New Commuter bike

permajeo said:

I need (want:note by Wife) a new commuter. I was recently quite taken by
a Giant Escape N7 that a young lady I know had as a courtesy bike from
one of our LBSs. I now think I need (want: see above)the following

Hub gears
Disk(c?) brakes
Dynamo hub and lights that stay on while I wait at the red lights.
Rear rack (for Orliebs)
Chain guard to keep crud off trousers
Full mudguards
Flat bars
Steel frame, preferably.
and the pedals will be changed for SPD/platforms combis

Does such a beast exist off the shelf or does my toolkit need to get
dirty again?

Price isn't my main concern if the bike is EXACTLY right but will make
a difference if I need to start adding stuff/making changes.

<cough>

http://gb.cannondale.com/bikes/06/ce/model-6SS3.html

Quoted message said:

My commute isn't far and it's flat, I currently use my Il Pompino if
I'm in a hurry or my Electra Rally Sport on nice days. The newbie would
be used for the 10 mile commute plus as a replacement for as many car
journeys as possible, about 20 miles a week.

http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m11b0s18p1577

No experience with either, but it's come up before...

permajeo said:

I need (want:note by Wife) a new commuter. I was recently quite taken by
a Giant Escape N7 that a young lady I know had as a courtesy bike from
one of our LBSs. I now think I need (want: see above)the following

Sounds like you need to know the secret of getting stuff.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/humour-how-to-justify-your-next-bike-12570

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

"The POP3 server service depends on the SMTP server service,
which failed to start because of the following error: The
operation completed successfully." (Windows NT Server v3.51)

Umm I did see the mongoose in another thread and liked it. Hadn't met the cannondale before but that looks good too. Thanks.

quote='Tosspot'permajeo said:

I need (want:note by Wife) a new commuter. I was recently quite taken by
a Giant Escape N7 that a young lady I know had as a courtesy bike from
one of our LBSs. I now think I need (want: see above)the following

Hub gears
Disk(c?) brakes
Dynamo hub and lights that stay on while I wait at the red lights.
Rear rack (for Orliebs)
Chain guard to keep crud off trousers
Full mudguards
Flat bars
Steel frame, preferably.
and the pedals will be changed for SPD/platforms combis

Does such a beast exist off the shelf or does my toolkit need to get
dirty again?

Price isn't my main concern if the bike is EXACTLY right but will make
a difference if I need to start adding stuff/making changes.

<cough>

gb.cannondale.commodel 6SS3.htmlOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

My commute isn't far and it's flat, I currently use my Il Pompino if
I'm in a hurry or my Electra Rally Sport on nice days. The newbie would
be used for the 10 mile commute plus as a replacement for as many car
journeys as possible, about 20 miles a week.

tritoncycles.co.ukproducts.phpOpen ↗

No experience with either, but it's come up before...[/QUOTE]

I lost interest when the article went

"And a helmet, of course"

Please don't answer!

quote='Don Whybrow'permajeo said:

I need (want:note by Wife) a new commuter. I was recently quite taken by
a Giant Escape N7 that a young lady I know had as a courtesy bike from
one of our LBSs. I now think I need (want: see above)the following

Sounds like you need to know the secret of getting stuff.

bikeradar.comhumour how to justify your next bike 12570Open ↗

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

"The POP3 server service depends on the SMTP server service,
which failed to start because of the following error: The
operation completed successfully." (Windows NT Server v3.51)[/QUOTE]

permajeo said:

I need (want:note by Wife) a new commuter. I was recently quite taken by
a Giant Escape N7 that a young lady I know had as a courtesy bike from
one of our LBSs. I now think I need (want: see above)the following

Hub gears
Disk(c?) brakes
Dynamo hub and lights that stay on while I wait at the red lights.
Rear rack (for Orliebs)
Chain guard to keep crud off trousers
Full mudguards
Flat bars
Steel frame, preferably.
and the pedals will be changed for SPD/platforms combis

Does such a beast exist off the shelf or does my toolkit need to get
dirty again?

Price isn't my main concern if the bike is EXACTLY right but will make
a difference if I need to start adding stuff/making changes.

My commute isn't far and it's flat, I currently use my Il Pompino if
I'm in a hurry or my Electra Rally Sport on nice days. The newbie would
be used for the 10 mile commute plus as a replacement for as many car
journeys as possible, about 20 miles a week.

A few from the bigger companies exist, as already suggested. Also,
speak to companies such as Condor or St John Street Cycles.

I'm not a fan of the Rohloff hub gear, I think it a little heavy for a
hub, so the SJS option may not be in.

Condor do one they call Cadenza, which normally comes as a derailleur
geared machine, but they caould easily produce it as a hub geared bike
for you.

On Dec 3, 8:10 pm, permajeo <permajeo.311...@no-

mx.forums.cyclingforums.com said:

I need (want:note by Wife) a new commuter. I was recently quite taken by
a Giant Escape N7 that a young lady I know had as a courtesy bike from
one of our LBSs. I now think I need (want: see above)the following

Hub gears

That makes sense on the commuter if you want low maintenance. Best
value for money and quite reliable are the Shimano Nexus Premium/
Alfine or the SRAM S7. I would avoid the standard Nexus 8 and the SRAM
i-motion 9 on a bike you want to use every day.

Quoted message said:

Disk(c?) brakes

Why disk brakes? They make sense on a mountain bike where the rims can
get muddy. But on a bike that i mostly used on road a decent V-Brake
or even better a hydraulic brake from Magura is much better value for
money.

Quoted message said:

Dynamo hub and lights that stay on while I wait at the red lights.

For that purpose I recently bough a D-Toplight XS from BUMM. Next on
the shopping list is the new Lumotec IQ Senso Plus. For a commuter
bike, the standard Shimano hub such as DH 3N30 are sufficient. I have
been using mine now for four years. It might be a good advise to add
some extra grease into the hub as there is occasionally not enough in
it. The new top model from Shimano is the DH 3N80, the previous one to
that the DH 3N71.

Quoted message said:

Rear rack (for Orliebs)
Chain guard to keep crud off trousers
Full mudguards
Flat bars
Steel frame, preferably.

If you are somewhere near London, have a look at the T100 offered at
http://www.bikefix.co.uk - That ticks most of your boxes, including
the steel frame. Apart from that wiggle offer the Focus Wasgo City
Bike, yet here you have the disadvantage of not being able to do a
test ride.

Quoted message said:

Does such a beast exist off the shelf or does my toolkit need to get
dirty again?

Price isn't my main concern if the bike is EXACTLY right but will make
a difference if I need to start adding stuff/making changes.

If price is not an issue, have a look at the Specilized Globe City 3.1
or the Koga Miyata Light Touring series
http://www.koga.com/uk/segment.asp?collection=9&segment=73

Andreas

Don Whybrow said:

permajeo said:

I need (want:note by Wife) a new commuter. I was recently quite taken by
a Giant Escape N7 that a young lady I know had as a courtesy bike from
one of our LBSs. I now think I need (want: see above)the following

Sounds like you need to know the secret of getting stuff.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/humour-how-to-justify-your-next-bike-12570

"It's less expensive than a humongous HDTV"

Standard Nulabour ploy. Announce massive cuts, then the public are
relieved when it's only half of that.

Esra Sdrawkcab said:

"It's less expensive than a humongous HDTV"

Standard Nulabour ploy. Announce massive cuts, then the public are
relieved when it's only half of that.

Just don't tell them three times how much you're spending, that's
counterproductive

-dan

in message <[email hidden]>, permajeo

(') said:

I need (want:note by Wife) a new commuter. I was recently quite taken by
a Giant Escape N7 that a young lady I know had as a courtesy bike from
one of our LBSs. I now think I need (want: see above)the following

Hub gears

Good choice.

Quoted message said:

Disk(c?) brakes

Complicated subject. Good ones (hydraulic) are expensive, but require
little maintenance; cheap ones (cable) are no better than rim brakes,
require similar maintenance, but are heavier and more expensive. Neither
type is as maintenance free as roller brakes.

Quoted message said:

Dynamo hub and lights that stay on while I wait at the red lights.

Good choice.

Quoted message said:

Rear rack (for Orliebs)
Chain guard to keep crud off trousers
Full mudguards
Flat bars
Steel frame, preferably.

Why?

Quoted message said:

and the pedals will be changed for SPD/platforms combis

Does such a beast exist off the shelf or does my toolkit need to get
dirty again?

Such bikes do exist. The Cannondale Street 5 is an example.

http://video.cannondale.com/images/08/bikes/CE/large/8SR5N_blu.jpg

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Morning had broken, and we had run out of gas for the welding torch.

permajeo said:

I need (want:note by Wife) a new commuter. I was recently quite taken by
a Giant Escape N7 that a young lady I know had as a courtesy bike from
one of our LBSs. I now think I need (want: see above)the following

Hub gears
Disk(c?) brakes
Dynamo hub and lights that stay on while I wait at the red lights.
Rear rack (for Orliebs)
Chain guard to keep crud off trousers
Full mudguards
Flat bars
Steel frame, preferably.
and the pedals will be changed for SPD/platforms combis

Sounds like a typical Dutch bike configuration (apart from the brakes
which tend to be rollers). Check out Sparta, Union, Gazelle, Batavus...

http://www.union.nl/

Firm in Germany called Utopia whips up bikes to specification.
Expensive, but I tried a standard "default" model at a dealer in France
and found it quite impressive.

http://www.utopia-fahrrad.de/

I'm sure Giant and other major firms have Dutch-leaning models off the
shelf.

Good luck finding your dream bike. Cheers,

EFR
Ile de France

Simon Brooke said:

i<snip>

Quoted message said:

Disk(c?) brakes

Complicated subject. Good ones (hydraulic) are expensive, but require
little maintenance; cheap ones (cable) are no better than rim brakes,
require similar maintenance, but are heavier and more expensive. Neither
type is as maintenance free as roller brakes.

poor quakity cable operated disc brakes are rubbish. The Avid BB7 road
are far more effective than any road rim brake you would want, plus you
don't get mucky rims.

<snip>

Thanks for the advice Simon. I like that Cannondale, I'll phone around my local dealers for a test. I hadn't considered roller brakes and have no experience of them. The closest I think I've come is a back pedal "Dutch" brake on my Electra Rally Sport.

As for your Why question I'm guessing that was about the steel frame. I just prefer steel as a material, no other reason. Even though I have two steel and two ally bikes and all are perfectly ok, the steel ones just feel more robust. Irrational I know but there you are ( here I am?)

Good forum this don't you think

P

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, permajeo

(') said:

I need (want:note by Wife) a new commuter. I was recently quite taken by
a Giant Escape N7 that a young lady I know had as a courtesy bike from
one of our LBSs. I now think I need (want: see above)the following

Hub gears

Good choice.

Quoted message said:

Disk(c?) brakes

Complicated subject. Good ones (hydraulic) are expensive, but require
little maintenance; cheap ones (cable) are no better than rim brakes,
require similar maintenance, but are heavier and more expensive. Neither
type is as maintenance free as roller brakes.

Quoted message said:

Dynamo hub and lights that stay on while I wait at the red lights.

Good choice.

Quoted message said:

Rear rack (for Orliebs)
Chain guard to keep crud off trousers
Full mudguards
Flat bars
Steel frame, preferably.

Why?

Quoted message said:

and the pedals will be changed for SPD/platforms combis

Does such a beast exist off the shelf or does my toolkit need to get
dirty again?

Such bikes do exist. The Cannondale Street 5 is an example.

video.cannondale.com8SR5N blu.jpgOpen ↗

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗

Morning had broken, and we had run out of gas for the welding torch.

Quoting Pete Whelan <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

poor quakity cable operated disc brakes are rubbish. The Avid BB7 road
are far more effective than any road rim brake you would want,

Rubbish. Any correctly installed, designed and maintained rim brake will
lock or lift the rear wheel. How can a brake be more effective than that?
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> Kill the tomato!
Today is Aponoia, December.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

poor quakity cable operated disc brakes are rubbish. The Avid BB7 road
are far more effective than any road rim brake you would want,

Rubbish. Any correctly installed, designed and maintained rim brake will
lock or lift the rear wheel. How can a brake be more effective than that?

By not having such a performance hit in the wet, by working perfectly when
the rims are covered in mud, by giving the rider finer control of the
braking power.

Dunno if that's what the OP meant tho.

Quoting
Mark T <pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid>:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

poor quakity cable operated disc brakes are rubbish. The Avid BB7 road
are far more effective than any road rim brake you would want,

Rubbish. Any correctly installed, designed and maintained rim brake will
lock or lift the rear wheel. How can a brake be more effective than that?

By not having such a performance hit in the wet,

Steel rims have not been commonplace for many years now. There's no reason
a rim brake should not work properly in the wet.

Quoted message said:

by working perfectly when the rims are covered in mud,

A major concern on-road, I am sure.

Quoted message said:

by giving the rider finer control of the braking power.

A largely spurious undefined property.
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> Kill the tomato!
Today is Epithumia, December - a weekend.

David Damerell said:

Steel rims have not been commonplace for many years now. There's no reason
a rim brake should not work properly in the wet.

FSVO "properly". There /is/ a performance hit in the wet with an alloy
rim, and as long as one has accounted for that hit then it isn't
generally a problem, but it does mean you've got less effective
emergency stopping power than you might have.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

by giving the rider finer control of the braking power.

A largely spurious undefined property.

Not at all spurious or undefined to those of us who experience it on a
regular basis, but more to do with whether you've got hydraulics than
whether you've got disc or rim brakes IME.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch said:

David Damerell said:

Steel rims have not been commonplace for many years now. There's no reason
a rim brake should not work properly in the wet.

FSVO "properly". There /is/ a performance hit in the wet with an alloy
rim, and as long as one has accounted for that hit then it isn't
generally a problem, but it does mean you've got less effective
emergency stopping power than you might have.

My Hopes don't perform as well in the wet as the dry.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

by giving the rider finer control of the braking power.

A largely spurious undefined property.

Not at all spurious or undefined to those of us who experience it on a
regular basis, but more to do with whether you've got hydraulics than
whether you've got disc or rim brakes IME.

I think this is bollix, you have to have truly awful rim brakes not to
have good feel, and I bet awful disc brakes are the same.

For my tuppence worth, discs over rims;

1) Bling. Yeah, so shoot me, see if I care.

2) Separating the braking and structural parts of the wheel is a good
idea imho.

3) Should the wheel bend, you have loads of clearance and the brakes
still work.

4) Maintenance. Hydraulic systems work well for a long time.

5) Not really a plus, but these days, disc components are nearly as
common as rims, so you don't need specialist shops.

6) Price. Good functioning disc brakes are now affordable.

So although, for me, discs have an edge, I don't think there's a lot in
it. Currently riding Hope Mono Minis and cheapo Tektro V brakes. Oh,
and some Maguras Bigs, but these have rally [censored] levers.

Quoting Tosspot <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Peter Clinch said:

David Damerell said:

Steel rims have not been commonplace for many years now. There's no reason
a rim brake should not work properly in the wet.

FSVO "properly". There /is/ a performance hit in the wet with an alloy
rim,

I can lift the rear wheel with the front brake in the wet, and any fool
can lock it with the rear brake. What performance hit?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Not at all spurious or undefined to those of us who experience it on a
regular basis,

With expensive bike bling to rationalise, more like.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

but more to do with whether you've got hydraulics than
whether you've got disc or rim brakes IME.

I think this is bollix, you have to have truly awful rim brakes not to
have good feel, and I bet awful disc brakes are the same.

And this "feel" isn't a property that actually relates to being able to
stop in a hurry or slow down gently, so who cares?
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> Kill the tomato!
Today is Epithumia, December - a weekend.

David Damerell said:

I can lift the rear wheel with the front brake in the wet, and any fool
can lock it with the rear brake. What performance hit?

Are you /really/ saying there is /no difference/ between wet and dry
braking performance?

Quoted message said:

With expensive bike bling to rationalise, more like.

Expensive bling bought on the basis of an extensive road test having
been previously happy with my cable brakes, actually. But, hey, why
worry about practical experience when you can espouse theory from your
chair!

Quoted message said:

And this "feel" isn't a property that actually relates to being able to
stop in a hurry or slow down gently, so who cares?

Well, actually it is, but, hey, why worry about practical experience
when you can espouse theory from your chair!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/