Bicycles

This ain't your average city bike

This ain't your average city bike
The Stadtfuchs has a look that's all its own
The Stadtfuchs has a look that's all its own
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The Stadtfuchs features hydraulic disc brakes
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The Stadtfuchs features hydraulic disc brakes
The Stadtfuchs features a two-speed planetary gear crankset paired with an SRAM Automatix two-speed rear hub transmission
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The Stadtfuchs features a two-speed planetary gear crankset paired with an SRAM Automatix two-speed rear hub transmission
The Stadtfuchs' seat tube curves around and splits in two to become the seat stays
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The Stadtfuchs' seat tube curves around and splits in two to become the seat stays
The Stadtfuchs features an integrated LED tail light
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The Stadtfuchs features an integrated LED tail light
The Stadtfuchs features an integrated LED headlight
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The Stadtfuchs features an integrated LED headlight
The Stadtfuchs has a look that's all its own
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The Stadtfuchs has a look that's all its own
View gallery - 6 images

Whereas mountain bikes are exciting and road bikes are exquisite, commuter bicycles often come across as being rather boring and utilitarian. Therefore, it's nice to see that some designers are going out of their way to create urban bikes that are, well … cool. One of the latest comes to us from Magdeburg, Germany-based Urwahn Bikes. Called the Stadtfuchs, it incorporates 3D-printed parts, integrated lights, and a radical-looking rear end.

"We turned away from traditional constructions, in favor of a more puristic overall appearance with comfortable riding qualities," company founder Sebastian Meinecke tells New Atlas.

That claimed comfortable ride is made possible by the vibration-damping flexible back end of the bike, in which the seat tube curves around and splits in two to become the seat stays.

The Stadtfuchs' seat tube curves around and splits in two to become the seat stays
The Stadtfuchs' seat tube curves around and splits in two to become the seat stays

The frame is made from stainless and acid-resistant steel tubes, which are adhesive-bonded to steel connectors. Those connectors are in turn created using a process known as selective laser melting, in which a laser melts steel powder to gradually build up three-dimensional objects, one layer at a time.

Built into that frame are front and rear LED lights, which are powered by a dynamo generator in the front wheel hub. There's also a GPS tracking unit on board, so that the bike's whereabouts can be ascertained if it gets pinched.

The Stadtfuchs features an integrated LED headlight
The Stadtfuchs features an integrated LED headlight

Other features include a Gates Carbon belt drive, Shimano Alfine hydraulic disc brakes, a Brooks Cambium saddle, and a two-speed planetary gear crankset paired with an SRAM Automatix two-speed rear hub transmission.

The Stadtfuchs should be commercially available towards the end of this year, priced at around €4,000 (about US$4,269).

Source: Urwahn Bikes

View gallery - 6 images
5 comments
5 comments
PhilMorey
Another badly designed bike without mudguards. First drop of rain and you get covered in road sludge
Daishi
The frame design looks different but I am not a fan. What you save in weight by not having the lower bar from the seat to down to the crank you lose elsewhere by having to make up for it by reinforcing the rest of the frame to be strong enough to allow that section to be removed. Interesting looking concept but there are good reasons the design of the standard bicycle is so hard to improve on. The issues that need fixed are things like I never use first gear for anything but the last gear is rarely high enough especially when going down hill. My lights never stay mounted. Mounting and programming the computer is always a pain. Many aftermarket waterbottle systems are annoying and I never have a convenient place to put locks. Thin bike tires are high maintenance in that they always seem to need air to keep them hard enough and you have those tiny little non-standard valve stems you need the adapter for. Nowhere on the list of things I wish could be fixed is wanting to see the bar between the seatpost and crank go away.
Bob Flint
On top of what has already been mentioned, no visible storage or cargo options, not everyone lugs around a back pack, and the price is ridiculous even for a city ride...
Douglas Bennett Rogers
I only use the bottom three gears. Mostly use brakes on downhill. Need pedal charged rear wheel for slight downhill and to save brakes on steep downhill.
DailyBikeCommuter
An "urban bike?" Pluses: Belt drive, disc brakes and built-in lighting. Minuses: No fender or rack mounts, and only two gears.
Any veteran bike commuter knows you don't even need rain to get gunked up by whatever's on the road on any day, or especially at night, when you can't see what the hell that gross crap was.
Most regular bike commuters eventually learn that bike bags are sweaty and inconvenient compared to rack-mounted panniers. And why two gears? You might as well have made it either single-speed or added more gears. That part makes the least sense of all.
Finally, the frame design looks awfully flexy, but who knows without being able to try it? Maybe it really is comfortable as they claim, without wasting too much energy. But I doubt it...