Culture
We Rode an Ikea Bike
There’s some assembly required for the Swedish company’s new commuter bicycle, Sladda. Can it handle the rigors of the American city?
When Mark Twain wrote an unpublished review of a big-wheeled, penny-farthing style bicycle in 1884, he advised, “Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live.”
That caution lingered over as I surveyed the pile of bike-shaped parts at my feet. The Swedish home-furnishings company Ikea recently started selling its own bicycle, a utility-focused urban commuter ride they call Sladda. (The name, insanely, means “skid” in Swedish.) Just like the firm’s stylish-but-cheap flat-packed furniture, the Sladda comes to consumers in a great big box full of packing materials and Allen wrenches; some assembly is required.