Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

Adam Leddin of The Spoken website

Welcome to The Spoken, an online gallery founded in 2010 and dedicated to the beauty and diversity of bicycles.

We’re passionate about all forms and facets of this sport: classic and modern road bikes, MTB and BMX, tourers, graveleurs, porteurs, and randonneurs. We dig them all.

We believe that everyone on two wheels is a friend. Our love for cycling culture extends from the golden age of road racing to the adventurous spirit of off-road endurance riding and bicycle touring.

We’re just as happy admiring vintage Peugeot folding bikes as we are exploring the latest concept to be borne out of a wind tunnel. We appreciate a mud-splattered gravel bike just as much as the elegance of a gold-plated Colnago or a mirror-polished Hutch Trick Star.

We’re particularly focused on the handmade and custom bike industry. We deeply respect the craft and dedication of all frame builders, from renowned names such as Richard Sachs and JP Weigle to talented artisans such as Tom Donhou and Caren Hartley. From hobbyists to master builders, their contributions are valued and celebrated.

Adam Leddin of The Spoken website

Editor: Adam Leddin

Adam Leddin has been the editor of The Spoken since the days it was known as Cycle EXIF. Cycling has been an integral part of his life for as long as he can remember.

Growing up in Orange, New South Wales, Australia, he spent his teens exploring the hills on a rigid Iron Horse MT400. Over the years, he’s owned and ridden a Specialized Fatboy Hemi Cruiser, a Cannondale CAAD10, a Sven Cycles 650b+ dirt tourer, and now keeps a lugged steel drop bar 29er in his garage — that he made himself on a frame building course.

After studying graphic design, he avoided an advertising career to work as a bike messenger in Sydney for seven years. These days, he holds down a day job in a Pyrmont creative studio while moonlighting as the editor of The Spoken.

“The Spoken brings together three of my greatest passions: bikes, photography, and writing,” he says. “This site is dedicated to the promotion of the beautiful bicycle, and how cycling can enhance your well-being and perspective.”

Join us on this inspiring journey as we celebrate the art and craft of the bicycle, and the joy that riding brings to our lives.