On another Mission.
I love Mission cycles. There you go. I’ve come out of the closet. It’s a funky little business that matches bike knowledge to smart punters in a very modern attempt to outwit city traffic problems. Pity they’re based in San Francisco.
Built for the Bay.
Mission build bikes from the ground up. lovely looking bikes Cool as a cucumber bikes. Stop-you-in-your-tracks bikes. I could of course, reduce that statement to ‘track bikes’ as the frame is built for single speed/fixie fun with your choice of bits hung upon them. For a city like mine – Cardiff, UK – these are perfect. Pick the right gear ratio, whack on some mudguards (reducing the aesthetic appeal a notch), get your giant lock (pretty bikes soon go AWOL if you’re not careful) and head off into the urban sprawl. I spotted their latest offering via Twitter today (pictured) and it reminded me to catch up with their website. I have of course, shamelessly pillaged it of its spoils and presented them here for your delectation. They might be over 5000 miles away, but it’ll give you a few ideas for our own backyard. This type of business makes really good sense. Lots of cyclists (current or potential) find cycle shops intimidating places if they don’t know their fixed wheel from their free wheel,
Built for Blighty.
and taking this pick n’mix approach from a bunch of keen, customer focussed, switched on and IT literate gear heads, demystifys the process. I feel that this point is often overlooked by bike shops and anecdotal research supports it (or rather roughly 10 people bending my ear about why they’re scared of bike shops supports it – talk to the hand people; I’m a bike nerd). Imagine how many potential punters semi-intent on buying a bike, lose their bottle and keep commuting by car? Lets face it, with frames as lovely as these, who would want to plump for 1 tonne of soulless steel? I’m sure even my most jaded of bike-dubious mates would agree. If you like the look of these frames, but you’d like to find a similar approach more local to home, try a true Brit alternative and check out the excellent Brother frames from James and Will here.
To cap off with a nice piece of VT, the video below explains how Mission do things, all wrapped up in yet more funky bike music. In 1992 I visited San Fransisco and rather unsurprisingly loved the city too. Perhaps it is time for a return trip.
