Velo Culture: enjoying the city, with calm.
Text: Miguel Barbot.
Photography: João Bernardino
Video: Sidney Dore with sound design and original music by João Bento Soares
Velo Culture, a business closely linked to Ofício, was created in October 2011 by people united by the love of bicycles and a more "calm" way of living in the city. They decided to open a store in Matosinhos's then-degraded Matosinhos Municipal Market.
After almost ten years, it is a national reference in everything that respects cycling as a means of transport and a more contemplative way of cycling on road and travel cycling.
Velo Culture is very concerned with more conscious consumption, and its customers are people who buy less but buy better.
“ Technocrats tell us we can’t go backward, we can’t refuse technology, because then we won’t progress. We are told that life is increasingly complex, that’s the way it is […] If this is all true, then we are doomed. Going back to a simpler life based on living by sufficiency rather than excess is not a step backward; rather, returning to a simpler way allows us to regain our dignity, puts us in touch with the land, and makes us value human contact again. ”
Reading Yvon Chouinard is always a reason to reflect on what the company is doing. And on the causes that were at the genesis of Velo Culture, which are two. The first is the preservation of the environment and the fight against climate change by promoting more responsible consumption. The second is sustainable mobility and the return of our cities to the people.
To make a difference in these two areas, Velo Culture always seeks to sell products suited to the function and designed to last. Products that are made on a small scale, preferably in Europe or complying with European ethical standards. On the other hand, they assume with customers the commitment to keep what they sell and the pieces to replace free of charge. Therefore, each bicycle sold includes its lifetime maintenance in the price. After these years, the men in the photographs know a good part of the bicycles that circulate daily in Porto.
Since they started in mid-2011, they have been looking, almost obsessively, to sell only bikes that guarantee the best durability for their price level. Anyone who visits Velo Culture has already realized that we never try to sell something because it is expensive. We want to sell the one that will best serve the function and accompany the customer throughout life. So, no, they don't want to sell more. They want to sell better.
Here, you can read the complete text, including the Velo Culture manifesto.
