dgossett

So 10 days ago someone stole my commuter bike... It sucks, but (a) it happens (b) I've been thinking about buying a new bike for 6 months. (See https://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-230943.html for my earlier thread on my search...), and (c) I'm lucky enough that I can afford to buy a new one.

But now I'm bikeless, and getting more and more frustrated. (Well, not entirely bikeless -- I have my road bike -- but I'm not commuting to work on an all-carbon road bike, thank you very much...)

I've been going bike shopping for a week and a half. Or more to the point, trying to do so. I know pretty clearly what I want; I want a bike with a nexus 8 hub (or equiv.), chain guard, kick stand, lights, rack, etc. (I'll probably even put a rear basket on it -- shoot me; that's what I want.) This is a means of intra-city commuting for not-too-long distances; I don't want a road bike for this, I don't want a mountain bike for this, and I don't want a "hybrid"; I want a commuter bike. And yes, I *really* want a chain guard; I've had enough of bands and ruining good wool pants anyway.

And as readers of this forum know, such bikes exist. Not only are they extremely common in Europe; many manufacturers purport to sell them in DC. There's the Cannondale Street Premium; there's the Specialized Globe City 3.1; there's the Breezer Uptown; etc.

But none of these bikes can be found anywhere in DC. Bike stores don't carry them. They say "Oh, yeah, we used to be a Breezer dealer. Sorry." Or "Why would you want a chain guard?" Or "We've got the Globe Sport; don't you want that?" Or "I don't even think my distributor can get me a Street Premium." Nada. And I've tried... The best I've gotten is a dealer that might be able to order the Globe City (full prepayment, no refund), and a dealer that would order the Breezer (full prepayment, probably a refund if I didn't like it.) But I don't want to have to buy a $1100 bike just to test ride it! (And the dealer that would order the Breezer is City Bikes, which I hate; attitude, unfriendliness, ignorance, and snobbishness, all at once.)

Anyone have any advice? I'm thinking I may need to go on a road trip -- but don't know anywhere that will have even one, let alone several, of these in stock! Any advice appreciated.

Thanks, and sorry for the rant.

David

PaulH

You should try Bikes at Vienna:
https://www.bikesatvienna.com/

or City Bikes

https://citybikes.com/itemlist.cfm?category=49

Both are Breezer dealers.

Paul

o-dog

Proteus Bikes in College Park

https://www.proteusbicycles.com

only bike shop you need.

they're Breezer dealers too.

sketchy

I saw one of these when I bought my Dad's Electra at the Rockville REI a few months ago:

https://www.rei.com/product/744802

Cool bike, but you'd need to find a chain guard that'd work.

Marylandnewbie

You will find Silver Cycles ( https://silvercycles.com/index.cfm ) in Silver Spring sympathetic to commuter needs, but I'm not sure if they will have exactly the bike you want. They are not a Breezer dealer, but have plenty of other good commuter bikes in stock. Just my .02 cents.

dynaryder

Bike Pro in Georgetown can get C'dale Streets,and they rock. Ask for Tony. City bikes carries Bianchi Milano's,they can be hit-or-miss. Ask for Saul. REI in Rockville and Greenbelt carry the Fusion and Transfer,as well as Electra,and are good to deal with. The Bike Rack on 14th & Q could help you build up something from a Surly or other frame. They're cool,ask for Dave.

FYI,don't go coaster brake only or with drum front brakes. You can get up too much speed on the hills around here for those to be effective.

dgossett

Thanks. Yeah, I've talked to Tony; he could get a Street, but his distributor can't get a Street Premium (the one with the nexus hub)... But I agree he is great. I talked to the guys at the Bike Rack, the new store; I agree it is a cool store -- and will probably start using them for road gear -- but they had nothing plausible for this.

Latest plan -- an old 3-speed cruiser from Craig's List; hope to see it today/tomorrow. We shall see; it's only $100, so hopefully it will at least fill in for a bit!

comradehoser

CL breezer just for you

dgossett

Thanks. Wish it had a cross bar (men's frame rather than woman's frame)...

In the meantime, I did just buy a cheap old cruiser from Craig's List; piece o' crap ("Easy Spirit" (read: Sears) 3-speed) but will get me around for the next bit until I find the right new bike.

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

same time

Have you tried Capitol Hill Bikes? www.capitolhillbikes.com

Lots of sensible transportation bikes in there last time I was in, owners are great to deal with.

And like o-dog said, Proteus in college park will know what you're looking for.

dgossett

Thanks. They stopped carrying Breezers this year, and when I called said they didn't have either the Cannondale or the Specialized (though they are dealers for both). Will probably be nearby this weekend, though, so will stop by and see. Thanks for the suggestion.

thdave

It's just crazy that you need to search far and nigh for a basic bike. I can't believe, if they stocked them, that at least 5% of bikes sold wouldn't be utility type bikes. It makes no sense to me. Looks like it's roughly 40% road bikes, 20% hybrid, 30% mountain, and 10% kids at the LBS's around me.

Wouldn't at least 5% of the people want basic transportation, complete with fenders, kickstands, racks, chain guards?

dgossett

I bet it would be a lot more than 5%!!! But it's a classic conundrum; dealers don't carry these, so they don't sell, so manufacturers don't make them. And when manufacturers do make them, dealers don't carry them -- because they don't expect them to sell...

Javier

Big Wheels in Arlington, VA carries the Bianchi Volpe. I believe Capitol Hill Bikes carries the Bianchi Castro Valley (with flat bars, instead of drop bars).

Javier

JustBrowsing

City Bikes had quite a few Breezer Villagers a few weeks ago, but they seem to be gone now. As for the Uptown8, from these forums it sounds like the 2007s have only recently started making it into shops. But I completely understand your not wanting to deal with City Bikes due to their oh-so-friendly attitude...I've never been to the City Bikes in MD, but I've ridden past it plenty of times. Looks like they have a decent selection--not sure about their attitude there, though. Also, Big Wheel Bikes is supposedly a Breezer dealer, so you may want to check out their Arlington or Alexandria stores. Unfortunately, the DC store is so small that I doubt they'd have anything commuter-ish.

comradehoser

I know Proteus has a Koga-Miyata touring/commuter in stock at the moment.

Go check it out. Very conveniently located just off the beltway on Baltimore Ave., one of the handful of truly great local bike shops in the area, and my favorite. Super great folks.

Proteus!!!!

dgossett

Thanks! I will definitely go out there sometime this week.

dynaryder

JMHO,but I'm not impressed with any of the Big Wheel locations. And I've bought bikes from Georgetown and Bethesda.

Another thought,HTO carries those Fuji commuters,their Pentagon City location had a bunch reduced at the end of last year. Might want to check them out.

dgossett

I actually stopped by the Bike Rack yesterday to pick up a new lock for the beater I bought on Craigslist, and they mentioned being able to do this, too. Have others had good luck building up a commuter from a Surly frame? I tried to search in the forum but didn't find any particularly relevant threads -- but I'm not good at the search facility in this program. Which frame have others used? The Long Haul Trucker looks nice -- but the bit of searching here seemed to show that most use the Cross Check? In any event, any advice about building up a Surly?

Also -- the woman at the Bike Rack recommended holding off on the Nexus 8 hub for the new SRAM 9 speed hub. Thoughts?

Relaxer

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fender1

The Surley is a good idea or build your own from an old road bike like I did. It is not that difficult and you can save $$ by shopping online/e-bay for components. If you have an interest PM me and I can give you details.



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edx74

+1. I bought my JTS from the one in Alexandria near closing time(I live near Walter Reed), had to go back out later in the week to get the cleats they forgot to give me. I called first and they assured me they would be waiting for me. When I showed up, they gave me the old "We don't know what you're talking about, come back tomorrow."

They give you one year free maintenance with purchase of a new bike. I've taken the bike to the Bethesda store twice. Both times I've had to pay someone else to fix their mistakes.

makeinu

..

dgossett

Not that I know of. If anyone knows of one, let me know! Thanks.

And thanks all for all the helpful advice.

dynaryder

Surly has several frames that would be good. I have a 1x1 with an older Nexus 7. With a trekking bar and some fenders it would be a rockin' commuter. For what you want,pretty much any of their bikes with the proper dropouts and spacing for a geared hub would work well. All depends on what you're looking for.

I've got an older 7sp and a current 8sp Nexus. Haven't looked at SRAM,but I'd guess the advantage would be another gear for a wider spread.