Drawing on the latest trend in fixie bikes, Melbourne bike company Mojo Bike has taken customisation to the next level, with their build-your-own online bike site.
Drawing on the latest trend in fixie bikes, Melbourne bike company Mojo Bike has taken customisation to the next level, with their build-your-own online bike site.
Taking only a matter of days from order to dispatch, business owner Michael Poynton says that it was only natural that he and his cycling-enthusiast colleagues expanded into retro push-bikes, after spending much time overseas sourcing similar items for their wholesale scooter business. And in Melbourne, a town that is temptingly flat, with bike lanes everywhere and a generally unusually pro-bicycling attitude (for Australia), Mojo Bikes are a seriously good idea – not just because they’re pretty, either.
"The whole fixie thing is a bit of a craze at the moment," Michael says. "A lot of people who buy our bikes are doing it as a fashion accessory. There is a huge market out there for bikes at the moment. We have sourced all the spare parts from numerous suppliers and we keep all of them here in our warehouse, and basically build the bikes to order as they come through."
And with over 240,000 different colour options, and a range of sizes and combinations to choose from, it is not surprising that they are still yet to make two the same.
"It is a very new concept here in Australia – there are some companies doing it overseas, but I think we are the first ones here," he says. With European bike companies and bike culture so much further ahead, we’ve got a bit of fast pedalling to do to catch up.
"I have got a couple of them myself," Michael says, "including a limited edition chrome frame one that we will be releasing here very soon too." And if the more masculine riding frame is not quite your thing, Michael says they will also be adding a more female-friendly bike to their fleet next month.
"It is a new model that is designed more for the chicks – with a really big cane basket on the front, wide tyres, and a step-through frame too – but still with the same classic look," he says. "The good thing about our bikes is that they can be used either for your daily commute – from a to b and work – or as a Sunday bike to cruise down to your local café to buy a latte or whatever," Michael says.
So what is the attraction with it all, really? Why have people suddenly got mad for these bikes? Apart from a general surge of interest in non-petrol transportation, it’s a lot about being individual and unique. "I guess people just love the idea of being able to custom-build their own bike, to make it the exact colour and style that they want," Michael explains. "We are getting more and more people coming in for parts to restore their old 1970s or 1980s bikes too, but the real growth is in people just wanting something unique."
You can check out their range of make-your-own combos at mojobike.com.au
