Somehow we would like to believe that the bikes in Paris are rather tzujed up glam affairs.

But, no.

More often than not, Parisians go for practicality rather than preciousness when it comes to getting around the city– always with a dash of French chic style, of course! Richard Nahem, observes…

I recently started taking photos of bicycles around the city. They have a certain charm which is hard to describe.

From the slick racers that are used in the Tour De France, to the beat up but tough spray painted bicycles to the delivery ones with baskets to the gray, to the utilitarian Velib rentals, they are a vital form of transport to get around the much trafficked rues of Paris. Not to mention that with the recent strikes they were the only reliable way to get from here to there.

Try some stateside ways to bike around your city:

More Paris bicycles in our photo gallery…

Holiday Gift Alert:

EyePreferParis is selling custom prints like this one

Don’t you just love Richard’s photos of Paris?

Well, you can have a bite of the quiche as Richard is selling custom photographs of Paris for the holidays, just like the pretty one of the Eiffel Tower here.