It is Cyber Monday today, so that means that you should all immediately stop reading blogs like this one and start buying lots and lots of stuff, right? OK…I am not really serious, but if you are planning on buying any bike related gifts today (for yourself or others), I hope that you will consider clicking through the links on this site. When you purchase through affiliates like Jenson USA or Eastern Mountain Sports, a small portion of the sale goes to support this website. The same is true any time you make your Amazon purchases through the Bicycle Design store. Those are just a few examples, but if you like the content here I encourage you to support all of the companies that advertise on this site and allow me to keep it going.  I certainly don’t expect to get rich with this blog, but I do enjoy writing it, and every little bit helps.

Speaking of stuff you can buy, I’ll point you to the “Schindelhauer Ludwig Xiv Cs Elite Touring Bike”, which you can read more about at Bike Hugger. It is not a bad looking bike, but at first glance it appears to be an aluminum framed urban fixie or single speed with flat bars, disc brakes, and deep V rims. Closer inspection reveals a Rohloff hub and other details that warrant a higher price than one might initially guess…but $18,000…really? I am at a loss for who exactly they think might actually purchase a bike like this. Though I am certainly not the target customer, I can sort of understand the target market for an overpriced (and over the top) Gucci or Fendi bike, but this clean, urban 5 figure bike has me at a loss. If you have that kind of money to spend on a minimalist urban bicycle, why not commission a framebuilder to create something that is truly one of a kind…or as Byron says in a comment on his post, why not just go with a Civia with a Rohloff. That way, you can save several thousand dollars to blow on another bike like this one.