What Costs More, a Dodge Charger or Louis Vuitton Bike?
It's unlikely that you'll find a Louis Vuitton bike at your local auto dealer, but if they offer trade-ins, you could probably get yourself a brand new Dodge Charger.
Aladdin's cave is real, and it lives on the LV website. From $1,000 glassware to $2,000 paperweights and a $4,450 teddy bear, you can find everything you need to live and breathe luxury. With nearly all products categories accounted for, nothing seems to be beyond the realm of possibilities – not even a $28,900 two-wheeler.
When compared to your standard run-of-the-mill $500 Carerra mountain bike or a brand new 2021 Dodge Charger that would set you back $28,295, the price feels all the more outrageous. At this point, you'd probably need to hear something pretty convincing to part ways with your cash.
Each of the three models — the PM step-through, MM step-through, and closed frame — boasts top-of-the-range French craftsmanship, with handcrafting and assembly carried out by Maison Tamboite in the Bastille district of Paris. Though the bikes actually debuted in December, they've come back into the spotlight through a new Louis Vuitton campaign that offers new perspective on the pricey cruisers.
At that price point, you would, of course, want to be sure nobody will confuse your LV bike with any other French handcrafted bicycle. Ensuring this distinction is clear, three alternate Monograms (including the classic brown colorway) have been applied to the bike's leather and canvas components at the saddle and frame. The finishing touches? Red-tinted wood mudguards and a custom LV crankset.
The true distinction lays not in the aesthetic finish of the bikes, but in the hands of those that meticulously craft them. For over a century, Maison Tamboite has been responsible for putting French craftsmanship on the world stage. Unlike a factory-built muscle car, its creators have ensured traditional manufacturing techniques have been maintained from generation to generation, affording customers the ultimate luxury in the form of made-to-order products.
As MT puts it, it's "building bicycles the way sculptures are made, symbols of freedom."
Similar to Supreme's box logo bed created in collaboration with Swedish label Hästens, the bikes aren't fetching an astronomical price through branding alone, but by melding fashion with luxury craftsmanship. While a Louis Vuitton bike might not come with a V6 engine, some may hold Maison Tamboite's handcrafted touch in the same regard.
If you had any looming doubts that cycling could be luxurious, this collaboration is a not-so-subtle statement from Paris that anything can be luxury.
