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The Red Chain Company: Fashion Forward Martone Cycling Co

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Martone GoldForm vs. function – a design argument that will always have two sides. Lorenzo Martone thinks you can have both, which is why he created the Martone Cycling Co. The company features a line of monochromatic bicycles that are all equipped with red chain, a large handlebar basket, and a SRAM  Duomatic rear hub, and matching tires. Outside of the Fashion world the bikes may be relatively unknown – though Martone is extremely happy that some big names in fashion have been seen rolling around on his bikes, including Karl Lagerfeld.

Check out more after the break, including a bike that might be easily confused with a Ghost Bike (uh oh).

Martone W Red

All of the bikes are priced at $899, and include a steel frame that is offered in 5 colors and 52cm and 56cm sizes for the men, and one size fits all 50cm for the women. For a company that is marketing specifically to the fashion conscious which will include a lot of women, it’s disappointing to only see one women’s size offered, though taller women can obviously buy a men’s bike instead. Both the men’s and women’s bikes roll on 42mm deep double wall alloy rims with 700x32c tires that are propelled with the SRAM Automatix which auto shifts between two gears depending on your speed. Not the most lightweight bike at 31 pounds, the bike may be a hand full if you have to hike up and down stairs on your daily commute.

m_white

If it wasn’t for the red chain and the red lettering, the white Real may be considered a fashion faux pas based on the striking similarity to a ghost bike – a completely white bicycle put in place as a somber memorial to cyclists hit or killed on the streets.

Martone SilverFortunately, if you like the white there is also this silver and white Regard which mixes things up with a silver frame, fork, and crank.

w_blackIt seems black is always in style as well, which you can show with the Mercer. You can order a Martone and get it shipped directly to you 80% assembled for $40-110 shipping in the US.

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Doug B
Doug B
10 years ago

Rack should be mounted to the frame, not the handlebars, gonna be a nightmare to control with any weight in it. Seems like he went for form, but not really for function.

Brian
Brian
10 years ago

These color schemes are not monochromatic, rather tend to use a reduced palette characterized by a lack of contrast between components.

Cheers

Dyno-mite!
Dyno-mite!
10 years ago

This is the one.
We have arrived.

CMSF
CMSF
10 years ago

On the upside, if the Beautiful Godzilla piloting one of these bikes does swerve out of control when her (or his) toy Pomeranian shifts in the tall handlebar basket while her second slim fingered hand is graciously holding a bedazzled smart phone aloft, the tubes come pre-bent so the resulting partial (or complete) buckling of the frame won’t offend the bike’s fashion world ready aesthetics.

NotAMachinist
NotAMachinist
10 years ago

Yeah! 900 bucks for a bike “designed” by the fashion police!

If the entire fashion world will promise not to sell any more bicycles I promise not to wear socks with sandals. Deal?

Julien M.
10 years ago

Good looking bikes, but artificially so because all the cable housings are photoshopped out…

ACE
ACE
10 years ago

[deleted for violation of Bikerumor’s commenting rules]

QEFTSG
QEFTSG
10 years ago

Thank yahweh, finally we can put form several places before function, and we can strictly interpret price as a direct indicator of quality and value. I have been waiting for this day. Soon we will have bicycles bearing the Gucci brand, and the world will be a happy place.

danger indeed
danger indeed
10 years ago

Agree completely with Doug B about handling these things with the basket on the bars. Danger ahead. Whoever did the test and evaluation for this phoned it in.

JimmyZ
JimmyZ
10 years ago

The basket is perfectly capable of supporting a Hermes bag. To place any other object within such an artisanal specimen would be gauche.

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