Electra Glam Punk 3i bike review | Helen Pidd

'When I eventually plucked up the courage to take it out, one mate asked if I was offering a mobile dominatrix service'

When the designers at Electra dreamed up the Glam Punk 3i in their sun-strewn Californian studio, they probably didn't imagine it dodging glass on a bike lane in Moss Side in the rain. It languished in the office for ages while I agonised over what to wear astride such a ludicrous machine. You can't rock a high-vis cagoule on a gold-and-black cruiser with leather handlebar streamers and a saddle studded like a camp Christingle orange. Electra's website suggested I accessorise my ride with a mint-green beanie and cap-sleeved black T-shirt but it was 5C and chucking it down and I wanted to wear my helmet. "Turn sidewalks into runways," they said, but Greater Manchester police had declared war on pavement cyclists the previous week and I didn't fancy a fixed-penalty fine.

When I eventually plucked up the courage to take it out, one mate asked if I was offering a mobile dominatrix service. Snoop Dogg slopes around Compton on a cruiser in his Gin and Juice video; I took mine for a drink in Manchester's Northern Quarter. My friend Steve fell about laughing. "It's so butch," he said, "and yet it's got a kickstand and a bell."