Priority 600 – Pinion C.12 bike

@FFX_Hinterlands 179033 wrote:

Interesting. The Pinion gearboxes come in steel and magnesium, so this is probably the steel one. Either way they are fairly heavy, but I think an improvement over a rear-hub-mounted gearbox. The weight is just in a better, more centered, spot.

If you Google Bicycle Touring Pro you can find a bunch of good youtube videos feature a Co-motion with 650B and pinion. Another guy he cycles with has a Pinion and Gates bike as well from Germany (with Hydraulic *rim* brakes!).

I would not gloss over the frame design, geometry, and construction with a $2k bike. I don’t know anything about Priority, just a general comment. The Co-Motion Siskyou is $6K, to keep it in perspective.

Videos talking about Pinion-driven bikes from Bicycle Touring Pro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6ZKqy2zKsA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijtm4DqRXNw

Actually, the two variants for the gearbox are aluminum (P-line) and a magnesium alloy (C-line). This one is the lighter/cheaper magnesium alloy (I think cast instead of milled, which is the main reason why it’s cheaper.) I think the C.12 is about half a pound or so lighter than the P.12. (The heaviest is the P.18 gearbox that weighs in around 6 lbs., but it is lowered/centered)

For the pricing: I agree that it’s on the low-end for Pinion-equipped bikes, so it’ll be interesting to see how it fares in the real world. However, the Co-Motion isn’t a fair comparison because it’s not just a higher-end frame – they also spec. out nicer wheels and seem to have a higher upcharge for a complete build, and like other companies (e.g., Carver), charge a higher price for the frame modifications that are needed.

For a different perspective: the C.12 gearbox retails (if you can find someone willing to do it) for around $900, compared to say $200ish (at most) for an Alfine 8. With that in mind, $2,200 for this compared to say $1,500 for a Breezer Beltway 8+ makes for a decent point of comparison in terms of specs/targeted market/etc. Going the other direction: add maybe $700 to move up to the P.18 gearbox and another few hundred bucks for a nicer dynamo hub, and it’s also reasonably comparable to what I bought from Rose last year (ignoring what I had to pay shipping/import duties/etc.)

@FFX_Hinterlands 179044 wrote:

My mistake. My next question was going to be the retail price, so thanks for that. It should be noted (for those who aren’t aware) that a special frame is required for the gearbox, vs. just bolting a hub-geared wheel onto a bike with long dropouts. I’d love to have one of these on a bike some day.

If nothing else – Priority doing well with its model (and at that price point) should make it easier for more folks to have them on a bike some day. Right now, it’s still very much a niche product with lower availability, and therefore higher unit costs than broader production would allow. The need for a specially designed/modified frame is part of that niche-ness, for sure; it’s more of a design shift than when belt drives came into the market requiring a way to split the frame (but keeping the same geometry otherwise).

@accordioneur 179049 wrote:

I tried a Priority Continuum, thinking it could be my ideal knock-around city-bike bike. However, the thing was quite heavy (their web site didn’t list a weight!) and rode like a CaBi with cooler shifting. There are a lot of clever features to the design and might be right for someone doing short urban rides, but it wasn’t right for me – I sent it back. Hopefully the 600 is a more versatile design.

I saw one website quote a weight of 31 lbs. Not too bad – my bike is pushing 37 lbs by itself (though it’s a light 37…). Maybe someday I’ll buy a lighter bike for fun rides.