Have Bike, Will Style!

by Hadrian, Life & Style Director

Republic Bike

A more serious rider will often opt for a spendier titanium or carbon fiber frame for mountain-biking or road bikes.

But, it’s their leisurely dapper and dashing cousin, the beach cruiser that is making a big splash on the streets and on bike paths in the city just in time for summer!

And, if your imagination is limitless, why not pimp your ride and create a really cool bicycle built for you to sport around town and be seen.

Here’s a look at two companies rethinking the way we get around with a fun, custom easy ride.

Photos courtesy of Republic Bike

Republic Bike leaves the designing up to you and encourages you to play. Republic is based in Dania, Florida, and their custom cruisers are affordable, practical and meant to make you smile.

You can take a spin, twirl and zoom in their 3D Bike Shop, where you’re encouraged to experiment with something simply sleek or make it downright outrageous.  Keep designing until you’re ready, and Republic will wrench your dream into a two-wheeled, rolling reality.

Whether you’re looking for a minimal, contemporary silhouette, or something a little more extravagant, your design starts with 7 bike frames to choose from in the Aristotle & Plato frame styles and an array of color choices.

Your Republic Bike will arrive approximately 90% assembled. Generally, assembly may require attaching pedals, front wheel, handlebars and adjustments.

A big hit at Google, Republic outfitted the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California with a fleet of bikes that Googlers use to cruise from building to building at the sprawling Googleplex. The bikes are everywhere and available for everyone.

Republic bikes are available at republicbike.com

Villy Customs Bike & Deville, Villy Mascot. Photo by Villy Customs

The Dallas-based Villy Customs call their bikes rolling pieces of artwork created by your imagination (and Villy’s skilled craftsmen) to bring you the sweetest fashion accessory on two wheels for your driving pleasure. Their mantra is “Imagine if everyone rode a beach cruiser bike every day. We think the world would be a better place.”

Started by Fleetwood Hicks originally as a cruiser bike store called Fleetwood’s Kit Kat.  It eventually grew from switching things out piece by piece, swapping out fenders on one bike and putting them on another. Then, finding unique tires and a chaining company that made painted chains. The next thing he knew, he was creating his own bikes and eventually bringing in their own frames and just build custom bikes from scratch. When the custom cruisers really started selling in the store, the Villy Customs website was built.

Villy's Bella in Orange. Photo by Villy Customs

Villy Customs also has a 3D interactive bike builder where you can create an original, or if your creative juices aren’t flowing, you may select a limited edition pre-built cruiser from their already designed showroom. Villy has four frames — two girls, two guys. Then there are 29 frame colors, 14 fender colors, 8 chain colors, 45 pinstripe colors and 11 styles of tires. They also offer a ton of fun accessories that is sure to make you standout even more from bells, baskets, chains & handlebars to racks and rims. There are an endless amount of color choices and combinations for bikes, bike parts, and accessories.

Simple instructions allow you to put to assemble your custom bike in about 15-20 minutes. Villy offers standard Ground shipping to the 48 states for a set price of $24 per custom bike (with additional shipping costs for accessories or items purchased separate from the bike which are shipped separately).

And, if you’re ever visiting Dallas, and want to explore the big city or pedal around Downtown in a super cool way, Villy Customs has bike rentals too!

Visit the Villy Customs wesbsite for more info.

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