Originally Posted by bostontrevor
While I don't think I would personally choose to commute on one (though I can respect those who do, or who get around on any kind of bicycle), that's not true. Mike Flanigan of ANT Bikes makes very nice Dutch-style commuters and other utility bikes. In fact, I chatted with him just today because he's giving away a utility bike at a charity ride I was in. Broadway Bicycle School here in Boston--well Cambridge, actually--will also build you one though they build them using either recycled frames or ANT frames depending on the model selected.
Finally, very nice commuters can be built out of general purpose mountain bike or even road bike frames. Some of the best utility bikes I've seen have been steel mountain bike frames with slicks, fenders, racks, and so on.
What is true is that the marketing to that particular market niche is extremely weak in this country.
(edit: looks like Flanigan is no longer a dirty word in Bike Forums land.)
It's nice to know that "ANT" exist. It's just to bad that his bikes are more than an average person
will pay for any bike,but that's due to economies of scale. He's a one man shop and Worksman is
a small factory in NYC. Maybe someday these bike will be truly needed but until then I'll just build
my own. Sigh..........