The Perfect Commuter Bike?

[nuthatch]

I know we ride all sorts of bikes as commuters and most of them are bikes we've sort of converted (with mirrors, fenders, lights, etc.)

Does anyone ride an actual commuter bike, built as a commuter to begin with like the Breezer Uptown 8? How do you think it stacks up to your old bike? Was it worth the extra money to have an internal hub and generator lights and all that?

[Deanna]

I have the Breezer Villager. My commute is very short, so the weight is okay. I actually won the bike, so I'd have to say it was well worth the $10.00 I spent on raffle tickets. That being said, I am considering spending the money to upgrade to one of the Breezers more suitable for a longer commute. The internal hub isn't a feature I'd spend extra money on, but the generator lights are definitely worth the cost. It gives me great peace of mind knowing my batteries (rechargeable or otherwise) will not poop out on me if I'm only partway home in the dark. I like the built on lock. Though they recommend a stronger lock, the built on is more than sufficient when you just want to pop into a store quickly and don't want to bother with a cable (it's a ring lock that goes through the back wheel). They come with the rear rack as well.

Besides getting all this equipment, there is the added benefit of it already being installed and ready to go.

[Geonz]

I s'pose my Xtracycle is a "real" commuter bike, but I drool and foam just thinking about having an Uptown with the Xtra option. Hey, it's only about a grand, eh? Let's see, I reckon I put about 4500 miles on it that I would have put on the car... that's still not paying for it, tho' that doesnt' count the joy factor.
I'm going to talk to my LBS guy about generator lights 'cause that's my next move. Not sure wehther hub or tire would be the way to go.

[Geonz]

In a few days I will have a "real commuter bike" with the internal gears and dynamo lights and built-in lock and chainguards and skirt guards and lighted seat and funky bungees on the back. I'm breathin' hard already I'll let you know... (It wwill cost me $400 'cause it's used and the owner's leaving the country; it came from the NEtherlands with him.) This isn't the exact model but you'ill get the idea1

[KnottedYet]

I rode bikes like that in Germany. Very great commuter bikes.

I want an Xtra cycle some day. Get a rental car when I need a car, use the bike the rest of the time. (after child is grown. hard to do mom carpool duty with multiple children on a bike)

[Deanna]

SWEET! I like the skirt guard! You don't see those in the US too much.

[mimitabby]

hehe I was just looking at Marinoni bikes. They can have fenders AND campy components!

[Grog]

Nice to know that more Marinonis are available in the Pacific North West! I'm from Montreal, aka Marinoniland. At the Grand Tour (major one-week bike tour, 2200 people), at least one in ten bikes is a Marinoni.

Marinoni bikes are first and foremost road bikes, commuters or racers (check out the VR2). Pepe Marinoni reluctantly introduced Shimano but mostly the bikes are fitted with Campy. They make great touring bikes, so if your commute has some distance to it, it might be totally worth the investment.

By the way, you can have them made-to-order for just a few more dollars, so the shop will take your measurements and you'll have your own custom bike. You can also get the paint job made to order.

Ok, end of pro-Marinoni rant. I will get a Marinoni touring bike as my next bike. I love to encourage family business, and there aren't many family-owned bike manufacturers left in this world...

[mimitabby]

Grog, there are several bike shops in Vancouver area that sell Marinoni's. (only 1 in Seattle though)
i was just fantasizing on a field trip to do just that. Take a train or ferry up to Vancouver, buy a bike, cross the border on it..
ride home.

So who is this Pepe Marinoni? is he an old italian guy?

I would love to have a bike like that!

[nuthatch]

In a few days I will have a "real commuter bike" with the internal gears and dynamo lights and built-in lock and chainguards and skirt guards and lighted seat and funky bungees on the back. I'm breathin' hard already I'll let you know... (It wwill cost me $400 'cause it's used and the owner's leaving the country; it came from the NEtherlands with him.) This isn't the exact model but you'ill get the idea1

Sue, do you have a review for us yet?

[Geonz]

That's the real thing (I still haven't gotten to more close-up shots of its finer features).

It is a sweet commuting bike and I love it in the rain. Everything really is enclosed, and I could even go through a deep puddle with impunity (knowing that it didn't have a pile of wet leaves on the bottom because I know that drainage area). I'd have been soaked on any other bike, but the fenders have mud flaps so only my toes got wet, and my toes were prepared.

I have to leave a little more time (which I would when it was raining, anyway) because it is not the speediest thing. When I'd googled I found a picture of it (that blue one) that called it a "bicycle on tranquilizers," and after Wednesday night I understand. It ain't fast on the open road! Those were *tough* trying-to-stay-ahead-of-Howard miles! (I'm still 355 miles ahead of him on bikejournal as of this morning, though.)

The light is really cool. It's dynamo-powered, so no batteries (but I understand light bulbs can burn out - I read that going to fast can burn 'em out, too). It's designed to fan out and light up the road - and it's aimed just a tad to the left, so it gives the illusion to passing cars that I'm out further, so they give me more room. It has a little connection problem and sometimes I have to bop it if I go over a bump and it goes off... I'm definitely going to have a back-up, especially 'cause it doesn't have the "standlight" feature you can now get, where it will keep going when you stop.

It is very smooth, and I also like the built-in lock. It immobilizes the wheel and also has a thick cable, and the LBS guys helped me figure out the easy way to attach and unattach it. They had fun figuring out what size tubes go into it, too; it's a funny sized wheel and the original tubes are "woods" valves... turns otu that it will take 700 tires and either Schrader *or* Presta tubes, so I don't have worries about being so exotic I can't have a flat tire.

I still haven't figured out just where I should be cleaning it after it rains - maybe checking under the fenders for clutter - and I think the drill is to take it into the fearless LBS dudes (okay, Larry, who wasn't there when we were trying to figure out the tube size) to take it all apart once a year and make sure it's lubricated in the right places. They're all enclosed from the weather, so they don't need as much attention, but it's harder to give it to 'em. (Miss JOnes prefers to give the LBS dudes something to do in the dead of winter than to frustrate everything by trying to do such things herself.)

Hmmm.... maybe this should be my *snow* bike? There's a topic for the next visit...

[nuthatch]

THanks! I'm really interested in that enclosed chain. Chain rust is my bane, so I wonder if the enclosing would encourage rust if some dampness got in there?

[Geonz]

I don't know... I don't *think* so. I think it is vented somehow (I know there's a vent on the tube 'cause the LBS guys were speculating about it).

It seems the idea is catching on -

http://www.dutchbikes.us/ is a company that imports some brands of Dutch bikes (tho' not the Gazelle, I don't think) - I got a sweet deal I think it's a new company.

Electra's just come out with an "Amsterdam" model http://kensbikeski.com/itemdetails.c...gId=39&id=1743
http://www.electrabike.com/06_new/flash_index.html

Seems the entry level model just has a coaster brake; mine has internal hub brakes and cost me less :-) (I suppose they are disk brakes? I dunno, they work )