This week's bike of the week is the Germaan Eureka (57cm, $380). It's a classic example of a single-speed bicycle. They may not be the most practical for riding in Sydney, but we just can't stop looking at this bike. It's a work of art! You could hang this bike on a wall.

Geerman is an extinct Dutch bicycle manufacturer (thanks Wikipedia), which produced bicycles between 1935 and 1966. This bike may be old but it's still going strong.

The seat is a sprung B66S (very similar to the Brooks B67S, which we sell in the shop). It feels like a lounge.

Your clothes are protected while riding by an enclosed chain-case, skirt-guards, and steel mudguards.

The front light is powered by a friction dynamo. These things tend to slow you down a noticeable amount (certainly compared to a hub dynamo, which you'll find on many of our newer bikes). For this reason, you might want to buy battery lights on this bike. However, it's a useful backup to have.

We feel reasonably confident saying that this is the only Germaan in Australia!

This week's Bike of the Week is the Gazelle Lausanne (54cm, $850). This is another kitted out, comfortable and practical bike. Gazelle are probably the Dutch bicycle manufacturer that's best known in Australia. They sure know how to design a bike properly!

A step-through frame means its easy to get on and off, whatever you have strapped to the rack. This bike has a hub-dynamo lighting system, which we're big fans of. So easy.

There's a Deore LX 27-speed gear system, which is Shimano's excellent touring-level system. This means robust, reliable gear changing, which can handle big hills without trouble.

The chain guard means you don't need to worry about your pants getting caught and ripped in the cogs (which has happened to us several times!).

This bike is a seriously fun ride.

Koga Miyata is one of our favourite bicycle manufacturers. Kogas in Australia are mostly road racing bicycles, but they pedigree is in upright well-equipped city bicycles (which we have quite a few of). Koga Miyata was a joint venture between a Japanese company (Miyata) and a Dutch one (Koga), resulting in a brand which is famed for its high-quality components and superb design.

This week we're featuring the Koga Miyata Distance (56cm, $1050).

Like most of our bikes, this bike has full coverage mudguards, wheel lock, and a rear rack (it even has snelbinders). Front suspension will smooth out the potholes, and the slick tyres mean you won't be held back.

21-speed gears are provided by the Shimano Nexave groupset. The Nexave group is considered to be more user-friendly, and "high" and "low" labels on the gear shifters will assist riders unfamiliar with derailleur gears. The chain guard will stop the legs of your pants being dirtied by the chain.

Lighting is taken care of by a hub dynamo system, which powers both the front and rear lights. Anyone who's ever forgotten to change their batteries and ended up stranded somewhere in the dark will attest to how convenient this is! It's worth pointing out that adding a hub dynamo system to another bicycle will cost around $350.

In true Koga Miyata style, the wiring is internally routed through the frame - the picture below shows one of the few parts where the wiring is visible, and you can see where the wires go into the mudguards for their run to the rear light. Neat!

All in all, an amazing bicycle.

Not in your size? Here are the other Koga Miyatas we have in the shop:

Road Runner 56cm

Lite Ace 54cm

Balance 53cm

Lite Ace 50cm

Accellance 56cm

Distance 53cm

Distance 56cm

This week's Bike of the Week is the silver Raleigh Magnum (57cm, $500). It's the first time a non Dutch bicycle has made it in bike of the week, this one was made in England (you know it's a good bike if someone in Holland was riding a foreign bike). It's a stylish step-through. The design is very traditional, with a lugged steel frame. It's hard to take your eyes off!

It has a front light powered by a friction dynamo on the front wheel, and an extremely convenient front basket for carrying your bag.

Gears are supplied by the 3-speed Sturmey Archer hub, and the chain is fully enclosed in a chain case. There is a wheel lock, and of course a rear rack. There are drum brakes on front and rear.

This is a cool bike. At 57cm it would suit a rider of moderate height. Why not come and test ride it?

With daylight savings over, and the days getting shorter, it's more important than ever that you have a set of working lights on your bike. You need a front white, and a rear red light. You're required to have them by law but even if you weren't, you'd be silly to ride without them - if fellow road users can't see you, they're much more likely to run into you. This is true of other cyclists as well as cars! You'll get more respect on the road if you have lights.

Most bike lights sold in Australia are quick-release, which means that either you take them with you when you lock up your bike and then lose them somewhere, or someone eventually nicks them. Taking the lights on and off all the time weakens the bracket mount which ends in your light flying off your bike over a bump and you generally can't buy a new mount. All in all, it's one more thing to go wrong with your bicycle and stop you from using it. That's why we sell lights that are made to be bolted to your bike. The AXA Scope (front, 2 LEDs, $45) and AXA Sprint (front, 1 LED, $45) bolt to your fork crown just above your front wheel, and the AXA Riff (rear, $39) bolts to your rack (most good racks will have the necessary bracket at the back).

They're a cinch to fit, and once they're bolted on it would be a dedicated thief who would remove them. Peace of mind in more than one sense!