U.S. Built Custom Bicycles in Titanium and Titanium-Carbon Mix
Naturally, in the circumstances, we were a little nervous. At Wallpaper* we are of the firm opinion that the Massachusetts custom builder, Seven Cycles, makes the best titanium-framed bicycles in the world. We think the understated Verve model is one of the most elegant mountain bikes in existence. We spent ages agonising over the Etruscan blue detailing we wanted for our award winner and then, having at length chosen the desired hue, we asked the manufacturers to do one more thing for us - to cut their precious bike in half. But they were absolutely delighted to do so.
In fact, Seven Cycles is one of the �lite bike manufacturers that have helped support the launch of our favourite cycle accessory of the year: a beautifully engineered system, by S and S Machine, for joining two bike halves - separated for ease of transportation - back together again. It shouldn't really work (at first, experts reckoned the frame would never be as good again once it had been sliced), but the process genuinely makes no difference to ride quality. Handy instructions on the S and S website (www.sandsmachine.com) mean that assembly and disassembly is easy for even the most mechanically challenged among us, while the carrying case that the bike fits into can be taken as hand luggage on airlines. We won't ever be leaving home without it.