Sticking with the green theme of the last post, I came across this Pininfarina designed mock full suspension bike just sitting around on the streets of Stockholm the other day. That's right, just like the Bugatti bicycle I found last year in Lund, here we have another big brand name beingused on bicycles.
Unfortunately I was saw excited about seeing this (or desperate to get out of the rain) that I was shaking my camera with anticipation whilst taking these.
Is this a Pininfarina Bicycle? Well, no. These bikes seem to happen when Chinese bike factories are producing no name bikes and are a bit stuck for what stickers to attach to them. Just like the Bugatti bike below (or here for the full post), the bike manufacturer will put on a big name brand without much fear of reprisal from the lifted brand as the production might only last for one run or the difficulties in pursuing a trans-national intellectual property case are too great compared to the return.
Well my friend, this is a Pininfarina bicycle. Not a huge success back in the days in italy, but full aluminum frame. I bought one when I was studying at Milan Italy.
ReplyDeleteD
How did you like it?
DeleteI have a bike like that, and i like it, and i think it really is an original bike, but also is very old
DeleteHey, let's hear it for the Chinese! There is no product on earth that they won't stoop so low as to knock it off, often including the original brand logo- my daughter taught English to industrial kids in northen China for 6 months, and was amazed how much of this piracy was going on- dvd's, clothes, you name it.....more proof that the Godless Chinese manufacturers and gov't. have no shame, and no soul......R.C., Texas
ReplyDeleteMaybe one of the most annoying bicycles ever,here in germany they are very popular, you see them in almost every street or train station.But if you take a look at it, you see that it uses very cheap late 90s styled parts. I think that they are bought by little posers because of it`s "cool" name.
ReplyDeleteThis bicycle was avaiable at german gas stations in 2002. You had to get 200 points and pay like 130 Euros or 260 DM. For 1 point you had to tank 10 litres, but you also got points for washing your car. Now there are thousands of them in Germanys roads and its always funny to see when someone rides them, because they are actually built like children`s bicycles, but chirdren dont drive cars, do they? And yes, they are cheaply built, and also look quite crappy.
DeleteI have actually just bought a Pininfarina designed mountainbike. The only mountainbike in the world that also has a fold-up construction. It is really designed by the Pininfarina design house, so they have confirmed to me by e-mail. The bicycle has originally been designed for Esso, as an exclusive object to be bought with esso (gas) points but the exclusivity has expired and the bicycle became available thru different channels. I can send you a picture as soon as it is shipped to me.
ReplyDeletePininfarina folding bikes are being offered cheaply through discount websites now :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pininfarinacityfiets.nl/stocksale/pininfarina-city-vouwfiets.html
this is a scammer. don't bUy the bike at thIS site because you will never get it and loose your money. Try to call them FIRST, you will find out they are never available by Phone. So you know enough BEWARE!!!
DeleteIs the pininfarina folding bike good for the price or will it brake easily?
ReplyDeleteIt's a good price for the bike but how is the quality? They offer 2 years warranty.
ReplyDeleteDo you know... does the Pininfarina folding bike come with a case to put it in to take on the bus?
ReplyDeleteNågon som köpt den för 2499:- ?
ReplyDeletePininfarina Logo Hd Wallpaper
ReplyDeleteMay look like crap, but it's reliable. I found one in the trash about 18 months ago without knowing what it was, and since then have put about 3000 miles on it (16 miles round-trip to work every day). I've only ever had to replace the tires, and I've had to do a few adjustments on the gear shifts, and I've put new handlebars on it. So for 100 bucks in maintenance, not bad at all
ReplyDeleteI was stationed in Stuttgart Germany from 1993 - 2003 with the US Military.
ReplyDeleteWe could use our Exchange gas coupons to purchase gas at Esso stations.
With each fillup I made sure to get my rewards stamps.
Once I had enough stamps to get two of these bikes, one for each of my sons, I redeemed the stamps. That was back in 2000.
My sons have long left the house, but I still have those green bikes. They went with me to Bahrain in 2003, then to the US in 2013.
Never had an issue with them that I could not correct myself.
Yes, they were built for Esso, but they were built well for the price. Basically free to me...