MEversbergII

So, I'm kind of in love with the idea of the Roadster bike. From the Sahrab and the Flying Pigeon all the way up to the Opafiets. I've done a bit of looking around and it looks like there's quite a few options. So far, Pashley seems to be the best in the reasonable price category at $1,500 and their Sovereign is pretty awesome.

But those are "someday" bikes, probably a reward for myself after my internship's up and my career has begun.

In the mean time, I thought I'd draw on the forum's collective know-age and see what else is out there, especially in the "poor man's" or "entry level" region of 500-800USD

I found a 300USD one at Amazon, but I suspect it's crud. I'd get a Flying Pigeon (icon, man!) but it's more to ship the thing here than the bike costs at 100 unassembled for the bike and 140 for shipping.

My base criteria:

Roadster style frame (suitable for someone who's only 5'3" - the real sticky wicket)
Hub gear (or something that can be converted into a hub gear)
Not hub brakes (or hub breaks if I have to convert to a hub gear)
Full chaincase (or upgradable to have one)
Flat top tube
Not drop bars

The rest are variables. If the frame's good, I can always upgrade bits like racks, dynamo hubs, etc.

Thanks!

M.