Living in the city, it can be tough to always find a place for a bike to beat around town. But the Barcelona team behind Castro bikes don’t want space constraints to stand in the way of you riding a nice bike. So they have put together a simple looking stainless steel mini bike, based around 20″ wheels, to make sure you never have an excuse to not have a bike around. The Castro M1 offers a bit of versatility and is easy to stash out-of-the-way. Take a closer look after the fold…
The M1 is all about paring down and keeping it simple. The 10.5kg (23.1lb) bike is built around a simple straight chainline, no-derailleur aesthetic, but actually offers two different internally geared hub options for more real world usability.
The M1s opts for a semi-automatic 2-speed coaster-brake hub, and is most appropriate for flatter cities. Just a light kick back to shift and a harder one to stop.
A bit more complex but just 50€ more, the M1c offers a larger gearing range with a 3-speed internal drum-brake hub and adds a front brake. Still keeping its clean frame lines, the M1c routes cables internally to control the hub.
Both bikes use a one-size-fits-most polished stainless steel frame with enough standover to fit most adults. The components are pretty run of the mill but are generally high quality black anodized aluminum bits. A large diameter 33.9mm seatpost gives stiffness and a lot of height adjustment and gets topped by a leather saddle with 70mm of adjustment at the rails to dial in fit. The 110mm stem is proprietary, so cockpit length is mostly locked in. But the bike does include a quick release at the stem/steerer tube that makes it easy to fold the bar, and with removable MKS pedals it knocks down to just 23cm/9″ wide. That thin it can slide behind a couch out-of-the-way, or hang on the included wall hook.
The M1s retails in Europe for 825€ or in the states for $990, while the M1c will set you back 875€/$1090. EU buyers will order directly from Castro in Barcelona, while US customers can get ahold of one from style retailer Gessato.com.
