PUBLIC Bikes is a San Francisco based company that aims to make riding more enjoyable, practical and chic. The company was founded by Rob Forbes, who you might recognize as the founder of Design Within Reach. Rob is passionate about reclaiming public spaces for community purposes, hence the name of the company.

As Rob explains in the clip below, PUBLIC was very focused on design when it came to their new range of bicycles.

PUBLIC draws a lot of inspiration from Europe’s cycle culture. They looked at what makes bikes well designed for a city, and that also means well designed for what you wear in a city. As PUBLIC puts it: “You can dress in casual or business attire, and wear pumps, tennis shoes, or flip flops – just about anything – while riding our bikes.”

On top of beautiful form, and practical function, PUBLIC adds striking colours. The bike truly becomes a giant colourful accessory to your urban ensemble.

Win a Bike

We are super excited that PUBLIC will be giving the first prize winner a bike from their C7 or V7 ranges. You need to be a member of the YLF forum in order to be eligible for this prize. To enter, write a post in the forum explaining what stylish cycling means to you AND illustrate your points with a photo of you and your bike (if you have one).

Start a new thread for your entry and use “PUBLIC Cycling Style” as the first three words of your topic name. Then also enter below with a link to your forum post.

The winner will be selected by Rob himself and he will be looking for the entry that best combines practicality, creativity and style. This part of the competition is restricted to the United States. Canadians can enter as long as they are able to collect the bike in the USA.

Win a Book

If you aren’t a member of the forum, you can still enter the competition and you will be eligible to win a copy of A Girl’s Bike, signed by the author Jason Goodman. This book is a “smart fun authentic visual look into women’s street bike culture in New York”.

Just write in your entry below what you think are the most important elements of being a stylish cyclist. This second prize will be drawn using a random number generator, and is NOT restricted to entrants from the United States. Anyone can enter.

The competition will close on Monday 7 November, at 11:45pm (Pacific Standard Time). As always, YLF members will get an additional ticket with their entry. For another chance to win, get a bonus ticket by following @youlookfab on Twitter and tweeting this blog post using the tweet button on the entry page.

Finally, be sure to check out PUBLIC bikes online for inspiration on cycling style and to find out more about their wonderful range of bikes. You can also like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.