Kids Bikes w/o The Plastic? Velorbis Closes The Cycling Generation Gap

Beautiful bikes!

What kind of lunatic spends 595 Euros on a bike that a kid will outgrow in a year!?!?!? Panniers & racks? Are they commuting now too?? What an embarassing waste of money :(.

Not a single piece of plastic? Sure… and shifters are steel… and reflectors in pedals as well :p

Seriously pretty bikes, but as already said can not see little ‘uns really wanting them.

No knobbly fat tires, discs, suspension… Unless kids in Denmark are not like others xD

And what about the weight of these beauties?

Cheers!
I.

Yes, they look pretty, and I don’t doubt the quality, but plastic (and aluminium) is lightweight. I bet those steel monsters weigh a ton! What child would enjoy trying to ride one of those up a slight incline?

At more than twice the price of the nearest Islabike, which is the benchmark for top quality kid’s bikes, why would you bother?

“These aren’t aimed at the the kids, there aimed at the adults who see their kids as accessories.”
+1 they are definitely designed to impress overachieving parents, not the kids who will actually have to ride these costly anvils. The chain case, fenders and rack alone probably weigh as much as many complete kid’s bikes.

I think that this great, its about emulating commuting parents. If you get children interested in commuting by bicycles early, it sticks. Yes that is a lot of coin for a bike, but its sets an example that can be tailored. Yes its a fashion statement, but what bike is not a fashion statement or example of personal identity? Plus it has the potential to last for a bit and one can pass it on or pay it forward to another lucky child.

I’m with everyone else. As someone who has loved bikes from a young age and someone who would actually like to have a bike like that (I’m 28 now) I wouldn’t be caught dead on that thing when I was a kid. I wanted (and had) a Dyno VFR (entry level bmx race bike) and then later wanted something I could jump around with pegs.

Kids in Europe do commute! (to school). While fenders and racks aren’t mandatory, Lights (Generator lights in Germany) are required in a lot of European countries, if you (regardless of age) use a bike in traffic.
That said, there are more practical (and still pretty) iterations of childrens commuters.
At least 2 models use a “grow along” geometry (Patria Skippy/Krüger Primus – Krüger may actually be the people who make these).

“without a single piece of plastic”
Just to be pedantic, pedal reflectors, as required by law, fender mount, shifter, bell lever.

If they used an old style 3-speed shifter, that would have no plastic except the cable. They could also use metal fender mounts. Bells with metal levers are available too.

For what it’s worth, my daughter (who turned 11 in January) wanted a new bicycle for her birthday and when we went to look at them, she was much more interested in the beach style cruisers than the bmx style bikes. Unfortunately, the only cruisers we found in her size were single speeds and she’s ready to have some gears and handle bar brakes too. We got her the bmx bike but we’re going to add a cruiser style seat.

I agree with @dontcoast wholeheartedly.

Also, you should do a little research before publishing press releases. Unboxed from a steamship from Communist China and the handlebars tightened in Germany is not the same thing as “Made in Germany”. Leica, for example, screws the top plate on their cameras and makes final adjustment in Germany, and proudly features “Made in Germany” in prominent bold letters on the outside of their camera bodies. In reality, the cameras come almost fully assembled from Portugal and are made partly with Chinese parts. I toured the factory and my heart was broken when I discovered this fact.