calamarichris

I just spent the last four days in Portland looking at all the lovely bikes flying by and in the shops; and now my old 70-lb Dutch bike feels unbearably heavy going up the hills on my commute; (some days it feels like the frame tubes aren't hollow.) Can you recommend a bike or builder with the following traits?:

• A front-mounted rack like the Trek Belleville for my dog:
  
• A six speed hub.
• A seat-BB relationship similar to my road bikes
• And I sure would like one of those spiffy-looking Gates belt drives if such a bike exists with one.
• 

Money is almost no object. (I'll sell one of my motorcycles if I fall hard enough for a bike.)

Here's a pic of my beloved Dutch commuter. This bike's weight, the hills, and the laidback seat tube are destroying my knees:


Many thanks in advance!

martianone

IMHO - check out ANT bikes.

Andy_K 

You could get a Civia Bryant and add a front rack.

tcs

Over the last 112 years there have been 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 14 speed internal gear hubs but AFAIK never a model with six speeds, so if you absolutely have to have a six you're going to need a special hub made just for you. That won't be cheap.

Excelent, then.

If you can live with 8 speeds, I'd suggest the Specialized Globe Live 3.

HTH,
tcs

tcs

If you'd rather compromise to the light-weight road-bike geometry side, a Velo Orange Polyvalient might do the trick. You could even have an IGH with a chaincase but alas, no belt drive.

fietsbob

Tout Terrain has an IGH frame, splits to get the belt thru the seat stay, then you can fit disc brakes and a Rohloff hub,
Peter White [NH] sells Tout Terrain bikes/ framesets as an exclusive retailer in the US of these German Hand made Frames.

Eccentric BB shell tensions the chain..

another possibility Co Motion in Oregon has several nice single bikes to make for you

calamarichris

Beautiful! Thanks for the suggestions, comrades!

Martian: I really, really like the look ANT Boston Roadster. That one goes on the short list.


TCS: Sorry for the lack of clarity, I don't have a fetish for six speeds, just needed lower gearing than my current Sturmey-Archer 3-speed; that's another thing about my current bike that is murdering my knees--it was geared for the flat landscape of Holland, not the hilly coastal desert of North San Diego County. That Globe Live 3 looks very nice too and is added to the list.


Andy K: Thanks for the suggestion, but can you recommend also a money-is-no-object, aftermarket, large front rack too? I've been looking around for one, but none seem as solid as the cargo racks like I saw in Portland. And I've been having no luck with Velo Orange.

Andy_K 

Too bad you're not still in Portland. I'm not much of a front rack guy myself, but if I were looking for something like that, I'd probably stop by Clever Cycles. They have a few sturdy-looking racks on their website: https://clevercycles.com/products/accessories/racks

jr59

Moots comooter!

calamarichris

Oh man! I'm randy enough for that Americano Rohloff to sell one of my motorcycles. But I have my dog to think about. I need a stout, cargo-style front rack for her. Same problem with the Tout Terrain. Thanks though.

1nterceptor

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/urban/soho/soho/

calamarichris

Amended list of MUST HAVES:
~Stout, cargo-style front rack or basket for dog
~Low gear for hills, internal gear hub
~Seat-to-BB geometry in the neighborhood of my road bikes (Felt F55, '84 Masi Gran Criterium, & '86 Schwinn Peloton)
~Chain guard for tan work pants
~AXA or other onboard lock. (See photo below)

LIKE-TO-HAVES:
~Belt Drive
~Fenders (not a priority in San Diego, but)

I'm willing to go as high as $5K for the perfect bike. (No point in keeping 3 motorcycles when I put more than twice as many miles on my bicycles as I do my motorcycles anymore.)
I'm also planning to install my Look PS76 (platform/clipless combo) pedals. (2nd photo below.)



And my shortlist is so far (in order of pref):
~Globe Live 3
~ANT Boston Roadster
~Trek Belleville (Dark horse, but still warrants inclusion)

Many thanks for the suggestions & guidance! I'm happy to learn about all these options and I'm really looking forward to getting this bike!

fietsbob

Front load needs a low trail front geometry ,VBQ and Bikelist [BOB] . org go on at length on this .

more offset / rake, less trail.

French Publishers used Bike couriers to haul several bundles of the Daily paper to all the news stands around Paris, etc.
so there was a market for quick bikes that carried 40 pounds on the front rack.

so a full custom may be the thing.. or win a bid for one of the French originals from the 40's..

calamarichris

Thanks Bob.
Understood, but I'm looking to get something with a more upright seattube than my Dutch Grampaw-bike. It doesn't have to be a sport/race bike with fenders, just somewhere in the neighborhood.
Even with the seat shoved as ridiculously far forward as possible on my existing Dutch commuter, a pro-bike fitter said grinding that puppy up the hills around here would eventually eat my knees. It's also really awkward to stand while pedaling on this bike.
I love this bike, but not enough to trade bicycling for wheelchair racing in my Autumn years.

fietsbob

It's Birthdays that are hard on my knees , facing #63 next month ..

calamarichris

Ack! Amended post! (j/k, thanks Bob.) I should have mentioned that fortunately my dog only weighs 15 pounds. I wouldn't have chosen a shih-tzu, but she pretty much fell into my lap. I'm certain the racks on the either the Live 3 or Boston Roadster would be sufficient for her. (She's ridden more than 60,000 miles on the motorcycle with me over the years.)

fietsbob

To just make the saddle position further forward on the bike you have..

Look at a Brompton saddle adapter pin and a plain seat post and an old saddle clip..

the SAP clamps onto the 7/8" part of the seat post.
it is a tube of 7/8", so as to be horizontal, and so a plain saddle clip clamps on the adapter , facing forward, saddle above the clamp< SEE THE BOTTOM PICTURE HERE;

https://www.foldabikes.com/CloseUp/bike/sapMain.html these are a great saddle clip https://www.foldabikes.com/PriceListH...pentaclip.html

there is a 5 speed Sturmey hub with the drum brake too, it has a wide and a narrow ratio pair of 3 speeds in it,
so you could use a big cog up to 22 teeth, on the wider ratio hub and have a lower range, + potentially a lower gear on the crank, (less teeth)

calamarichris

Thanks again Bob, but you've already given me the new bike bug. I've already been emailing my local Specialized dealerships about the Globe Live 3. Not completely sold on it yet, but if there's one in SoCal, I definitely want to take a test ride!

Besides, after doing all those helpful suggestions (and buying another Brooks dual-rail saddle or adaptor) I'd still have my dog riding behind me. I'd really rather have her up front. She's never fallen out after >4 years of commuting, but I still feel inclined to glance back at her every minute or two just to make sure she's okay, and taking my eyes off the road that frequently just ain't safe. (The rationalizing is the textbook symptom of New-bike-itis.)

irclean

One of these (I have one ):



Or one of these:



With one of these:

Rhodabike

I saw a Trek Soho in a bike shop the other day and was quite impressed. It's probably about 32 lbs, comes with fenders, 8-speed hub gear, and a belt drive, and you can probably add the front rack. Nice looking bike, too.
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/urban/soho/soho/

tcs

Fisher Simple City 8? You'd have to add the lock.

tcs

By all means, get the new bike...but the gear range on your Dutch bike can be moved lower. It's simple and cheap to swap to a larger rear cog.

tcs

Civia Loring, perhaps?

tcs

Off the top of my head, there's the Paul Components' Flatbed.

JonnyHK 

This had GOT to be close to a winner...