Ikea's image is built on being approachable, well-designed and unbearably twee, all of which certainly apply to the chainless bicycle it is now producing.
The Swedish home-goods brand made a bike before, but it was an electric model that wasn't widely available. This new bike, known as the Sladda, uses a cogged drive belt instead of a chain, and promises to be light and low-maintenance.
It also has a "clip-on" design for baskets and tow carts—an image we just cannot take seriously, though we are trying. It just feels like one of those things that's going to look dorky and try-hard until modern life becomes totally unsustainable and we all have to live with it.
What's more frustrating is that a company that boasts about affordable products wants to sell sustainability to the public for $800 per bike. That's still cheaper than a car, and it won a Red Dot and all, but that price tag sticks in our craw.
See the full bike below. Click to enlarge.
