Ride A Freewheel

What makes a good commuting bicycle?

1. Upright Seating
2. Racks, Fenders, Chain Guard
3. Classic Euro Styling
4. Heavy Duty Frame

A commuter bicycle is not all about speed. There needs to be a balance of speed, ease on the body and style. Yes, style. No one wants to show up at work all sweaty from their 30 minute ride or on a rusted out clunker (at least not in the US).

I am not a fan of the commuter bikes that the U.S. has produced in the past. Bicycle companies are taking notice that Americans while obsessed with speed, what more styling as they begin to put down their car keys and push off on bikes. What better bikes to mimic than European commuters/city bikes.
Below is a selection of models that I feel are commuter worthy. This entails the four criteria I stated above. I will go into a little detail about each, leaving you with a pretty hard decision…the right bike for you.

The Big Players

Cannondale: http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/09/cusa/model-8BS.html

The Bad Boy Ultra is a city bomber. It has disc brakes and a front shock. Cannondale has used its hard tail mountain bike frame for this bike. This bike with hurt the city before the city hurts it. The geometry is more aggressive than most commuters, but then again you can continually drop this off curbs with no issues.
Racks and a rear fender can be added. *Note: if you get the Ultra only a half front fender will work, making for a pretty ugly setup. Oh and good luck getting a chain guard…

Gary Fisher: http://www.fisherbikes.com/bike/series/simple-city

Gary has launched a new line of city bikes, Simple City. I have to say they are some good looking bikes. I have not had the pleasure of riding one, but Bicycle Magazine just gave them a rave review. They offer it in a 3 or 8 speed and with or without a basket.
It looks like Gary has gone all out on this bike. Taking a normal commuter and making it into a true Euro beauty. If I hadn’t gotten a huge discount on a Giant for my lady I would have gotten her this.

Giant: http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/bikes/lifestyle/2306/32160/

Don’t scoff when you hear the name Giant…I know you did. I am still not a true believer, but when you relieve they make most of bike manufactures bikes, including Trek, then you start to wonder.
There are two models that I will cover here. The URL I have listed is for the Transend. It comes complete with a rack, fenders and even disk brakes. The geometry is laid back and slower ride. If you want to speed up your commute check out the Giant Seek. You will have to purchase the rack and fenders separately, but you will get a quicker machine. It has the geometry of the Bad Boy, so a little more mountain bike feeling, but with the hybrid size wheels its quick!

Specialized: http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=40435&eid=178

While most bicycle shops might steer you to the Sirrus, I like the Vienna. The Vienna 3 comes standard with a rack and fenders. It even has a light! The seating is more up right than most and the styling isn’t that bad…I said not that bad.

Trek: http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/urban/soho/soho/

I could go on about my dislikes of Trek, but I won’t (grrr). Instead lets give them some praise for being the first to mass produce a bike, The District, with a belt drivetrain. While doing some research I found they also extend the drivetrain to the Soho! The Soho has fenders and disk brakes, however the fender is missing. It shouldn’t be hard to find a rack that fits.

I have called around and can’ find a shop that has one to test ride, but don’t worry I will be updating soon with a review. As for the Soho, this bike might be best suited for the commuter with a no fuse belt drive and proper up right seating. Oh and did I mention this machine should fly down the road…

Aside from these bikes above I have 10 others from lesser know companies. The review of those will be up soon.