Beautiful bikes for Wellington
Home » Blog » Su Yin Khoo » Beautiful bikes for WellingtonDo you live in Wellington? Cycle everywhere or planning to? Oh how I envy you!
Above: Jason's mamachari
The past year or so has been an interesting time to be a commuter cyclist in New Zealand. You notice more and more people using their bikes in lieu of the car and yet there are few shops that stock bicycles to suit those needs—modified 'Frankenbikes' a consequence of this gap in the market.
Jason and Sarah Penny in Wellington decided to do something about it and started Mamachari to beautify Wellington with pretty bicycles.
Mamachari (ママチャリ) is a term of endearment for bicycles in Japan that loosely translates as 'housewife bicycles' because the womenfolk use them for their grocery run and to transport the children around.
Don't be fooled though—everyone in Japan uses these type of utilitarian bicycles. These upright step-through bikes almost always come with a basket, bell, full mud-and chain-guards, a kickstand, rear racks and dynamo-powered lights—everything you need to get about your everyday business in comfort.
Jason and Sarah are planning a trip to Osaka soon to scout for more mamachari. In the meantime, have a look at their collection of beautiful bikes on their Facebook page.


