To be safe and comfortable on a bike at this time of year, you need only two things: lights and mudguards. Yet, incredibly, almost no bikes are sold with these two essentials. They’re dismissed as ‘extras’. Eh? Do manufacturers think we all live in Honolulu? As usual, our European cousins do things rather differently. The German company Kalkhoff has been making bikes since 1919. This latest model is a svelte city rider with an easy-to-live-with step-thru frame. It also comes preloaded with kit: mudguards; a pannier rack; a heavy-duty kickstand so you can park the bike when there’s nowhere convenient to lean it; and super-bright dynamo lights so you are never caught out in the dark. The lights in particular are excellent. The LEDs are bolted to the frame and are powered by the front dynohub, so no batteries are required and they are unpinchable. There, that wasn’t so hard, was it? (edinburghbicycle.com)
Price: £499
Frame: aluminium
Gears: Shimano Nexus 7 hub
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166
