The IF-Mode folding bicycle designed by Mark Sanders is now available for purchase in the USA. Winner of the 2008 Eurobike Award, and the 2009 iF Gold Award (along with the Apple iPhone, the Macbook Air and the VW Golf Mk6), the IF-Mode is a rolling, folding work of art and a bike collector’s dream machine.

Production is limited. Orders received by Friday, May 1st will be delivered in June 2009. Orders placed after May 1st will not be available until summer’s end. Be the first to own the world’s most exciting and technically advanced folding bike.

“Most people prefer large wheeled bikes, in part due to ease of pedaling,” says designer Mark Sanders. “When I designed the IF-Mode, I thought about combining the benefits of small folders with full size bicycles, keeping in mind the innovation and value people expect from their personal tools. The IF Mode combines large wheels, ease of near instant folding, compactness, and clean design. Like luggage, it rolls anywhere. Its monoblade wheel mountings, enclosed 2 speed transmission and uncluttered aesthetic offer a radical new image of what a bicycle can be.“

Go to www.areaware.com/mode for more information or to place an order.

Photo of me riding the IF Mode.

Marteja here works with Robert Logie at Big Fish Bicycles in Slovenia.

I didn’t have a chance to visit their Interbike booth, but caught them on the way out as we left Friday evening. They were out of business cards so Robert and Marteja suggested I take a photo of her back as a human business card.

What caught my eye were the unique folding bicycles they were carrying. I’ll write more about them over at Commute By Bike sometime this week (promise!), but they also have a really cute blog called The Big Fish Bike blog. Robert speaks with a thick Slavic accent, but his blog writing is perfect and witty. His English is, in any case, much better than my command of Slovene.

The bikes are not available in North America, but Interbike 2008 was Big Fish’s first foray into the American market. Robert tells me dealer interest was strong and they’re in talks with a distributor.

The Big Fish Bike blog from Slovenia.

Scottish track cyclist Chris Hoy rides a folding bike during the Olympic closing ceremony in Beijing.

With his three gold medals in Beijing 2008, Chris Hoy is Scotland’s most successful Olympian, the first Briton to win three medals in a single Olympic games since Henry Taylor in 1908, and the most successful Olympic male cyclist of all time.

Rich Kelly mentions more about the bike commuter theme of London’s part of the show. Victoria Pendleton rode dressed like a messenger and rode a fixie, while Jamie Staff rode a city bike.