TKO cycles to the launch of the TKOti bespoke bike

London product group TKO has designed a limited edition bicycle, called the TKOti, which receives its global launch next week.

The TKOti is one of several products being displayed at a Government-organised exhibition in Switzerland on 13 November (DW 25 October). Other products include Hollington Associates’ Kodak zoom camera and Seymour Powell’s Rowenta vacuum cleaner and Calor iron.

The bespoke bicycle features aerospace-grade materials such as a light, titanium frame (pictured) and carbon fibre. Its name is derived from the Periodic Table of elements, in which ‘ti’ represents titanium.

The bike is scheduled to go into limited production after the launch, with prices ranging from around £1700 to £3500 for the most sophisticated model.

‘It is the ultimate road bike,’ says TKO principle Andy Davey, who designed the TKOti. It is designed to be a fast, urban hybrid that is also capable of driving over country tracks, he adds.

The first model will be the TKOti-e, with the e standing for Europe. Its components are all sourced from UK and European manufacturers, ‘rather than the US and Japan’, ‘reminding us that Europe is the traditional and emotional home of cycling’, says Davey.

Each frame will be built to order to meet individual customers’ physical dimensions. The bike features hydraulic brakes, front suspension for rough surfaces and other ‘state of the art’ features.

The campaign to promote British product design to German markets, which is organised by Government bodies Trade Partners UK and Design Partners, the Design Council and the British Council, kicks off in Zurich, Switzerland, next week.

Some 16 UK product groups, including Priestman Goode, Tangerine, Therefore and Factory Design, will be exhibiting about 20 commercial products that ‘highlight the technologically advanced quality of British design’, according to a Trade Partners UK spokesman.

Trade Partners UK estimates that export earnings by UK design groups in 2000 was around £1bn.