Kilroy1988 

There is a US supplier website where I found my bike. It was on sale at the end of the model year and I paid $400 for it, as mentioned. The MSRP was practically the same as the current model.

-Gregory

clubman 

Nice looking but I'd call it a roadster, just to be difficult as this intolerable winter grates on my nerves. A 'cafe racer' would be akin to a scorcher, maybe something like this. Not mine

cudak888 

Out of line, yes - though doing a Sports or Superbe comes with the expense of basically building up a new wheelset if you're working with a model produced prior to the changeover to 36/36 from 32/40. Not only do you have to price in the CR18s, you have to figure in a new front and rear hub.

While this is a nice excuse for putting in something like a Nexus 7 or 8 at the back, it's not cheap - and then there's the whole issue of sourcing a 36h Raleigh front hub so the fork doesn't have to be modified. Fact is, anyone considering the Uno's target demographic is probably not going to be those with the skill or the tools to respace a Sports front fork to 100mm and file the dropout slots.

-Kurt

markk900

cudak888 Kurt: I hear you - I meant that more that the original desire was a classic bike that didn't need a lot of fiddling with.....for EU800 (call it $1200CAD) I can build up several very reliable classics. Nexus hub is very expensive though so you are correct there.

(oh - and I managed to snatch up a set of CR18s in 32/40 for future use back when they were more available - that's sunk cost to me! )

Kilroy1988 

Excuse me? Maybe you worded that wrong, or are you labeling people who choose to support a contemporary company and buy a nice new bicycle "unskilled"?

-Gregory

cudak888 

No, not insinuating that at all. Perhaps I should have said that the Caferacer's likely target market is not likely to be someone sitting on a Park fork jig, frame alignment tool, and the prior knowledge to modify a fork in confidence. Even many of us enthusiasts don't have those tools, and I bet there are a few UBI certified mechanics who aren't familiar enough with cold setting forks to take it on.

Plus, respacing a Sports fork is usually up there on the top of the patience vs. PITA scale, as they're usually poorly aligned from the factory to start with.

Sure, us C&V'ers might be buying these, but if that were so, the marketing department would have given it a name more evocative of a Raleigh Sports, and less so one that sounds as if it's geared to urbanites looking for an upscale commuter 3-speed.

-Kurt

Kilroy1988 

Yup, as a very pedantic fellow I was almost turned off by the name alone. However, the actual most annoying aspect of the bike is that the frame has internal cable routing rubber mounts on the top tube, presumably for another model within the cafe racer line...

I still need to take the time to cut some little plugs to fit into those spaces to prevent water or dust from entering the tube.

-Gregory

Kilroy1988 

cudak888

I'm sure that Creme didn't think much of C&V cyclists when they designated or designed anything in their lineup. From the reviews I've read they do very well among the northern European urban crowd. These bikes are meant to be viewed as utilitarian with a dash of classic styling... I purchased mine specifically so I could go riding at leisurely speeds around town with my wife and not have to tinker with the thing. This is very much at odds with my typical cycling-related routine!

I also don't fit Creme's marketing scheme in any case. I struggled to pull the trigger on this thing at a $400 sale price, while they want to get almost double that from most buyers!

-Gregory

cudak888 

More or less the target market I was thinking of, along with the few bike-friendly cities here in the US where urban cycling and protected bike lanes are plentiful. A simple, comfortable, virtually maintenance-free and sensible commuting machine.

Honestly, I don't think any company can really survive on us alone, except perhaps Velo-Orange and maybe Compass/Rene Herse, who probably benefit extensively by the deep-pocketed Japanese classic randonneuring market.

-Kurt

cudak888 

Agreed - I think you'll find a lot of riders would rather get a Sports for $100 off Craigslist, throw some Kool-Stops at it, and live with the limitations. It'd take someone who wants an absolutely reliable commuter 3-speed to replace the car for daily use to consider one at $900 USD - or more realistically ~$400 that Kilroy1988 got his for.

I'm in agreement that $900 is just over the top. That's decent used Pashley territory, and I'm pretty sure I could probably get a semi-bespoke frame for that price from a few framebuilders out there willing to push out something easy to jig up.

-Kurt

repechage

race place to place to locate attractive companions... be seen, make the scene.

repechage

DL-1 roadster- polished to the maximum, from a time where British Empire Chrome from Rhodesia ruled. Now that would be Styling.

then James Dean in a Porsche 550 spyder would deflate your ego.

cudak888 

Styling...with perennially questionable brakes, at best

-Kurt

markk900

I am not sure if this is well known in the bicycle community, but the term "cafe racer" originated in the UK in the 50s: A "Cafe" was the english version of those highway rest stop/restaurant/gas stations, and were popular with the rocker motorcycle crowd (as opposed to the mods who rode scooters). The idea of "cafe racing" was to put on a song on the juke box, and race *from* the cafe to a set point and back again before the record finished. In order to make their bikes "faster" it was common to strip them down to the bare minimum of bodywork, fenders, and to lighten them and add "performance" modifications. So cafe racing isn't about getting *to* the cafe quickly, and I agree that a "scorcher" (or maybe a path racer) is probably the closest bicycle equivalent.

My apologies if this was already well known, but thought I would add some historical context.

Kilroy1988 

I think you'll be surprised to find out how many in the C&V bicycle community are also interested in motorcycles. I am aware of the origins of the term in English motorcycle culture, though not some of the particulars about the rationale behind it. Interesting stuff. Cheers!

-Gregory

repechage

My Robin Hood, all steel bicycle, has rod brakes AND a 3 speed coaster brake hub. It stops.
Total chrome...Blinding.

cudak888 

With a a coaster, I don't doubt it.

I've always been curious about rod-operated drums though.

-Kurt