our friends at the superb and influential street style blog, Copenhagen Cycle Chic, listed in The Observer article "The 10 best...Fashion bloggers."

The Observer is the UK’s quality Sunday broadsheet newspaper, the sister paper of The Guardian. In the feature, Style Editor Alice Fisher picks the best from a wide-ranging array of popular fashion blogs that have taken cyberspace by storm and inspired a multitude of style savvy followers.

"Cycling has become a fashion obsession...Danish filmmaker Mikael Colville-Andersen , 42, was way ahead of the curve. Since 2007 his blog has documented beautiful bikes and riders who deal with the two-pedalled conundrum of looking good yet wearing practical outfits in fine style."

Here is Copenhagen Cycle Chic’s founder Michael Colville-Andersen pictured out and about on his trusty urban icon, the Velorbis Scrap Deluxe gents bicycle.

*Photo courtesy of The Observer, 21st February 2010.

The relationship between cycling and fashion as one style philosophy – one an extension of the other - has been truly cemented and is continuing to inspire and be adopted worldwide. It’s fantastic to see.

Read The Observer’s "The 10 best...fashion bloggers" article in full.