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TECH NEWS

H&M collaborate with Brick Lane Bikes on urban cycling range + video

Highstreet clothing chain to offer 11 piece collection tested and approved by Brick Lane Bikes

High street clothing store H&M has announced a new cycle clothing range that works on and off the bike and has been tested and approved by fixie mecca Brick Lane Bikes.

The 11 piece collection will launch on 7 March 2013 and will be available in 180 stores worldwide, and online. The clothing will draw on vintage inspiration and modern sports performance and is designed to work as well off the bike as on it.

The idea to to a bike clothing collection came about because, “There were quite a few people in the menswear design team that were interested in bicycles and have used bikes for a long time,” said Petter Klusel, the H&M designer in charge of the project.

The team approached Brick Lane Bikes, a bike shop that has been around since 2006 and was one of the first specialist fixed gear bike stores that contributed to the growth in the fixed scene in London. They were pivotal in the design, style and functionality of the clothing and provided valuable feedback for the H&M designers.

Creative Director Chris Christodolo at Brick Lane Bikes (wonder how many bike shops have a creative director) said they were immediately drawn to it.

“A lot of us want to step of our bikes and still feel like ourselves without having to change out of our cycling gear.”

“We are extremely excited about the H&M for Brick Lane Bikes collection. Working with H&M to create clothing that mixes cycling with urban fashion is the perfect fit for us. It is exactly what we are about, and what we do best,” says Feya Buchwald, founder of Brick Lane Bikes.

We’ve been seeing a lot of new clothing brands in the past couple of years seeking to offer stylish and performance cycle clothing that can be worn as comfortably on the bike as off it. It will be interesting to take a closer look at H&M's offering and how it compares. And how well it is received.

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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35 comments

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Ghedebrav | 11 years ago
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Well, I bought a shirt and a pair of blue trousers from this range, and they're holding up pretty well so far. Stylish enough, though clearly put together on a far tighter budget than the more robust Levi range. The troos in particular are worth tracking down; nice fair-weather casual riding wear.

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tommy2p | 11 years ago
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If it is successful, does that mean that there will e lots of people wearing the same thing? "Ah I see you're a cyclist as well" came the voice from behind Berts left shoulder, Bert tried hard to work out how the stranger knew this, when it dawned on him that perhaps the stranger was referring to his lovely new H & M Cycling clothes that he was wearing.

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boffo | 11 years ago
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I used to ride a fixie but now I don't, thats progress I guess.

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Campag_10 | 11 years ago
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'East London was the birthplace of fixed gear cycling...' – yeah, right!

I guess that for the people that H&M are selling to, something dating back as far as 2006 represents history!

The samples on the rail looked okay and I guess that as it's H&M the prices won't be in Rapha territory.

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Ghedebrav replied to Campag_10 | 11 years ago
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Campag_10 wrote:

'East London was the birthplace of fixed gear cycling...' – yeah, right!

I guess that for the people that H&M are selling to, something dating back as far as 2006 represents history!

The samples on the rail looked okay and I guess that as it's H&M the prices won't be in Rapha territory.

Indeedy. That distant whirring you can hear is my Grandad, an avid fixed rider, spinning in his grave.

Though if they mean birthplace of fixed-gear riding... as a fashion/lifestyle accessory (in Britain), they're partially correct (though even there I suspect that the Moving Target messenger types would still take major issue with that assertion).

Why I'm letting myself be surprised at such nonsense spewing forth from a bike shop with a 'creative director' is another question altogether. Anyway, the clothes look quite nice.

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Campag_10 replied to Ghedebrav | 11 years ago
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Yeah, my dad rode a fixie and insisted I ride a single speed as a lad ('none of that fancy derailleur nonsense for you my lad!'. I can remember being given a lesson on how to tension the chain (and watch where I put my fingers).

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hatchet harry | 11 years ago
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Some stomach churning cycling snobbery within the comments here. I cycle everyday but I'm loathed to call myself a 'cyclist' if it puts me in the same category as some of you lot.  13

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euanlindsay | 11 years ago
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Riding a bike is about independence. It isn't about the environment or health.

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farrell replied to euanlindsay | 11 years ago
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euanlindsay wrote:

Riding a bike is about independence. It isn't about the environment or health.

You're wrong. It is about independence but it is about the environment and it is about health.

Environment and health aren't really the reasons for the majority of my riding but they will be for a lot of people amongst tons of other reasons.

Different people ride for different reasons and saying that riding is only about independence is just as bike snob as a shit lipped fixie hipster.

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op1983 | 11 years ago
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Calling your own bike shop a Mecca makes you a bit of a cock doesn't it

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chrisc | 11 years ago
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Lost me when he said the s word. Am sick of hearing sustainable. Means nothing. Pure managementspeak bullshit bingo term.
I want a jacket made out of baby sealskin and puffin chicks. Ever seen one of them get wet?
And Creative Director my arse.

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captain_slog | 11 years ago
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That grey jacket in the main pic looks nice, though hardly practical if it really needs two people to do it up.

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euanlindsay | 11 years ago
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I see they are deleting negative comments from the video. What a laugh

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mikemorini | 11 years ago
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A bike shop with a creative director? WTF!

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TheHatter | 11 years ago
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Mercuryone - Brilliant!

I can't wait until cycling is unfashionable again. Maybe get Clare Balding to do a feature on fixies in the city or get Cameron and Osbourne on pulling skids (or u-turns if you prefer  3 )

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Crimea03 | 11 years ago
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Second the Nathan Barley comment.

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gbzpto | 11 years ago
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hopefully my local store in Grenoble will stock some could be interesting

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WolfieSmith | 11 years ago
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"Used bikes for a long long time" He looks about 12 for Christsakes! And Brick Lane bikes has been around since way back in 2006.... Oooooo. AD I trust? I remember the days when the only bikes for sale on Brick lane were stolen.

I also remember the good old days when no one pretentious rode bikes and the few of us had the whole thing to ourselves without lots of silly prannies coming skidding past us on fixies with their floppy hair and skinny jeans on the way to talk BS in some design meeting over a mocacocafrappabloodychino as if they were in Italy living the dream - rather than sharing a flat in Bow with their mate Hugo and failing to score with Philippa at the weekend.

The youth of today. They won't be told.  14

Angry Old Cycling Men. Dave. Weeknights at 10pm.

PS. Tony. Do read that comment about your commuting gloves from M&S again will you. Sigh.... Private Godfrey or what?

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jollygoodvelo replied to WolfieSmith | 11 years ago
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MercuryOne wrote:

I remember the days when the only bikes for sale on Brick lane were stolen.

Those days are still alive. Wandered up there the other week and next to a row of rusting knackered old BSOs was a shiny Boardman CX for £400...

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headfirst | 11 years ago
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Two attempts at that clip in the article and I can't get past half-way.
My father-in-law was riding fixed gear bikes in Yorkshire and the Lake District over 50 years ago..but that tw@t in the hat must know what he's talking about...  39

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joemmo | 11 years ago
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I think they may have blown the women's clothing budget on the extremely distracting underwear adverts that seem to be on every other bus stop on my route to work. None of it looks terribly practical for cycling.

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Tjuice replied to joemmo | 11 years ago
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joemmo wrote:

I think they may have blown the women's clothing budget on the extremely distracting underwear adverts that seem to be on every other bus stop on my route to work. None of it looks terribly practical for cycling.

Agreed, but I'd love to be there if they decide to trial it...

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Lara Dunn | 11 years ago
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Any comment on whether there'll be women's stuff too? Sounds like the lads in the design department have had a fine old time getting themselves some clobber but what about us girls? Here's hoping.......

Worth remembering that H&M are Scandinavian, the home of people looking "normal" on bikes.

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joemmo | 11 years ago
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Ghedebrav | 11 years ago
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Hopefully the range won't be too Nathan Barley given the Brick Lane Bikes involvement. Some of these fixie types transcend parody, so blithely insouciant is their bullshittery.

As noted above Levi's range is really nice, but presumably the H&M stuff will be a wee bit more competetively priced for low-wage scumbags like myself; let's hope they don't let form run away from function.

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bashthebox | 11 years ago
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Looks really interesting. Having gone through my lycra-clad commuting phase, I've come out the other side and now want practical yet stylish things to wear both on and off the bike (fuck, that really sounded like marketing speak, apologies). Levis commuter jeans are ace, actually. Been meaning to try on some of the Swrve jeans too.
Will definitely be checking this H&M stuff out when it lands.

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andybwhite | 11 years ago
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Bit of a shame they feature illegal brakeless fixies on the public road. It just panders to the preconceptions held by anti-cyclists.
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bikecellar | 11 years ago
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I went through a "don,t want to look like a cyclist off the bike" phase, many years ago, I took to wearing a Been Bag (anyone remember them, from the same place as Phineass Fogg crisps)Goretex jacket and Rohan pants combo with hi viz velcro tape around the ankles. I have long since gone back to (most of the time) not being bothered by the strange looks one sometimes gets at a 64yrs old in Lycra.  1

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notfastenough | 11 years ago
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Going mainstream indeed. What's next, Marks and Spencer's overshoes?

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Tony Farrelly replied to notfastenough | 11 years ago
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notfastenough wrote:

Going mainstream indeed. What's next, Marks and Spencer's overshoes?

Funnily enough, my wife bought me one of the best pairs of commuting gloves I ever had from M&S was it there On the Hill range… but you could only get 'em from their branch at Marble Arch

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