Commute + light touring?
 

Hi all,

Looking for advice on a comfortable, low maintenance bike I can use for commuting (20 mi/day), for fun rides toying around town (NYC), and the occasional longer tour with friends.

I've been looking at the priority 600 because of the pinion gearbox and gates carbon drive, but I'm wondering if the efficiency loss of the pinion system will be noticeable and a drag. I'll be coming from a 10 year old CAAD10 road bike. Compared to an ebike I have where I sit mostly upright I find it extremely uncomfortable, although it's still quite fast.

What do you folks suggest? Let's say budget is $3k or less.

Thanks!

With the caveat that every response will be either a variation of "here's what I ride" or "here's what I want," you should look at either a sport touring bike or a gravel bike. You should be able to get either for under three grand.

Make sure it's got mounts for a rack, and for fenders if you'll be commuting

Thanks - makes sense! I ended up pulling the trigger on the Priority 600 (with rack). It seems like a good deal and I like the internal gearing and Gates carbon drive for lower maintenance. They have a no-questions-asked return policy, so if I don't love it I'll just return it. Curious if anybody has exposure to it and if so what they think.

My only concern is, what if that pinion gearbox or the Ds2 Rotary shifter goes wonky while out on a tour? how many bike shops will know how to fix either item? Or the belt breaks, how many bike shops in some little town will have one in stock? I know they don't even carry a belt in the city of 300,000 where I live! Of course they could FedEx you the belt, perhaps not too big of deal for a shop mechanic to install it? But they can't FedEx a mechanic to fix the Pinion Gearbox or the Ds2 shifter, and since that Pinion Gearbox thing is out of Germany chances are that's where the parts will have to come from. So on a tour you could be waiting in some small town for weeks for a part to come, but if the shop guy can't figure out how to install the parts, then you're stuck again.

I know, you'll tell me that it can't break, new cars break all the time, just saying.

Ah, just spent a bunch of time responding and my message got lost! Short version: yes, you're right that it's a risk. One I'm willing to take to try out the more modern and lower maintenance drivetrain. The upside is Pinion has its US HQ in Denver, and are apparently very liberal about replacing failed units, so hopefully it'd not be a major issue. I do live near dozens of shops that have the belt drive and Pinion system (NYC metro area) so I'm not too concerned with the parts. If it breaks during a tour, you can tell me you told me so though :)

Won’t happen. The Pinion/belt on the 600 is bulletproof. I commuted on that bike for a year, enjoy!

Nice choice for a commuter bike. That's what I've been eyeing on for months now though it's a bit on the pricey side for me.

Well, I've had the bike about a week now and have done a bunch of short ~5-10 mile rides, a longer rail trail ride while pulling my kids in a Burley trailer, and one longer ride in some brutal heat. Observations: definitely don't notice any efficiency loss from the Pinion system. It pedals just like a traditional gearing system, although when you pedal hard (e.g., up a hill) you can feel the gears moving a bit which is interesting. The bike itself is definitely slower than my old road bike (a ~2010 CAAD10), but that's expected with the fatter tires and heavier frame. The nice thing is I get no lower back pain riding the Priority like I did with the road bike, and I can load up the Priority with a bunch more stuff for my commute or just longer rides. Really digging it so far!

Seinberg, I am a jealous man.

I had the same questions and a smaller budget 3 years ago and ended up going with a Priority Continuum....for a few months. I hadn’t ridden much in years besides around the park with the kids. I liked my Continuum quite a bit and I think the 600 has looked AMAZING Since the day it came out. I bought the Continuum for the same reasons—dreams of some light touring and some fairly regular commuting and I think the 600 will end up being great for what you’re talking about.

I ended up going down a different path after a few months when I found a great deal on a 1992 Bridgestone RB-T and fell in love with the quality steel bikes. I now have a Rivendell Sam Hillborne for 90% of my rides (have yet to tour) and a 1983 Specialized Expedition in the Garage for that tour one day. ALSO a 1990 Stumpjumper hard-tail in the garage to be restored for....something, just because I never could get one back in the day.

If anything, the 600 may end up being the ultimate commuter and all a rounder for you and you’ll find a more true to form touring rig elsewhere.