Cats in the Bike Industry

December 20, 2013

Cats are legit, and they also happen to be strongly represented in the bike industry. Much like cyclists, cats are adventurous, curious, agile, and intelligent. Cats are also a perfect fit for us bicycle travellers. Fill up a couple large bowls with food and water, and they can fend for themselves for a long weekend. To celebrate cats, we're going to take a look at some bicycle companies that have embraced cats in their branding. Enjoy!

Catrike

Catrike produces some of the best recumbent trikes out there, winning multiple "trike of the year" awards from 'BentRider Online. Like a cat, these are sure-footed and well designed. They offer a great selection of trikes that fit a number of riding styles and budgets. For touring, I recommend the Expedition. It has a long wheelbase for a smooth ride, and handles a heavy load extremely well.

Cat-Ears

Not only are these relevant to cats, they are relevant to the current season. Cat-ears velcro to your helmet straps providing protection around your ears. They have a couple models available. Their ear covers encompass your whole ear for added warmth in cold weather. Their classic straps cover just a portion of your helmet straps, and block wind noise. Perfect for Wyoming, or the Columbia River Gorge.

Vanderkitten

Maybe the most stylish men's and women's cycle wear available, largely thanks to their kitten logo. In addition to cycling clothes, they also brand a lifestyle line of clothes for when you're out on the town, in addition to a few accessories such as water bottles, and stem caps. 

Black Cat Bicycles

Do yourself a favor and spend some time checking out this guy's bike gallery. The bikes made by Black Cat are absolutely gorgeous, and they will hold up to all the abuse you can give them as well. Custom from top to bottom, you'll be hanging onto this bike for life.

Cateye

The most mainstream cat-branded bicycle company, Cateye is best known for their cyclocomputers and lights. Cateye was founded back in 1954, and produced their first bicycle light ten years later. When we turn the calendars over to 2014, they will be celebrating their 60th anniversary. Right now I've got my eye on their GPS enabled Stealth 50 Cyclocomputer.

Crazy Cat Cyclery

Crazy Cat Cyclery is a shop out of El Paso, Texas. They actually have three locations in El Paso, and support their local advocacy groups to make their community a better place to ride. They also have an amazing shop-branded jersey that you can check out on their home page. If you happen through the area while cruising our Southern Tier bicycle route, be sure to check them out.

Photo by Josh Tack

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TOURING GEAR & TIPS is written by Joshua Tack of Adventure Cycling's member services department. It appears weekly, highlighting technical aspects of bicycle touring and advice to help better prepare you for the journey ahead. Look for Josh's "Fine Tuned" column in Adventure Cyclist magazine as well.