Originally Posted by cyccommute

I doubt, highly, that you are going to buy too many "North American" bikes in Europe. There aren't that that many "North American" bikes made. There are lots of US branded bikes but they are made in the same place as the Cube is made: China. By the same token, I can buy lots of European branded bikes here in the US. Some of them are Dutch commuting bikes, some of them are Italian racing machines. Some of them are cheap and some of them aren't. The US branded, Chinese made "commuting bikes" sold here in the US are competitive with the Cube Town.

Personally, I haven't seen a "commuting bike"...European, US, Dutch or Chinese...that I would want to throw a leg over. They have no appeal to me whatsoever. I've got a fleet of bikes that I can use for commuting. A fleet of bikes that I can ride off-road to work if I want or carry 50 lbs of gear if I need to or go fast and long or just cruise along in style. I don't need to spend $200 for a dynamo because I have 3 wonderfully bright lights that I can use on anyone of the fleet for about 1/3 of that price.