Introduction
"It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away". - Antoine de Saint Exupéry (French writer, poet and pioneering aviator).
Our founder is an aerospace engineer and lifelong cyclist and motorcyclist (rider, racer and mechanic). As a pilot, he’s also inspired by admirable aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright (1), who gained mechanical knowledge and experience working on bicycles to then masterfully build and fly the first powered airplane. We all have much to thank them! At KAOS, we are traveling the same path, in the opposite direction, applying our aviation background and experience to design, develop and build proper, simple, fundamental, timeless bicycles.
We work with carefully selected business partners for the procurement of our frames, components and accessories. These are experienced manufacturers that share our vision and complement our philosophy of proper design, engineering and manufacturing.
(1) Before becoming pioneering aeronautical engineers, the Wright brothers’ occupation was building and repairing bicycles. The knowledge and experience gained from working with bicycles proved valuable to the Wrights’ development of a successful airplane. In 1892, they opened their own shop, Wright Cycle Co., and decided to manufacture their own line of bicycles. Their top-of-the-line model was the Van Cleve, which cost $65. While major bicycle manufacturers used new mass production techniques adopted from the firearm and sewing machine industries, the Wrights hand-crafted their bikes. Their advertising emphasized high-quality frame construction and mechanisms and a polished, durable enamel finish. Their Wright Flyer airplane made four flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, the best covering 852 feet (284 meters) in 59 seconds. It was the first heavier-than-air, powered aircraft to make a sustained, controlled flight with a pilot aboard.
(Source: National Air and Space Museum airandspace.si.edu)
our cycling perspective
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” - Leonardo da Vinci
The bicycle is one of the greatest inventions in the history of the human kind.
We admire the vast number of excellent bicycles available in the market and support and encourage the wide spectrum of bicycle uses out there. Recreational, racing, cruising, MTB, gravel, BMX, fat bikes, urban, trekking, beach cruisers, they’re all cool.
Cycling, as life in general, has become stunningly – and unnecessarily – complicated. It is now incredibly difficult to make simple bicycles. So we have taken it as our core mission to offer cycling in its fundamental ethos. Cycling should be simple. Without compromising quality.
At KAOS we have done the homework. From our frames and complete bike build kits to our essential accessories, we want to help you enjoy the sophisticated simplicity of cycling. Properly.
our cycles
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” - Albert Einstein
In designing and developing our cycles, we do not have as an objective to make them fit into any of the established bicycle categories described above. Not that we don’t like those, quite the contrary. But in envisioning our bikes, we don’t want to be bound by any categorizational criteria. We just want to be free to develop what we consider are simple, essential, fundamental and timeless bicycles. Bikes that are boundlessly versatile to enable you to ride them as and where you wish, including venturing into some of those categories. At the same time, our business objective is not to claim that we make the best bicycles on the planet. We have too much respect and admiration for bicycle manufacturers out there to do so. As a matter of fact, we appreciate, own and ride a good number of them ourselves. Instead, we aim to offer great, fundamental, proper, timeless cycles as our contribution to the wonderful world of cycling.
We believe in engineering and technology, and strive to use them appropriately in our bikes. Engineering should discern the proper design, development, manufacturing and use of technology to fit the needs and enhance the life experience of fellow human beings and society at large. Technology must be at the service of people. Not the other way around. Otherwise, it’s just “gadgetology”.
Bicycles, like airplanes, benefit from the use of high-strength, low-weight materials, that can also withstand the challenges imposed by ambient conditions and the demands of their rugged operating environments. The advancements in materials technology for cycling during the last couple of decades has been stunning.
While we acknowledge the benefits that the various modern electronic and digital technologies can bring to our daily lives, we don’t include them on our bikes. Instead, we propose that we can all sometimes benefit from disconnecting from virtuality in order to connect with reality. We believe the best “display” available is the one right in front and around ourselves. So we encourage you to just ride, relax, disconnect, contemplate and enjoy.
Our frames (including forks) are masterfully handcrafted in Italy, using exquisite cycling-specific tubing and advanced materials. We match them with the finest “cycling jewelry”, meticulously selecting the proper components and accessories in developing our build kits and complete bikes.