A bicycle is perhaps the simplest, most convenient, easiest-to-use wheeled means of moving about town and exploring the great outdoors. But any cyclist can tell you that a bicycle is never "just" a bike.
There is a special bond that cyclists forge with their machines, much like it happens with drivers and their cars. The relationship goes beyond one of dependence; it goes beyond utility and convenience and no longer applies to how we relate to our material possessions. If you're reading this, this is really all the explanation needed because you already know how it feels.
Where regular cyclists will take excellent care of their production-series bikes, making sure that everything is in order before each ride, sheltering them from the elements, and keeping them clean, a well-heeled cyclist can afford to take this love even further. Custom bicycles, custom storage cases and matching stands, extra-strong anti-theft protection, designer safety gear, custom paintjobs or gold-plating, you name it, and the one-percenters probably have it.
You can add another item to that list now: a custom bicycle that can be disassembled for transport inside its own luxury luggage case. You know your love for riding is strong when you can't even fathom traveling without your two-wheeler.
Photo: Firefly
That's the case with millionaire Ming Thein, a businessman with a track record that's perhaps even more interesting than his latest acquisition. Thein was admitted to Harvard University when he was just 13, and he graduated at 16. He has a physicist's formation, but he's made his fortune as a business entrepreneur, a photographer, and a horologist, as he's the founder and CEO of MING Watches.
Ming Thein is also a passionate rider and a frequent traveler, and his latest machine is a Firefly: a bike designed for riding and traveling the globe, thanks to a very neat feature.
Firefly is a Massachusetts-based maker that specializes in fully custom bikes. They don't have models in the strictest sense of the word because every machine that leaves their factory is personalized to the owner's needs, requirements, and budget and designed in close collaboration with that owner.
Photo: Firefly
In much simpler words, there are no two Fireflies alike in the world, which should give you an idea of the kind of price tags these machines have. If it doesn't, we're here to help: a standard Firefly starts at $7,000 and can go higher than $13,000, while a Firefly e-bike starts at $11,000. In the world of cycling one-percenters, a Firefly is among the best you can get.
Ming Thein can probably vouch for that. Firefly just delivered to him his one-off, a conventional pedal-powered bike called the Titanium Mini VELO – an absolutely gorgeous machine with a very neat feature. This bike doesn't just look good and is made to last a lifetime; it can also come apart like a jigsaw puzzle, so it can pack neatly inside a luggage case.
That luggage case isn't your standard carry-on, either. The Mini VELO gets its own Rimowa case, a Louis Vuitton-owned brand with a reputation for high quality, durability, excellence, and a premium price tag. Ming Thein is a longtime fan of Louis Vuitton briefcases, listing them among the five items he couldn't do without, right there next to the daily cup of coffee and one of his MING watches.
Photo: Firefly
All Firefly bikes come with custom geometry, and this is also the case with the Mini VELO. The company says that the gearing and geometry were adjusted "to mimic a normal bike size and fit" and to take into account the smaller wheel size. The Mini VELO is comparatively stiffer because of the wheels, but the long seatpost, which is a proprietary feature internally reinforced with carbon fiber, adds extra comfort.
"[It] basically feels like a fast bike should but with some interesting dynamics," Firefly says.
Components are premium, as is to be expected, from the carbon fiber reinforced seatpost to the 3D printed custom fork, the one-piece carbon fiber wheels with tubeless ready (TLR) Michelin BMX Racing Line tires, and DT Swiss brakes. Weight reduction was a focus in designing this machine, as was performance, and the result is a bicycle that's both striking visually and ultra-high-quality.
Its current one-off status makes it somewhat of a unicorn.
Photo: Firefly
The Titanium Mini VELO bike is a fully custom project designed on a very specific brief, and that has at least two immediate implications: there's no mention of price anywhere, and there's no word on the possibility of replicating it. As noted above, Firefly doesn't do series production bikes as a rule, and we reckon they might be against replicating units for other customers, as well.
But looking doesn't cost a single thing. Here's to hoping we see more of this beautiful machine in real life.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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