Commuting - Upright steel commuter with nexus - does it exist?

A friend wants to find his sister a steel framed commuter with nexus shifting and a more upright geometry. Does such a thing exist? If it was me, I'd get her a Jamis Coda Comp Femme and be done with it. But he wants nexus.

Any ideas? Budget up to $1200.

Thanks,
Bryan

Yes! It exists in the form of 3 speeds as follows:

The Giant Via 1 ~ $600
www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/via.1.w/9017/48939/ (http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/via.1.w/9017/48939/)

The Raleigh Classic Roadster ~ $550
www.raleighusa.com/bikes/hybrid/classic-roadster-12/ (http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/hybrid/classic-roadster-12/)

The KHS Green ~ $360
www.khsbicycles.com/09_green_l_blk_12.htm (http://www.khsbicycles.com/09_green_l_blk_12.htm)

There's the Trek Belleville. It's beautiful and potentially my next bicycle.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/town/urban_utility/belleville/belleville/#/us/en/model/details?url=us/en/bikes/town/urban_utility/belleville/belleville

Is anyone involved capable of assembly and disassembly of bicycles?

$330 Soma Rush frame in 49 or 51cm (dang they were around $250 not long ago.)
$890 Schwinn City IGH8
$99 Nashbar touring fork
$20 travel agent for rear brake
$20 rear caliper brake
---
$1359, doh a little over budget unless you can find the Schwinn on sale or resell Schwinn frame/fork for more than $159

I'm sure there are other ways to skin this cat...

What about Linus? http://www.linusbike.com/models/

Bikes Direct has the Kensington 8 for $450. Only a couple sizes in mens and a couple sizes in ladies in stock ATM, but...

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/kensington8.htm

What about Linus? http://www.linusbike.com/models/


+1 ^ This one is nice! The Dutchi 8 is 100% chromoly. All the others only have chromoly down tubes.

Bikes Direct has the Kensington 8 for $450. Only a couple sizes in mens and a couple sizes in ladies in stock ATM, but...

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/kensington8.htm


+1 ^ This one is nice too! Again 100% chromoly! :thumb:

I was kinda bummed to see that Schwinn didn't have any on offer.

At the shop the other day I was surprised to find that a couple of Schwinn Frontiers with frames made of funky shaped tubes were actually Hi-Ten steel. Totally looked like the kinda tubes you see dubbed "hydroformed Al" but magnets were definitely attracted to them.

Thanks for the ideas all! Much appreciated.

What about Linus? http://www.linusbike.com/models/

These Linus bikes are sweet looking.



+1 ^ This one is nice! The Dutchi 8 is 100% chromoly. All the others only have chromoly down tubes.

At first I thought you were mistaken about this, but I see that it does depend on the speeds. I was only looking at the 8 speed bikes and they were chromoly frames - at least according to their web site. I guess you need to read the specs and not assume a model has the same frame no matter how many speeds it has.

I have an old 1990's (1996 maybe?) Specialized Globe 7 that is a steel "city bike" with a Shimano internal nexus hub (7 speed). It came with fenders, chain guard, rear rack, wheel lock, dynamo-powered front and rear lighting and a loud bell. If you can find one of these old tanks you may have solved your challenge. Been considering fixing mine up with some modern components, and may still do so.

http://www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=1997&Brand=Specialized&Model=Globe+7&Type=bike

IMHO buy used off craigslist and convert to IHG. Even if you have to buy a bike with vertical dropouts, you should easily be able to find someone in Boston to weld horizontal dropouts onto the frame.

Not a womens' model, but the Nashbar Steel commuter has a Nexus:

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_522807_-1___202383

Pilen also makes some amazing uprights with Nexus:

http://www.pilencykel.se/site/en/lyx

A LBS here in California carries them, not sure about Boston, but they are a bit above your budget.

Bikes Direct has a couple of IGH steel commuter bikes, the Kensington 8, which was mentioned in an earlier reply, and the Windsor Oxford, which has the Nexus 3 speed hub. I have the Nexus 3 equipped Oxford, and find it to be a great commuter bike. It's relatively lightweight with its chromoly frame, and has a great ride.

I test rode bikes from these guys and like 'em:

http://publicbikes.com/

I'd stay away from the "D8" models though, if you want something more upright. They're a bit more aggressive and hunched over than the "M8" (Mixte) and "C8" (Dutch-style) models, which are a lot more upright.

Hey SlimRider, I thought all of the Linus "8" models (Dutchi 8, Mixte 8, Roadster 8) were 100% chromoly? I know that the 1- and 3-speed models are "Hi-Ten".

Edit: I forgot to mention the KHS Green, but looks like SlimRider already mentioned it. It's the lowest-price "Local Bike Shop" bike that I can find with an upright riding position and a 3-speed Nexus hub.