Bicycles

Pointy stainless steel Danish bike wows the crowds at NAHBS 2015

Pointy stainless steel Danish bike wows the crowds at NAHBS 2015
Cykelmageren's Rasmus Gjesing with his hard-to-miss bike at NAHBS in Louisville (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
Cykelmageren's Rasmus Gjesing with his hard-to-miss bike at NAHBS in Louisville (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
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Cykelmageren's Rasmus Gjesing with his hard-to-miss bike at NAHBS in Louisville (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
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Cykelmageren's Rasmus Gjesing with his hard-to-miss bike at NAHBS in Louisville (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
The rather unusual handlebars (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
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The rather unusual handlebars (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
A system of chains and pulleys link the shifters to the cables (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
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A system of chains and pulleys link the shifters to the cables (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
A faux-marble composite grip and a steel-ring-covered-cable brake "lever" (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
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A faux-marble composite grip and a steel-ring-covered-cable brake "lever" (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
The hubs are finished in the same composite as the grips (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
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The hubs are finished in the same composite as the grips (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
No regular seatpost for this bike (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
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No regular seatpost for this bike (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
The bike utilizes a vintage Campagnolo rear derailleur, modified to work with modern indexed shifting (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
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The bike utilizes a vintage Campagnolo rear derailleur, modified to work with modern indexed shifting (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
The custom cable stops are made of brass (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
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The custom cable stops are made of brass (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
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Every year, artisan bicycle builders from all over the world descend upon a different US city to show their wares at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. This year, we traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to take in the event. We decided to begin our coverage with a very eye-catching one-of-a-kind bike that was built especially for the show, by Copenhagen-based Cykelmageren.

Besides its swoopy, pointy stainless steel frame, one of the most unique features about the bike is its handlebars.

Instead of the usual horizontal rubber grips, its are oriented vertically, and made from a composite that has a marble-like appearance. That same material is used to finish the sculpted custom wheel hubs.

The rather unusual handlebars (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)
The rather unusual handlebars (Photo: Ben Coxworth/Gizmag)

The brake levers take the form of cables strung in front of those grips, covered with stacked steel rings – to activate the brakes, you just pull in one on one of those cables.

The custom-made shifters, meanwhile, utilize an arrangement of chains and gears located on the underside of the bars. These ultimately link up to traditional shifting cables, one of which leads to a vintage rear Campagnolo derailleur that’s been modified to work with modern indexed shifting.

Cykelmageren owner/designer Rasmus Gjesing estimates that the bicycle weighs about 15 kg (33 lb). While it’s hard for him to say exactly how much it might cost to buy, he did tell us that it’s insured for US$150,000.

Company website: Cykelmageren

View gallery - 8 images
9 comments
9 comments
Buellrider
Lose the knife frame part and the bike is pretty "sharp" so to speak. The knife pointy frame is a dangerous design that is not necessary.
Buellrider
The bike's frame looks like it was designed by the Tuttles on American Chopper.
Bill Bennett
That dagger behind the front wheel looks deadly.
Mats Svensson
Looks like it was build by people who never use bikes, or wear pants, or feel pain.
f8lee
The pointy bit at the bottom looks good to skewer roadkill, but the suspended seat (sans seatpost) reminds me of the Softride saddle bar, that was also connected at the headset and obviated the use of a seatpost.
Jim Sadler
As a sculpture it looks nice. As a bicycle it is complete junk. Art for art's sake is fine hanging on a wall some place but this kind of bicycle design is flat out wrong. It weighs more than need be. Swinging a leg over that saddle would be very difficult at best. Failure of the seat support could be a disaster as the stress on that member is off the charts. Sharp points everywhere all add up to a worse than bad design.
RehRek
Have welder, pipe bender, and and some old bike parts... will make bike art.
Wows the crowds... really? Maybe, I guess "Wow, that neat", or Wow, that's kinda cool looking", but not "Wow that's innovative".
Agree with Jim Sadler, it's pretty to hang on the wall, but I'd never ride it.
Besides, it's likely barely ride-able in its design and certainly not practical to use, its frame has to flex and bend like crazy. I'm not sure why you'd put 150k worth of insurance on it unless you were hoping it got stolen so that you could collect on the policy.
You know what really stands out to me is that he didn't do anything goofy with the forks, they're just forks... hmm
sk8dad
Will I need to visit the emergency room after walking my bike through a crowded train terminal?
Paul Anthony
Those cable pulls for the hand are pinch point painful. It's this bike someone of S&M device?