Recreational & Family - HELP picking out new bike - Internal hub, 700c wheels, step-through frame

The title says a lot! I'm in the market for a new bike.

My goals for my bike are:

*"pretty" step-through frame - (i'm a woman, and I like to ride in dresses and skirts)
*700c wheels (I've had a bike with 26" wheels and hate it - I need less resistance)
*I want an internal hub (7 speeds or more) - (I like to shift while stopped and I like to have less maintenance)
*if on the pricier side, needs extras (fenders, rack, etc)
Price range - $600-$900


So, what I have looked at so far is:

**Civia city twin step-through (expensive considering lack of options (fenders?))

**Raleigh detour city sport dlx (not pretty or as step-throughy, but amazing components(disk breaks, alfine instead of nexus hub, fenders, bell, the list goes on!) - I wish the could just switch out the frame for the non-dlx women's version)

**Breezer downtown (nice but nothing special)

**Linus Dutchi8 (my bike dealer said it wasnt as good of quality)

Know of any other bikes tat meet my qualifications?

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/city_bikes.htm

What did your dealer say about Linus bikes? I think the knock against Linus is that it's more fashion over quality, but there are a lot of people who like their Linus bikes. Search for some of the threads on here--there's one from the Commuting forum recently where someone had a positive report about his Linus.

On to some other recommendations...

I think the bike that seems to hit all of your requirements is the Globe Daily 3 step-through model (http://www.specialized.com/us/en/globe/GlobeProduct.jsp?spid=62209&scid=1105&scname=Globe). Globe is owned by Specialized, it's their line that appeals to the growing market that wants a nice traditional bike that looks kind of retro. I think they're all great-looking, and you shouldn't have any problems finding a dealer that carries them--any LBS that has Specialized should be carrying these also.

It's a little bit above the top end of the price range, but there's the Public M8 (http://publicbikes.com/p/PUBLIC-M8). Steel mixte, Nexus hub, 700c wheels. No rack, but it comes with nice color-matched fenders.

There's the KHS Cidi 8 (http://www.khsbicycles.com/06_cidi_8_l_12.htm), which hits all of your spec requirements - Nexus hub, 700c wheels, has fenders and a rack already, and because KHS isn't a big name, their bikes are usually cheaper than comparable bikes from bigger companies. This is $679. BUT...it's not the nicest looking bike, I don't think.

Brodie is a Canadian company, but they have some American dealers. It's not a traditional woman's bike, but I think the Section 8 would interest you (http://www.brodiebikes.com/2012/bikes/section_8.php). Even has a nice European-style kickstand already on it! There's also the Pax (http://www.brodiebikes.com/2012/bikes/pax.php), but it's $100 more, and a Nexus 7 instead of 8 (though there is a front disc brake).

You may also want to check out these blogs:

Lovely Bicycle: http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/
Bikes For The Rest Of Us: http://www.bikesfortherestofus.com/

Good luck!

I'm just going to toss this out there with possibility that it might widen the net a bit for you.

26" wheels are not going to have any perceptible increase in rolling resistance compared to 700c wheels. On paper? sure. Real world? not so much.

I suspect you had boggy tyres on the 26". There are some fast 26" slicks that would do you just fine.

Not that there is anyone wrong with 700c either...

Sorry I didn't answer your question. As you were. :)

+1 on the 26" wheels. There is nothing inherently slow about them - it's 99% the tires you use.
Depending how tall you are, the 26's might be by far the best option. Properly designing small frames for 700c wheels is tricky.

It's a little bit above the top end of the price range, but there's the Public M8 (http://publicbikes.com/p/PUBLIC-M8). Steel mixte, Nexus hub, 700c wheels. No rack, but it comes with nice color-matched fenders.


Interesting link! I've been pondering lately the (lack of) feasibility of a Rivendell Yves Gomez, and hadn't been coming up with anyone else making a steel 1"-threaded mixte in sizes larger than 49cm. Well, I don't see Public's actual seat tube dimensions offhand, but the "large" size sounds promising.


+1 on Globe's offerings for this year being relatively conventional, at least in appearance.


BTW, Riv uses 650b wheels on a lot of their smaller frames, 26"/559 on the rest. It's given me a prejudice against very short frames sold with 700c wheels - though 700c folks can at least get much fatter tires than I can for my 27"/630 wheels. Ho, hum.

If you can live with 20" wheels, a foldie might meet your other criteria. The Raleigh i8 can be a step-through and it has a 7 speed Shimano Nexus internal hub. The 20" tires are fairly narro and offer little resistance and more road feel. New, it costs around $650.

from everything ive heard you are looking for, your best bet would be the gary fisher simple city 8 speed

Might not be a bad one to try. I rode a new Simple City 3 a couple years ago, and liked it very well except for the gearing range and the rear coaster brake. IIRC, it came stock with fenders and steering stabilizer, and maybe a twin-leg kickstand.

Save some money and get an vintage Raleigh Sports or similar (they usually got the fenders and such), take it to the LBS and get a new rear wheel with the 7 or 8 speed that you want and swap the rims to alloy (700 or 26). As pointed out earlier lovelybike recommends this route for everyday commuters.

http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2010/10/lovely-bicycle-on-budget-vintage-vs.html

I've got a Superbe that I ride as my everyday rider, and I get around Portland with only 3 speeds. and I've kept the steel rims. Just gotta start stopping about a block before you want to stop on wet downhills. All I've done is change the hub gear ring to 22 tooth from the stock 18. Makes it much easier to ride (perhaps a little too easy).