North American civic engagements needs the tools and whimsical anarchy of 1960s Amsterdam.

Normaal is simply Dutch for “normal.” The name is familiar yet irregular, just like Dutch city bikes. These bicycles are designed differently, intended solely for transportation and not for sport.

The jazzy stencil typeface evokes the “whimsical anarchy” that characterised the White Bikes and creative activism of the Dutch activist movement Provo in the 1960s. These acts intended to get cars off the streets and replace them with foot and bike traffic. And it succeeded.

Tapping into that spirit of civic engagement, Normaal Bike Shop will also retail books by the likes of Jane Jacobs, on subjects of interest to those fighting to make their cities more liveable. Education is the best tool in converting new consumers to users of commuter bikes.

Normaal launched two pop-up shops in Edmonton in 2022 and intends to launch a full retail store in 2024.