New Bike Advice

[chris_s]

So I’ve only ever bought one bike in my life. I walked into Papillon Cycles said “I want to start bike commuting. I’m not 100% sure I’ll like it so I don’t want to spend a lot. What should I get?” and walked out with a Giant Escape with fenders and rack.

Now I’ve been commuting for a couple of years and I love it so it’s time for a new, better bike. Here’s what I’m thinking…

With 2 little kids around the house, and my wife and I doing the “I work days, she works evenings and we swap the kids between us in between” thing, I don’t really find myself with time for basic bike maintenance. I’d really like something I don’t have to do more to than pump up the tires. I’m also looking for something with enough of a gear range to take me up some of our nastier hills. Finally, I want something I can just hop on and go. I’m sick of hunting around my house for the battery for my lights, discovering that it isn’t charged, etc.

Based on all of that, I’m thinking belt drive, 11 speed hub, dyno hub powered lights. Does that sound reasonable? Does such a thing exist off the shelf? Should I just go to Daily Rider and have them add a dyno hub and lights to a Spot Acme?

Topic

[Kaboose]

I think you’re gonna be hard pressed to find something set up like that with the dyno hub that’s decently light. I know Raleigh has the Misceo 4.0 that’s a pretty similar setup to the Spot, might be another bike to consider.

[dkel]

REI has some belt-drive commuters in their Novara brand decked out with IGH, racks, fenders, and lights, but I’m not sure any have a dynamo pre-installed. They even have one of those new-fangled continuously variable planetary hub thingies, which seems kind of awesome to me!

[jrenaut]

Honestly, a nanny might be cheaper. But good luck, that sounds like an awesome bike.

[vvill]

I can’t really contribute much as I have no experience with IGH, belt drive, or dynamo hubs. But I have thought before about having a “perfect” commuter with those features.

I still think I will try belt drive sometime in the next few years. Eliminating a chain and chain grease would be awesome.
Since going to SS for commuting I haven’t seriously considered an IGH due to *perceived* weight, loss of efficiency and cost. Never tried one though.
I had the lights/batteries blues for some time too. I don’t ride that often in the dark though, and I’ve since bought a USB rechargeable front light which seems to help a lot. When I was considering a dynohub wheel build I was looking at this one: http://supernova-lights.com/en/products/infinity_s.html

I always enjoyed reading about the options here since it’s in the US bike Mecca, and they definitely have to cater for rainy and grey days. I seriously considered getting a Spot Mod Disc SSCX not that long ago.

I would say disc brakes are also less maintenance (and more expensive and heavier) – no rim wear, and you don’t have to keep rims clean (although they will stay cleaner anyway). And disc brake pads typically last longer I think, and are less fiddly to install.

[sethpo]

@dkel 83847 wrote:

REI has some belt-drive commuters in their Novara brand decked out with IGH, racks, fenders, and lights, but I’m not sure any have a dynamo pre-installed. They even have one of those new-fangled continuously variable planetary hub thingies, which seems kind of awesome to me!

We just got one of these for my wife. I think it’s a great option for a townie bike and the simplicity for both rider and maintainer is cool. But, I wouldn’t ride it myself beyond a couple of miles. It’s a heavy (HEAVY) bike with a very upright position (although we got last year’s model which is steel frame instead of the latest model which is aluminum and I guess is a bit lighter).

So, I don’t know what your commute distance and riding preferences are but IMHO this bike is for a very specific use.

[americancyclo]

Pretty much anything at http://www.en.tout-terrain.de/ will fit the bill. I just discovered their X-over, which looks like it might go on my covet list.

[chris_s]

Thanks for all of the input. I’m thinking I may be wiser to deal with my light/battery blues another way since IGHs are already quite heavy. Tacking a Dyno on top might be a bit crazy.

I probably just need to invest in multiple chargers and multiple batteries to make it easier to always have some available when I want to walk out the door.

Time to test ride the Gotham at REI, the Ajax and Acme and Daily Rider and perhaps give that Raleigh Misceo a spin over at Revolution Cycles. I’m afraid only the Acme is going to have the gear range I’m looking for. We’ll see.

[The Daily Rider]

What size Acme did you need? We have some in stock and some arriving this week. We try to keep an example of all sizes in either the Acme or Ajax version for testing. We’d also be happy to do a full commuter package with fenders, racks, and dynamo system (if you would like).

[peterw_diy]

@chris_s 83898 wrote:

Thanks for all of the input. I’m thinking I may be wiser to deal with my light/battery blues another way since IGHs are already quite heavy. Tacking a Dyno on top might be a bit crazy.

I probably just need to invest in multiple chargers and multiple batteries to make it easier to always have some available when I want to walk out the door.

Nah. Apply rules 4 and 5 and get the dyno hub. Extra weight on the town bike is good. It makes you stronger.

[dasgeh]

@chris_s 83898 wrote:

Thanks for all of the input. I’m thinking I may be wiser to deal with my light/battery blues another way since IGHs are already quite heavy. Tacking a Dyno on top might be a bit crazy.

I probably just need to invest in multiple chargers and multiple batteries to make it easier to always have some available when I want to walk out the door.

Time to test ride the Gotham at REI, the Ajax and Acme and Daily Rider and perhaps give that Raleigh Misceo a spin over at Revolution Cycles. I’m afraid only the Acme is going to have the gear range I’m looking for. We’ll see.

I’m not sure the modern dynahubs add that much weight and drag. You may try to find two bikes that are otherwise identical, but one has a dynahub to compare. They do add cost — somewhere in the neighborhood of $200-400 for the wheel and $100- how much would you like to spend for lights.

Just a thought.

[83b]

@The Daily Rider 83981 wrote:

What size Acme did you need? We have some in stock and some arriving this week. We try to keep an example of all sizes in either the Acme or Ajax version for testing. We’d also be happy to do a full commuter package with fenders, racks, and dynamo system (if you would like).

Glad to see y’all on the board. I love your shop!

[Sunyata]

I just recently bought a Raleigh Misceo 4.0, carbon belt drive with the 11 speed IGH. It was pretty bare bones, and I have since added rear racks, a front light (Cygolite Metro 360) and a rear blinky (Planet Bike Superflash Turbo). The bike is practically maintenance free and is absolutely SILENT while riding. And I absolutely love it!

My commute is pretty short (about 25 minutes each way), so a full charge on the front light lasts all week (probably two weeks now since I am rarely using it in the afternoons now). The battery on the Superflash lasts months, and it is an easy replacement with AAA batteries (I think, it has been so long since I have had to change the batteries in one of those!).

I looked at the Spot Brand bikes, but felt they were just too expensive for what I wanted and I got an amazing deal on the Raleigh from a shop in my hometown.

[cyclingfool]

@dasgeh 84028 wrote:

I’m not sure the modern dynahubs add that much weight and drag. You may try to find two bikes that are otherwise identical, but one has a dynahub to compare. They do add cost — somewhere in the neighborhood of $200-400 for the wheel and $100- how much would you like to spend for lights.

Just a thought.

From my experience with the dynohub on my last bike, the drag is inperceptible, but the convenience of not having to deal with chargers is VERY PERCEPTIBLE!!! As for weight the difference, compared to the basic Deore hub I have on my front wheel currently, it does come to a few hundred grams, but as the weight is at the hub and not spinning around on the rim, physics suggests that in terms of rotational weight issues, the difference is not going to have a significant impact. It’s like having more water in a water bottle in a cage. IOW, not a big deal.

I was forced for $$$ reasons to opt for a regular hub and battery lighting on my current bike when I was building it up, but dynohub and lights are perhaps upgrade #1 in my book, or at least they will be once the dark season comes back in the fall.

[sethpo]

@cyclingfool 84042 wrote:

..but dynohub and lights are perhaps upgrade #1 in my book, or at least they will be once the dark season comes back in the fall.

Are those dynamo hub lights bright enough to be a “see in the dark” light versus a “be seen” kind of light? It seems to be to be the later from what I can tell on my wife’s new bike.

[mstone]

@sethpo 84078 wrote:

Are those dynamo hub lights bright enough to be a “see in the dark” light versus a “be seen” kind of light? It seems to be to be the later from what I can tell on my wife’s new bike.

A dynamo hub puts out more than enough power to both see and be seen. The specific light chosen will determine how bright you are.

[Author]

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