NORD

Nord Clothing is a Swedish clothing brand started by a group of surfers back in 2003. "Nord" means "North". By the way.

Here's their latest video for their clothes. They say their clothes are "meant to be worn well, enjoyed, loved, and destroyed." Cool.

Lovin' the bicycle in the film, too.

Swedish Winter Cycle Chic

Some great shots from Olof at Malmö/Lund Cycle Chic in Southern Sweden.

Looks like the temperature has finally crawled above freezing in Copenhagen - and Malmö/Lund - and the snow is slowly melting for now.

Adrian Lux - Strawberry Cycle Chic

Brilliant Cycle Chic from Swedish house music producer Adrian Lux.

Cycle Chic approves.

Thanks to Joel for the link.

Poznan Stockholm

Cycle Chic continues to blossom and grow. The latest buds on the rose bush are Poznan Bicycle Chic, out of Poland. What is it with Poland?! Poznan's arrival on the scene puts the number of Cycle Chic blogs in Poland up to eight. Kocham Cię, Polska! Especially when you do stuff like this.

Dawid, from Poznan Bicycle Chic sent me these photos from the blog. Welcome!


Just across the Baltic Sea you have Sweden. While cities like Malmö and Lund in the south have inherited the Danish bicycle culture and embraced it, cities farther north like Gothenburg and Stockholm are still rising to the challenge. My friend Elin has decided to do something about that in the capital. She's launched Put The Fun Between Your Legs and is doing her utmost to capture Cycle Chic Stockholm. Wonderful!

Cycle Chic Global: Stockholm

Stockholm Cycle Chic from Ferelmafe on Flickr.

Cycle Chic goodness from the Cycle Chic™ Flickr group.

Malmö / Lund Cycle Chic

It's about time, really. Olaf has just launched Malmö/Lund Cycle Chic and we're loving it. Malmö is Sweden's third largest city and it's a mere 30 minutes from Copenhagen by train. Lund is just a bit farther north. It is these two cities that cycle the most in Sweden, inspired by their close proximity to Copenhagen. Both rank high on Copenhagenize's Most Bicycle-Friendly Cities list. Malmö has about 30% trips by bike and Lund is at 43%.

I stopped in Lund the other day, on my way to a canoe trip on a Swedish river, and it was spectacular to see how many bicycles there were on the streets.

So... let's hear it for Malmö/Lund Cycle Chic. Welcome on board.

Beauty Bicycles from Sweden!

Here's a vintage ad for Swedish bike brand Monark, from the 1950's. The Swedish nickname for these upright ladies bicycles was 'beauty bicycles' or 'beautycyklar'. Doesn't that fit perfectly with Cycle Chic?! Wonderful.

Check out the lovely skirtguard on the first bicycle featured. When the lady at 0:20 walks out of the back, they compare the lines of her jacket to the lines of the bicycle.

This is vintage Cycle Chic. This is how it used to be. This is how we're making it again. We're loving it.

My Beloved Bicycle...

This is a rather strange youtube find.. and it's Swedish. Kind of the same thing... :-) A declaration of love for a beloved bicycle.

It's kitsch, it's cult, it's fresh, it's Cycle Chic.

Here's the titles in the film in English:
- RIP bicycle.
- All of our memories...
- Your noisy clunking when I pedalled...
- Your curvacious handlebars...
- Your broken headlamp...

- We miss you so much...
- And to think your life would end like this...
- You disappeared from us so suddenly...
- To rest forever on 'soptippans' hallowed meadows...
- Rest in peace, beloved bicycle...
- In memory of my bicycle. The best bicycle that ever rolled on two wheels...
- We'll never forget you...
- You'll always be in our hearts...
- Beloved bicycle.

Statuesque

If the city of Copenhagen ever gets around to erecting a statue in tribute of 'the cycling girl', it should look like this.


A fantastic statue celebrating the strong, proud history of bicycle culture can be found in Västerås, Sweden where 33% of the population ride each day.


We have a statue of the Danish 'cycling girl' in Copenhagen. Read more about her here. But I want to see one smack in the middle of city hall square.

Oh, and if my mate Lars gets to post shots of sunsets, gulls and water, then I do, too... :-)

Both Sides of The Sound

The Sound is the name of the sea between Copenhagen and Sweden and, on the other side is Malmö, Sweden's third largest city. They ride bikes, too. Upwards of 25% of all trips are made by bike. It's a lovely place to visit, only 30 minutes on the train from Copenhagen.

You get to see so many cool Swedish bikes - Crescent and Hermes/new and old. Normal bikes, of course. With normal people on normal clothes riding them.

What a beauty. For more smashing Malmöliciousness on bikes...

Meanwhile, back in Copenhagen

Don't fancy unsightly raingear? Forget your brolley at home in your rush to get to the café? Not to worry. Just wrap your scarf around your head and you're a female Lawrence of Copenhagnia in the light summer rain.

It's a criss-cross bike world. I love the couple holding hands on the right.

Self-Irony

Cycle Chic Guide - The Bikes of Copenhagen #4 - Sweetly Swedish

Like most European countries, Sweden has a proud bicycle making history and many of the classic Swedish makes are seen regularly on the streets of Copenhagen. Sweden is, after all, only four kilometres away from Denmark at the narrowest stretch of sea. You could almost throw a bicycle from one nation to another, so it's not surprising that Swedish 'cyklar' are a part of our bike culture.

The hottest brand in the bespoke end of the market is the Skeppshult, seen in both the above photos. We'll save space here by merely saying that we have a write up about the cool brand over at Copenhagenize.com.
Skeppshult.se - in Swedish and English.

Kronan The Barbarian

You can't muscle your way past the Kronan if you're discussing Swedish bikes. This former Swedish Army tank on two wheels enjoys a revival these days. It's still heavy and looks laboriously clunky but it has a certain retro appeal and is updated for the modern market. Meaning it is much smoother to ride. The number plates on the back are, by the way, a retro design addition. Bikes aren't registered like cars. That would be a silly idea, as we discussed over at Copenhagenize.com.

Especially now that other colours are available like this pinktastic version. They're pretty reasonably priced compared to other brands, which we suspect is because they tend to appeal to the young studenty crowd. Kronan do a line of prams and strollers, as well. On their website the call it Kingdom of Kronan which we reckon is heavily borrowed from the Republic of Fritz Hansen marketing angle, in the hopes that a bit of golden design association will drift their way.

Kronan.com - in Swedish and English

CRESCENT


When in Sweden you notice many bikes from Crescent, one of the largest bike brands and one with a lot of history. In particular their old school chainguards are quite fetching.

They also have a long line of cool retro posters like the one above.
Crescent.se - In Swedish

Cycle Chic Goes To Sweden

Zipping across Stora Torg [Large Square] in the Malmö sunshine.

Malmö is Sweden's third largest city and it Sweden's leading bike city. Bikes are an important part of life here, just as they are in dozens and dozens of European cities. While we will go to our grave claiming that Copenhagen is the most stylish capital in Europe, Malmö does have it's flashes of cycle chic.

Most importantly, the citizens have understood, like millions of others around the world, that urban cycling is something to be done in your normal clothes and on normal bikes. There are great segregated bike lanes and infrastructure and bikes abound in bike racks all over the city.

It's the easiest way to get around town.

Bring a friend down to the harbour and have a laugh.

Stylish Swedish Gentleman by the harbour.

High heeled cycling, Malmö style.

Heading to the harbour for some afternoon sunshine.

A hub of fashionable cyclists.

Dapper chap transporting toilet paper.

Cool old school chain guard on a Swedish Crescent bike.

Looks like any Central Station in Northern Europe.

Copenhagen Cycle Chic Goes to Stockholm

We are not content with merely providing a portrait of Copenhagen Cycle Chic. Where possible, we snap shots of cycle chic in other European cities. This time Stockholm. It's a groovy town, no doubt about it. Similar to Copenhagen in many ways. While the number of cyclists is nothing like Copenhagen, there are wonderful bike lanes throughout town and the cyclists you see are just getting on with it. Regular clothes, no fancy gear. Just using their bike for transport.

It's quite a hilly town but it was pleasing that this was of little concern to the cyclists. Up they went, putting a bit of extra muscle into it.

Skeppshult of Sweden

The Cycleliciousness website has a BIKES WE LIKE section in which they highlight cool bike brands for discerning cyclists. They have a post on Skeppshult of Sweden - which is where this photo is from. It's a press photo from Skeppshult and it fits perfectly into our little blogosphere here.



The press photos were taken by Tobias Regell - his website is a sight to behold. Cool photographer.