BY WOMEN, FOR ALL

as long as you’re friendly and put the team>ego

Having lived abroad, we knew what cycling could be.

Moving back to Stockholm, cycling become something else. Competitive race clubs, mostly middle-aged men and few like-minded people. There’s (ofc) nothing wrong with either of these, but we thought:

If this is the only way, there’s nothing for us.

Then and there, Friends with bikes said hi. What started out as a Facebook group with friends and friends of friends, has since evolved into something much bigger. A vibrant and warm cycling community. The core remains the same – caring more about having a good time than gear and grams.

Initiated by Franziska & Emmy in 2020.

Built by everyone in the community, and together with Emma, Jennifer, Greta and Josefine.

WHO WE ARE

FRANZISKA ENGSNER

Founder & Strategic Brand Development

Raised in both Stockholm city and the serenity of the German Alps, I’ve always been drawn to the inbetween. Vibrant culture, quiet nature. Movement has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. In 2016, I bought a (way too big) vintage steel racer as a commuter bike and little did I know, it became the beginning of what would become Friends with bikes.

Four years later, I bought my first road bike and initiated this community. Since then, biking has taken me to every corner of Stockholm, up and down mountains in Mallorca, around Lago di Garda, over cobble stones in Roubaix and all the way to the North Cape. To mental heights I didn’t even know existed. But larger than anything is the people I met along the way and get to build this community together with.

@franziskae

A cyclist wearing a maroon helmet, sunglasses, and a white cycling jersey, holding a small item near her waist while standing outdoors against a pink wall.

EMMA INGEMANN

Adventures & Art Direction

My cycling journey started on Gotland in 2019 on a borrowed bike from a friend's brother. Short thereafter I bought my first bike on Blocket and found Franziska (who had also just started cycling) on Instagram. She had, together with a friend, just initiated a cycling community called Friends with bikes, and I wasn’t late on joining the team. Since then cycling has taken me to amazing places, challenged me both physically and mentally and given me friends for life.

Right now I’m living in Åre studying to become a ‘Fjällguide’ – so when I’m not cycling I’m out skiing or hiking.

@ingenemma

A woman wearing a black bicycle helmet and a green and black striped shirt riding a bicycle through a lush, tropical landscape with palm trees and dense greenery.

JENNIFER KIVINEN

Partner Relationships & Photography

I’m a curious, restless soul, spending my time between Stockholm and Sri Lanka as a full time photographer. I need both worlds to feel completely at home in heart; the busy city life with my bike and the tranquility and rich culture with my surfboard.

Perhaps it was my short career as a spinning instructor in 2015 that sparked the curiosity for cycling but I didn’t buy an actual bike until 2021 when I was craving more outdoor and nature in my daily life (as everyone after Covid). I felt lonely and a bit lost - until I found Friends in 2022. Cycling has changed the way I see life and it’s incorporated in basically everything I do. Forever grateful for this sport.

@jenniferkivinen

A woman wearing a white cycling helmet with sunglasses on top, dressed in a black and gray cycling jersey, standing outdoors during sunset, holding her bicycle handlebar, with another cyclist partially visible in the background.

GRETA LINANDER

Economy & Business

I got inspired by a friend who used to cycle with her dad, and when Covid hit in 2020, I bought my first bike. Back home in Skåne, that same dad of my friend became my very first cycling companion. Returning to Stockholm, I knew I needed to find people to ride with, and that’s how I found Friends.

Cycling is just one of the things I love that are better outside and better together. Skiing, hiking, nature = more fun with good company.

@gretalinander

JOSEFINE ÖGREN

Designer & Weekly Rides

Team sports raised, competitive minded, outdoor loving dog mom from northern Sweden who, when not on the bike, prefers spending time in snowy mountains.

My cycling journey started on the couch after my third knee surgery. I was new in Stockholm and felt like I needed something that could give me that same drive and sense of belonging as team sports. Soooo, I ended up ordering a bike while still on crutches and started riding as soon as I could (sorry physio). Not soon after, I found Friends with bikes.

What I didn’t expect, lying there on the couch with my knee in braces, was how much it would give me. The drive, the sense of belonging, and some of my closest friends. Cycling is where I truly found my place in Stockholm.

@josefineohgren

Hi, let's be friends?