If Jay Gatsby Had a Bicycle

Autum Epitaph
The Autum Epitaph is a beautiful, hand crafted bicycle featuring fine leather work.

Most people who know me know, I’m not a big bicycle guy.   As a kid, riding my bike around my neighbor hood was my favorite past time.   It was a little taste of freedom.   But I never got into the complicated bikes, like the ones with 3 times as many gears as a car.   I liked the simplicity of the bike.   But the Epitaph bike from Autum looks like the kind of bike that could make me want to ride again.

So you can probably tell by looking at the Autum Epitaph that it is not the bike that will be ridden in the next Tour de France.   It looks more like something the Wright Brother would have ridden while dreaming of airplanes as kids.   But I think it’s really beautiful.

The leather work, which is from “obsessively selected aged leather” is what stands out to me the most.   The seat looks comfy and the leather inset of the frame softens the look of all the metal.

Each Epitaph bike also features a custom crafted wheel set for low profile tires.

I find it a little odd the handle bars are tilted down for a more low profile ride.   How it does make for a better appearance, I can’t help but think the cruise bike would be more comfortable with upright handles.

The Epitaph is a highly limited run of only 12 bikes, each laser etched with their build number.  On the upside, this makes the bike easier to identify in case of theft!   On the downside, the Autum Epitaph costs about $3,000, which does seem a bit pricey for a bicycle, even if it does have leather interior.   But if you’re looking to ride something around the Hamptons, I can’t see you doing much better than this.

Leave a Reply