Danish design part 2- Biomega

When I wrote the last post, I did not intend to start a series about Danish bike design, but yesterday I received my latest issue of ID magazine. This year’s annual ID Forty issue, which prompted today’s entry, spotlights 40 people who the magazine feels are not getting enough credit, in the U.S. at least, for their contributions to the world of design. One designer profiled in the issue is Jens Martin Skibsted, the founder of Biomega. If any of you are not familiar with Biomega, you might want to read the article about them from Wired magazine’s October 2000 issue. I first heard of the company about 5 years ago. At the time they were running a contest to find innovative, alternate ways to use a bicycle in the home. To win a free bike, one had to send in pictures, drawings, or descriptions illustrating their creative idea. As I have mentioned before, I like the idea of designing city bikes to fit visually into an urban interior environment. For the target market that Biomega is trying to reach, I think their approach is right on. Expensive “lifestyle” bikes that are user friendly and well designed, yet geared toward non-enthusiasts certainly have a place in the market. Biomega is a great example of a company that doing well selling bikes to a growing niche market outside of the mainstream cycling industry.

I am not going to get into a discussion of the individual bikes that Biomega makes or the high profile designers who the company commissioned to design them. Several other blogs, Boing Boing and Cool Hunting to name a couple, covered the new UM bike for Puma when it came out last year. Biomega’s other bicycle designs can be seen on the company’s website. Congratulations to Skibsted and his company on earning a place in this year’s ID 40. Riding a bicycle really is a great experience. I am a fan of any company that aims to introduce that experience to a wider audience.

Posted

January 6, 2006

Miscellaneous

James

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4 responses to “Danish design part 2- Biomega”

Brenda Sue

March 18, 2007

Advice About Bicycle InsuranceI thought that I needed to insure my bicycle against theft. Ive heard that bikes get stolen every day in my city and I want bicycle insurance to cover my investment. I am very careful about locking my bike up every time I get off of it. I use a really nice U-Lock and wear the key on a chain around my neck. I found out that one of my friends was dating an insurance salesman and contacted him with my questions.I asked him about bicycle insurance and he said that my homeowners or renters insurance policy would cover my bicycle if it was stolen. He said that there were a lot of limitations and exclusions, though. He said that my bike would probably have to be stolen from my home to be fully insured.I was thinking that if I had bicycle insurance and my bike was stolen, insurance money would buy me a new one. That turned out to be untrue. The agent I talked to told me that if my bike was covered, I would be reimbursed for the value of a new model, less depreciation for every year old my bicycle was. Im thinking that, depending on the rate of depreciation, I may end up owing money if my old bike was stolen!The agent I talked to told me that I had to maintain good records for bicycle insurance. He told me to take a photo inventory of my possessions and to keep receipts. He also said that any time I am making a claim against an insurance policy for theft; I need to have a police report attached to the form. It is also very important to be accurate when declaring the value of the property stolen.To learn more about everything bicycles vist my site at: BrensMartUSA Bicycles Have a geat day and stay healthy!Brenda Sue

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Charles W. Day

July 9, 2007

Posted by: Peter | May 14, 2007 at 02:59 PM

I would be very cautious about buying a Biomega. My own experience has not been good, especially about Biomega honoring their 3 year warranty. Specifically, about eight months after purchasing a Biomega Copenhagen, I started to experience a grinding noise coming from the pedal crank case, where the gears connect the shaft of the pedal with the drive shaft. What I observed was a wobbling pedal shaft, because apparently either the crank case cap was improperly fitted or not tightened enough. The worst part was trying to get Biomega to honor their warranty or effectuate a remedy. Based on my experience, I wouldn’t count on obtaining any support from Biomega. The bottom line: I regret having bought a chain less bicycle, but more so a bicycle made by Biomega. Choose another manufacturer.

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queueing

June 9, 2008

Great, high end bikes that nobody can afford and won’t be ridden very much. What a waste of capital and energy. The type of person buying these probably won’t ride it enough to offset the energy cost to make the bikes. But they’ll look oh so nice.
In spite of their eco claims, they are thinking about profit with these bikes, and that is pretty much it.

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Toddy

August 29, 2008

I have a push bike and a motorbike, now I have my motorcycle insurance but I have never considered getting bicycle insurance. what sort of money does it cost? surely it cant be as much as it is for motorcycles!

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