Pedal Power

Britain has seen a major uptick over the last few years in the number of people riding bicycles. In London, trips by bikes increased by 50 per cent from 2000 to 2005 to 450,000 per day. It’s easy to understand why: Two-wheels aren’t just better for the environment than four, they also help you get in shape, let you sail through traffic jams, and give you that wind-in-your-face feeling of freedom that walking or driving simply can’t muster. And riding a bike sure beats being packed like a canned sardine on the tube.

But city cycling calls for a certain kind of bicycle – you need a BMX about as much as you need a noisy neighbor. Nope, you need a bike that is extremely practical and comfortable, made to hug city streets, haul your groceries, and stop on a dime.

Enter Really Useful Bikes. The name says it all. These blokes, Mark and Rob, created Really Useful Bikes (www.reallyusefulbikes.co.uk) to bring together the bikes that they think are especially relevant for today. As they note on their website, they make it easy for you to discover a bike that you may never have seen before, but that may be a useful addition to your daily life, whether it’s for carrying you, you and your stuff, your family or your business.

At Really Useful Bikes, you won’t find a bike that will let you do a back flip or ride up a mountain—only sensible, sexy solutions to practical cycling problems. In an urban environment, for instance, you have to make frequent stops. So Mike and Rob offer the Electra Townie, which has “Flat Foot Technology” that allows you to easily put both feet on the ground when you stop, but still allows you to extend your legs to pedal properly. You can also get what is called a “FreeRadicalised” Townie – it’s like a regular Townie but it has this contraption on the back that lets you carry loads of stuff (see pictures).

My favorite bike from Really Useful is the brand-new but über-retro Paper Bicycle (pictured above). A true hipster ride, it has an enclosed chain and mudguards to keep you clean and dry, as well as puncture proof tyres and internal gears, cables and brakes.

Let’s face it: Cars are, like, so 1990’s. Visit Really Useful Bikes here, and let me know your favorite. You can see some of them in person at UK Aware on April 17-18.