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09-07-09, 08:13 PM
The old Raleigh was just too old and creaky and needed too much work to make a reliable ride. I'm still pretty chunkified, and the uphill commute home everyday was too much for my knees and ankles and the poor bike's crankset, pedals, chain and wheels. I was at the point where I was looking at putting on a mountain triple crankset on a '70s ten speed, and enough was enough. Might as well get a bike designed for a mountain groupo.
The Electra Townie was inexpensive, and it's riding position was awesome... none of my joints hurt, even after a lonnnng shakeout ride. The gearing on it is plenty low enough for the ski-jump steep road I live at the top of, the brakes stop almost as well as disks with great feel, and it looks awesome.
Some gripes -
- The Shimano Tourney derailleurs are balky and like to miss gears even after tinkering with the adjuster barrel. The front one in particular is enormous, cheap looking, heavy, and shifts poorly up or down into the middle ring. I really miss my old friction shifters... the trigger shifters look and feel slick, but it just doesn't do as good of a job getting into the right gear without any drama. Also, the chain-guard is made from the cheapest plastic ever.
- Easy to spin out on the flats, never mind downhill. Needs a bigger top chainring, or a smaller bottom cog. Not complaining too much, as I'm riding the brakes on the way into the train station, and need all the low-end I can get on the way back. The bike really delivers there.
- The seat is worthless - overstuffed and undersprung. My butt hurts just thinking about the "shakeout ride" this afternoon. I've got a Brooks B-33 to replace it, but really, any saddle with less padding and a firm set of springs will be a welcome upgrade.
- The dinky plastic pedals need to be swapped out for some metal BMX platforms, but welcome to the modern bike market - everyone's stock pedals suck.
- The front suspension is worthless. All it seems to do is dive when I apply the brakes. I would much rather have a fixed fork - lighter, and better handling when stopping.
- The ape-hanger riser handlebars are a poor fit. Electra's swept-back beach cruiser bars would have worked better, at least for someone of my height and reach.
- Would it kill them to include an adapter kit for standard back-racks rather than overcharging you for a special rack? Not only is it $20 overpriced, not only is it at once flimsy and heavy compared to my old rack, the mounting hardware was wrong - the bolts provided were way too short. I had a set of 15mm-long hexhead screws on hand, and those did the trick.
So it's not perfect, but it's inexpensive, built like a tank, climbs like a goat, and damn comfy. I look forward to tinkering with it to get it just right - I already have a new set of pedals and a replacement saddle installed, and I'll probably look into the handlebar next - or maybe upgrade the derailleurs to something smoother. I'll probably swap the generic balloon tires for something with more puncture protection, too.
The Electra Townie was inexpensive, and it's riding position was awesome... none of my joints hurt, even after a lonnnng shakeout ride. The gearing on it is plenty low enough for the ski-jump steep road I live at the top of, the brakes stop almost as well as disks with great feel, and it looks awesome.
Some gripes -
- The Shimano Tourney derailleurs are balky and like to miss gears even after tinkering with the adjuster barrel. The front one in particular is enormous, cheap looking, heavy, and shifts poorly up or down into the middle ring. I really miss my old friction shifters... the trigger shifters look and feel slick, but it just doesn't do as good of a job getting into the right gear without any drama. Also, the chain-guard is made from the cheapest plastic ever.
- Easy to spin out on the flats, never mind downhill. Needs a bigger top chainring, or a smaller bottom cog. Not complaining too much, as I'm riding the brakes on the way into the train station, and need all the low-end I can get on the way back. The bike really delivers there.
- The seat is worthless - overstuffed and undersprung. My butt hurts just thinking about the "shakeout ride" this afternoon. I've got a Brooks B-33 to replace it, but really, any saddle with less padding and a firm set of springs will be a welcome upgrade.
- The dinky plastic pedals need to be swapped out for some metal BMX platforms, but welcome to the modern bike market - everyone's stock pedals suck.
- The front suspension is worthless. All it seems to do is dive when I apply the brakes. I would much rather have a fixed fork - lighter, and better handling when stopping.
- The ape-hanger riser handlebars are a poor fit. Electra's swept-back beach cruiser bars would have worked better, at least for someone of my height and reach.
- Would it kill them to include an adapter kit for standard back-racks rather than overcharging you for a special rack? Not only is it $20 overpriced, not only is it at once flimsy and heavy compared to my old rack, the mounting hardware was wrong - the bolts provided were way too short. I had a set of 15mm-long hexhead screws on hand, and those did the trick.
So it's not perfect, but it's inexpensive, built like a tank, climbs like a goat, and damn comfy. I look forward to tinkering with it to get it just right - I already have a new set of pedals and a replacement saddle installed, and I'll probably look into the handlebar next - or maybe upgrade the derailleurs to something smoother. I'll probably swap the generic balloon tires for something with more puncture protection, too.