Since its widespread adoption in the 19th century, the bicycle has never ceased changing. And if you care about design, its latest metamorphoses, on display in these brand new models, may be enough to cause its readoption—whether for riding to work or across Iberia.  Small Oregon-based company Bike Friday’s custom folding bikes are among the finest in an overcrowded field. The new Tikit Travel, with 24 gears and its own suitcase, isn’t just a second bike, but a versatile primary one. The ride is exceptionally smooth and the fold, once mastered, is a five second hiccup.... The new hand-built Guv’nor, an update on a 1930s racing model from the august British maker Pashley, is all handsome sophistication. Crowned by a Brooks brown leather saddle and streamlined to a single speed (a three-speed’s due in 2009), its brakes are built into hubs that hold pin-stripped wheels, and the sleek frame is rare, Reynolds 531 lugged steel tubes—a retro-bike-head’s dream.... A “hybrid” was just a mountainroad bike cross, but now Giant—the world’s largest bike maker—has the Twist Freedom. An electric motor, a computer, and a lithium ion battery allow up to 70 miles of extra fast, long, or steep riding. Giant is so confident in its future, it’s given Twist its very own factory in China. 

Tikit Travel: $1,400, bikefriday.com.
Guv’nor: $1,800, britishbicycle.com.
Twist Freedom DX: $2,000, giant-bicycles.com.

  "Power to the Pedal" originally appeared in the Fall 2008 issue of Culture+Travel. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Culture+Travel's Fall 2008 Table of Contents.