Bikes from Car Companies

For some time now, Ferrari has teamed up with well-known Italian cycle-maker Colnago to make Maranello-branded bikes. The latest fruits of that partnership are two bikes, simply named the CF8 and CF9. The CF9 is the base model, and a luxurious one at that, featuring a full carbon frame, Shimano Ultegra groupset and a saddle from Selle Italia. But the CF8 actually is the Enzo of the pair, and is priced four times higher than the 9. In a nod to Ferrari’s lightning-quick automotive paddle shifters, the CF8 boasts Shimano Dura Ace Di2 electronic gear selectors and nearly every part made from carbon fiber, which helps the bike weigh in at just 15 pounds.

Looking like a two-wheeled track demon, Ford’s E-Bike Concept - emphasis for the moment on concept — was unveiled at this fall’s Frankfurt Auto Show. Featuring a featherweight 5.5-lb frame made of aluminum and carbon fiber, the E-Bike is driven by a motor hidden in the front wheel hub that’s powered by a lithium-ion battery tucked inside the frame. Ford claims the bike can seamlessly integrate human and battery power via an “integrated controller and magnetorestriction technology” derived from Formula One. Such lofty tech-talk aside, Ford’s foray into the electric bike market reflects a bigger trend as consumers look for both fuel-efficient and fuel-free ways to commute. Smart Car is set to sell an e-bike in dealerships soon, after unveiling it at continental bicycle confab Eurobike this fall.

Though better known for its heritage as a builder of airplane engines, motorcycles and cars, Bavarian Motor Works also has more than a half-century of tinkering with bicycles under its belt. The company’s latest range of bikes include touring, cruising and mountain variants, though the most exciting addition for fans of the somewhat overused Motorsports appellation is the new M Bike Carbon Racer. Weighing in at a criterium-friendly 16.3-pounds, the M Racer — yes, there’s a prominent M badge on the top tube — sports a carbon-colored frame to match its lightweight material, with contrasting red wheels and handlebar grips.

The folks in Stuttgart assume buyers of their cars are an active lot, and to that end offer an ever-widening array of bikes to pop on their vehicles’ roof racks. Partnering with well-known bicycle component manufacturers, Mercedes currently sells everything from a leisurely cruiser to a limited-edition racing bike, with a few kid cycles thrown in to keep everyone happy. Perhaps in an effort to silence bike purists who scoff that auto-derived cycles are pure posers, Mercedes’ top offering — the new All Mountain machine - features a Fox Racing F32 RL suspension fork and a DT Swiss suspension strut each with 120 mm of travel. The bike’s 30 speeds are tweaked via a SRAM X.9 system, while stopping power comes from hydraulic AVID Elixir brakes. That’s plenty of name dropping for most gear heads.

Rating high on the weird-looking meter is VW’s Bike.e concept, a simple, almost cartoonish concept bike that features a U-shaped frame and no pedals. It can fold up and fit into the same space usually reserved for a spare tire - though it’s not clear if VW is implying you should forget the flat and bike off for help. Range is said to be about 12 miles after it’s fully charged by your AC outlet. There are more traditional cycling options for fans of the German automaker, which first mated its cars with bikes back in the mid-90s, when it peddled a Trek-model Jetta with a companion mountain bike. But those cycles - which range from off-road rock hoppers to touring bikes — are for the moment reserved for European customers.

Leave it to Mini — or more specifically its bike-making off-shoot at minicooperbike.com — to have some fun with the cars-meet-bikes concept. In keeping with the car’s diminutive nature, Mini offers a range of folding bikes with telescoping seat posts that allow the cycle to easily cram into the boot. One model, the FDB166, is so compact that when folded up it can fit into the original Mini Cooper, which as we all know is just an oversized shoebox.

Maserati might have gotten things about right in the auto-cycle game. Instead of aiming for space-age technology it went retro big time with its 8CTF bike, a limited-to-200 fixie (fixed-speed bicycle, like we all used to ride as kids) made in partnership with well-known Sicilian bike-maker Montante Cicli. Anyone obsessed with Maser lore will recognize the bike’s alphanumeric name as a reference to the racing car driven to victory seven decades back at Indianapolis by Wilbur Shaw. The bike also harkens back to a less high-tech cycling time, with white-walled tires, non-clip-in pedals and an old-school handle bar that’s only half-wrapped in tape. Can you say Breaking Away?

Just why a brand fabled for off-road adventuring put considerable effort into building a road bike isn’t clear. But that’s precisely what Land Rover has done with its 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, which was designed by the company’s principal designer, Gerry McGovern, who happens to be a keen cyclist. (So maybe there’s your answer.) The Evoque - meant to complement the company’s new entry-level Range Rover - is a study in high-tech touches, which include a carbon fiber Karbona frame and fork said to be derived from F1 technology. An oversized carbon handlebar and stem were added to the mix, along with a seat tube largely integrated into the frame. The so-called transmission is a 20-speed Shimano Ultegra system. Wheels are also in carbon. All that’s missing is a carbon fiber roof rack.

After years of producing impressive-looking mountain bikes — think of the imposing black-and-yellow FS Evolution from a decade back, sporting multiple shocks and disc brakes — Porsche is toning things down a bit. Its latest cycle offerings include the Bike S and RS, both of which borrow names from legendary Porsche car iterations. Both the S and RS feature hydraulic brakes, rigid carbon forks, 29-inch wheels and the all-important Porsche crest. The RS take things one step further with a full carbon frame and 20 gears over the S’s 11. But clearly these bicycles are meant for city cruising with their lack of suspension, perhaps for days when traffic is so bad you’re better off leaving the 911 at home.

In another example of a well-regarded car manufacturer joining with an equally celebrated name in the biking world is the new S-Specialized + McLaren Venge. Just how McLaren could improve upon Specialized’s already impressive S-Works Venge is a legitmate question, but word is the folks at McLaren Applied Technologies - the R&D arm of the fabled auto racing juggernaut - were able to further optimize the way the carbon for the frame was cut and applied to improve the body’s overall properties.