veganbikes

The Muirwoods paint job is excellent, the parts hanging on it are cheaper and not as fun. If you could do that Rasta paint job with a belt drive Alfine 11 and the thumb shifter and 650bs like the Muirwoods RC and a dynamo system like the Presido DLX 4, you got my vote. The Presido DLX 4 looks pretty good as is though. I do wish they went with Alfine 11. Having a dynamo is AWESOME and I think extremely useful for any commuter plus having fenders and a rack set up already is kinda nice as well.

In whatever you get, find a shop that can set up a dynamo system on the bike, you won't be disappointed. Yes is can seem expensive but when you are generating your own power by cycling and able to power lights or charge a phone or other device and never have to worry about lights it is pretty nice.

I dislike fully enclosed chain cases. They are usually a big faff to install and remove and aside from using a readily available chain don't really offer that much benefit, as they still need to be cleaned and lubed (even in a fully enclosed chain case) and they still have the same wear and issues as chains do. A belt removes a lot of that and yes they aren't always going to be a stock item and yes you do need the correct belt length and you cannot just cut it down it is super reliable and super low maintenance.

However as a commuter I would have a back up bike so I can bring one into the shop and keep it well maintained. I have a lot of commuters who have only one bike and cannot wait for any period of time to service their bikes and that leads to bikes that have a lot of issues that don't get addressed and can be quite dangerous for the customer or just lead to a poor experience for them. With a second bike I can ride one and bring one to the shop so having a belt drive and having to wait to get parts in isn't so bad and if something does happen as I am leaving for work I have another option that still allows me to bike. Though at least around me a lot of the bike commuters seem to be unable to interact with the rest of the world and figure out things for themselves. I frequently hear "HOW AM I GOING TO GET TO WORK WITHOUT MY BIKE" as if public transportation, taxis, car sharing, ride sharing (like über), walking, rental bikes, rental scooters, bikeshares, carpooling, teleworking... doesn't exist. I could also stock up on certain parts if I know I am going to need them at some point. I tend to do that with items that are common wear items or for vintage or stuff that may change and not be cross compatible on my bikes. If I had a belt drive bike I would get a spare belt and be set.

Obviously though in all of this test rides are crucial. People don't get it and just stare at a bike and say "I don't like it" or "I like it" based on very little if anything at all. Actually getting out onto the road and climbing a hill and riding it around are really the only way to say yes or no to something unless you have ridden something extremely close to it. I am a bike nerd and love pouring over specs and stuff like that but really and honestly without the test ride those specs can be meaningless to a lot of people. A lot of people come by the shop and say I want the Alibi from Specialized because they saw specs of airless no pump tires and said that sounds great and then I send them on a test ride and they are like oh yeah never mind this is quite uncomfortable. Some stuff sounds great on paper but in actual real world it doesn't hold up.