SlimRider

Based upon data from another thread, I think it's safe to conclude that any bike used to go to work or school, can be correctly classified as a commuter bicycle. A commuter bike can be a road bike, a mountain bike, or anything in between. Just because you ride a bike in the city, that does NOT automatically make it a "City Bike"! It's very likely a commuter bike, but NOT necessarily, a "City Bike"...

A City Bicycle can be in quite a different category, all by itself. While it both can and will, most likely be a commuter bicycle, it has a distinctive style about it that distinguishes it from all other bicycles.

The City Bike sits upright, the handlebars above the seat. The seat is below the handlebars for a more relaxed and less aggressive sitting position. Both the brakes and the shifters are most likely attached to the handlebars. The city bike does not need shifters, necessarily. The city bike will typically have fenders and a rack, or at least be capable of having them easily attached. The city bike might also have a chainguard. It may very well have a headlight and reflectors too. It will usually not have a front or rear suspension system.

This is my image of a "City Bike"...Am I missing something here?

PS.

A Utility Bicycle is any bicycle that is used to perform a specific function that is essential for the facilitation of life. It may have any style, look, or design. However, it will usually resemble a city bike.

jr59

This should be a good topic.

There are now so many different types of bikes for many different things.
MTBs, does this mean I can't ride them on the road? ( I hope not).
Cross
29er
BTW; I can't really see the difference in these besides wheel size and cockpit.
road
touring
hybrid
commuter
and now townie

Man I need a lot of bikes. (I wonder if I can use this on my wife, I need more bikes).

If you ride your bike in the city, why wouldn't it be a city bike?
To me that's just like saying you can't commute on a road bike.

Oil_LOL

This

buffalo_cody

I also agree. ^

As far as how bike manufacturers market bikes I think "city bike" is just another label for "hybrid".

Schwinnrider

"City bike" is much easier to market to aging hipsters than "hybrid".

Onions

I dunno, "hybrid" is synonymous with so many other hipster-esque things out there.

Oil_LOL

Very true. A hybrid brings up a Specialized Sirrus or Trek FX in my mind. While these make great commuters, to the wealthy city dweller, they seem too sporty with their grey and black color schemes, and huge logos. The stereotypical "city bike", with it's upright pose and earth tones and old world styling (right now, I'm thinking of a Raleigh Steel Hybrid) makes them feel elegant and refined.

Pobble.808

If you accept the criteria in the OP, which sound pretty on-target to me, some hybrids won't qualify.
When I was younger and more innocent, I bought a Sirrus on the advice of the LBS after having told them I was looking for a bike for urban commuting. Very nice bike for weekend rides, but definitely not an upright riding position, and the threadless stem made raising the bars a PITA. It didn't come with fenders; a different LBS managed to get a pair on but they complained mightily about how hard it was to get the rear one to fit and I could see that it was true. No chainguard. Way more gears than I needed (triple chainring IIRC). I replaced it with a Breezer which has all the stuff mentioned in the OP and have been commuting happily on it ever since.
So sometimes the distinction may just be about semantics or marketing, but not always, and if you don't know what you're doing you may not end up with the right bike for the job.

SlimRider

Well, since europeans are credited for discovering the bicycle, they are also given credit for the "City Bike" design. If you Google's Images Search mode box, and type "City Bikes", you will see mostly images of what I have described. You will NOT see any dropped handlebars or suspension systems. However, I am a bit disappointed at the sobering absence of fenders and racks.

jr59

Wow, google is now an expert?

I could care less what google shows. If you pay enough you can pop on google where ever you want!

Like the line in the movie; Google does not equal research!

SlimRider

I never gave Google that much credit. Google is commonly used as a reference source for information. The word "Expert" I've found, should be used with extreme caution!

Actually, I think that what we are observing here, is an evolution of cycling culture, as devout cyclists strive to increase their ability to better define the machine that serves as the nucleus of their existence.

We desperately yearn for a more clear image of both ourselves and the elements within our environment. We strive even harder to comprehend the objects that perk our interest and admiration. We therefore, donate greater attention to those objects and we become focused, fixed, and sometimes obcessed.

jr59

A VERY POOR reference source at that!
And that was the point!!!

Rick@OCRR

I use a folding bike to commute, since part of my commute is on the Metro (train), but it means all the requirements of the OP's City Bike otherwise. It does have a rack, but not fenders. Still, it qualifies since fenders (mudguards to the British) can be easily fitted.

Rick / OCRR

GrantH

My hybrid is very much a commuter/city bike. When it is finished it will have a rear (possibly front) rack, panniers, lights, and it's comfortable.

SlimRider

Not true!

You can get cutting edge scientificly correct information from most search engines. Unfortunately, you can also get crap. When you Google information (or Yahoo it for that matter), it's like diving into a swimming pool from twenty feet up, in complete darkness. Whether you'll be diving in the deep end or the shallow end is entirely a statistical probability. The good thing is that most times (from my personal experience), Google is primarily reliable, as an information source.

PS.

Life is like a box of chocolates!

Sixty Fiver

City bike...



There are many ways to categorize bicycles...

A bike can be defined by what it does and can also be defined by certain design aspects that lend themselves to optimizing the bike for certain purposes.

For many decades you either bought a road racing bicycle or you bought a city bike which would would have been a roadster that should have came with a chain case, fenders, and often had racks and integrated generator lighting. Most often they came equipped with a 3 speed internal or 5 speed derailleur drive.

Modern versions now have 8 speed internal drives like my wife's Breezer Uptown which is the quintessential city bike with a few modern touches like the improved gear range and better brakes.

This categorizing makes it easier for buyers and sellers... if you cal a shop looking for a hybrid, mountain bike, or a city bike the sales person should have a good idea of what you are looking for.

If you are looking for a commuting bike that choice will reflect the needs of your commute as for some a road or touring bike is best while for others, a hybrid or city bike or a mountain bike would work better.

When my commute is a 100 km round trip through the country I do not ride a bike like the folder pictured above as my touring bikes are a better commuter under these conditions.

SlimRider

Yep!

That's technically a City Bike, alright!

PS.

I agree, a folder doesn't quite tour like a real Touring Bike!

Folders versus LHT's! Hah! Please____________!

Sixty Fiver

Don't get me started... my folding touring bike will do everything an LHT will.

Folding bikes can do pretty much anything they get designed for be that multi modal commuting, touring, racing, or off road riding.

The LHT is a nice bike and an inordinate number of them get used as commuting / city bicycles which is understandable as commuting is about as rigorous a use that you can subject a bicycle to.

Sixty Fiver

Wiki pretty much nails what a city bike is...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_city_bike

stringbreaker

Does this count? Its my summer commuter. The bike not the truck. Just to clarifiy

SlimRider

I sense that the definitive line between Hybrid Bikes and City Bikes is becoming hopelessly blurred!


Perhaps we'll have to extend a portion of the Hybrid spectrum over into the more Traditional European Zone that used to be reserved for "City Bikes". I once thought that if a hybrid contained a front suspension system, it then became a bonified MTB. Hey, I also thought that a road bike always possessed a horizontal top tube, drop handlebars, and was completely without a rack, or fenders.

Apparently, bicycles are becoming morphed all over the place. It's becoming harder to tell what's what....or...who's who!

OMG! What's happening to our country?
We're being invaded by alien cycles everywhere!

PS.

Who knows...This might become a very good thing!

SlimRider

To StringBreaker:

Nope!

Duh__! It has four wheels and is made by Ford. It therefore, cannot possibly count as a "City Bike"!

However, that magnificent road bike in front of that disqualified monstrosity, can be whatever she wants to be!

I hope she wants to be mine!

no motor?

I put thinner tires, a rack and lights on a mountain bike I use to commute in the city. Am I riding a mountain bike, city bike or commuter?

jr59

You can't do that! Chicago doesn't have mountains!!!

You must have a city bike, wearing a disguise as a MTB!

LOL

SlimRider

If it has a front suspension system, your riding a MTB. If it doesn't have a front or rear suspension system, your riding either a hybrid or a City Bike. In any case, your definitely riding a commuter!