Originally Posted by pmseattle
I have an '04 Big Buzz and I still really like it, and will keep it until it falls to pieces. I used it for about a year for a 24 mile round-trip commute with no problems. Also, I have ridden it many times to Marymoor Velodrome from downtown Seattle, 60 miles round trip. And I have ridden several century rides on it. It is not as comfortable for longer rides as some other bikes, but it wasn't all that bad, either.
The only serious problem I have had with it is the rear hub, which is apparently an OEM-only Shimano hub, part number FH-M475. The freehub assemblies for these are awful; they last less than 1000 miles and the only place I can get them is REI. They do not appear on Shimano's website, and are not in the QBP catalogue or any other. Unfortunately REI uses this hub on some other models as well.
For the original poster, I have a Topeak Explorer ( disc version ) rack on my Big Buzz; I regularly make grocery runs with two fully loaded Ortlieb grocery panniers attached. It went right on with no problem.
+1 in favor of the Big Buzz (2006 for me, 20 mile commute each way). Also +1 on the Topeak rack. No problems installing or using. But I'm glad the OP could take advantage of REI's policy to get something that works better for them.
As for the 3rd chain ring, keep in mind that the 2006 BB has a compact crank (50/36) in front and an 11-34 cassette in back. That setup actually provides considerably lower gearing than a traditional road triple. (36-34 combo is 28.6 gear inches, while a road triple's lowest 30-25 combo is 32.4 gear inches.) BTW, for me this was a huge improvement over the 2005 BB, which had a 48/39 front crankset.
Stephen