Market: As part of the Red Dot Design Awards ceremony, the Swedish furniture giant IKEA announced that it would be including its own bicycle in its range for the first time in the summer. The IKEA bike will be called Sladda and will offer a unisex aluminum frame, belt drive and disc brakes – for well under €1.000.
Now the cat is finally out of the bag. There have long been rumors about IKEA and bicycles – at least since the first two-wheeler excursion of the Swedish furniture giant with the Folkvänlig e-bike, which was available in very limited quantities in Austrian IKEA stores two years ago, the industry has been eagerly awaiting the other IKEA -Plans in the bicycle sector. In the morning, the group announced that it would be launching its first bicycle on a large scale in the summer – the IKEA bicycle will be called Sladda. In contrast to the Folkvänlig, however, it comes without an electric drive, but with a few other features that make you sit up and take notice.
The Sladda comes with a unisex aluminum frame (hence the slight kink in the top tube) and in variants for 26″ and 28″ wheels: This makes the Sladda interesting for young people too, provided the IKEA bike offers enough different frame sizes. The drive of the Sladda is really interesting: It does without a chain and instead uses a belt drive in combination with an Automatix hub from SRAM. In contrast to a chain, a belt drive works without oil, is completely noiseless and virtually maintenance-free. The company promises in the associated press release that the belt on the Sladda should be able to cover up to 15.000 km.
The Automatix hub does not require a shift lever at all and switches between the two available gear ratios depending on the speed driven. This system is also 99% maintenance-free and is not subject to any noticeable wear. A (mechanical) disc brake is used on the front wheel, the rear wheel is blocked by back pedaling. The overall package shines above all through almost indestructible technology, which requires only an absolute minimum of maintenance and is almost immune to external influences.
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Another feature, for which no further details are known, is a "click system" on the rear wheel, which can easily be used to attach a trailer, for example. However, the developers are planning an “open” system here and invite other manufacturers to produce accessories for the IKEA Sladda. "The Sladda is like an app for your phone: you can add endless accessories to make it more useful." says one of the minds behind the Sweden bike.
Finally, the crux of the matter: the IKEA Sladda should cost €699, IKEA Family Card owners even save significantly and get the bike for €499. That's quite a competitive price, especially in view of the belt drive, which is otherwise not available in the class under €1000. The IKEA bike will be available in Germany from August.