Thanks very much for the reply.
Originally Posted by
seinberg
It's a nice bike. Some components are lower end as you say, probably to save money to keep overall cost down on a Pinion drive. Like the fenders are pretty flimsy and rattle around a bit. Many people have experienced the wheels going out of true and broken spokes very early in ownership (I'm one of them and the Priority FB group has many others). Still, where it counts in the drivetrain, it seems very solid. The brakes are ok - not great, but fine. The Pinion and belt have been bomb proof. I rode a lot in NYC this winter through all kinds of gunk - snow, slush, all very salty, and plenty of rain. The bike is dirty but completely unaffected. I think it's an incredible value. The frame seems fine - it's aluminum and a bit on the heavy side but nothing sticks out as bad about it. I've heard of no issues with it.
This is helpful, and roughly what I was expecting / hoping. The original rims on my Gary Fisher lasted just six months, I was commuting through Somerville MA, which has potholes that are considered free parking, I still avoid driving there because it is like going off-road. The only solution really was to have custom wheels built that were double-walled and had twice as many spokes for about $250 each. The original brakes were the mechanical-disk type with one piston that pushed from only one side.... I upgraded them to dual-piston hydraulic (another $500) and it was night-and-day. The BMC bike that my local shop is recommending has just an Alphine 8, but even then at $1,500 total just how good can all the other components be? I think the only way I would be happy with everything on a bike from the start would be with a $5K custom titanium bike. And I would probably do that if I used a bike more often than I do.
Originally Posted by
seinberg
That all said, see my message above about it being a bit uninspired to ride. It's slow and steady and very planted, which I appreciate on a touring / commuter. But if you're used to a road or gravel bike, it may feel boring. It does to me. So I generally don't ride it very often anymore - mostly sits in our bike room waiting for really nasty days that I don't want to take the road on gravel bike out in.
This is certainly more concerning, I think I know what you are talking about, but I don't know if there is much that can be done about it. I don't see racing bikes and similar using Pinion, it probably weighs more than their whole bike! Only on mountain and touring bikes. But, I wouldn't take a light racing bike commuting either. Priority themselves describe it as a hybrid/jack-of-all, and the tires are certainly big. I don't know if stripping it down to lighter components would fix that or not. On the plus side, if thinner tires would make this better (which I think it would make a noticeable difference) this would be easy to do not having the drive train in the wheel.
Without riding it I can't say if it would bother me, or if you just really prefer lightweight gazelle-like bikes compared to me. I think that is probably the case.... you say you have 5-6 other bikes and only take this one out in adverse conditions. On a clear sunny day it probably feels amazing (by comparison) to hop on a different bike that weighs 1/2-1/3 as much. This would be my only bike, I don't have storage for more than this plus the bikes for my kids and wife.
My wife is 5'2" and 100lbs soaking wet, and not a serious biker. I just bought her a Specialized Turbo Vado SL, it's an e-bike but the "SL" stands for super-light, you really wouldn't guess it was an e-bike at first glance. It only has a 30-mile range but that's way more than she needs, and I can lift it with one hand. I did this so she can turn up the assist and keep up with me, I am even hoping I will have to keep up with her. It took me close to a year to finally get my hands on one though and I finally pick it up this week.
Maybe an e-bike is the only way to get the best of both? I don't know. You could add one of those rear-hub e-bike retros onto the Priority 600, it would add allot of weight, but with that gear ratio it might completely fly. I am sure this is already endlessly debated on this forum and others.
Well, tell you what, if you are in NY, if you want to unload your Priority 600 I might be interested. My biggest issue right now is that I have no bike at all, and I am starting to wonder if I am going to find one before the summer is over. The bike shop says they don't think supplies will return to normal for a couple of years! They said I might be able to get the BMC bike they recommend in maybe a month or two, they get them sporadically.
Part of the reason I am still thinking of going forward with one even with your concerns is that it is still just $2,300.... my Gary Fisher was $1,100 stock about 15 years ago and I probably put at least $2,500 into it in upgrades over the years, not including replacing worn parts. It won't me my last bike for sure, and maybe with different wheels it might be exactly what I am looking for.
Very frustrating though....
-JCL