We were leaning heavily towards getting a couple of the 8i's. They're kind of a strange geometry though. We test rode quite a bit on two occasions thinking we'd get use to them, but could never get comfortable on them. As we learned more about them we were really glad they felt strange. They don't have stainless hardware, have a cheaper paint job, cheaper seat and tires, flimsy rear rack, no option for a front rack, rear lite isn't dynamo, no option for a frame mounted child seat behind the handlebars.

The guy at the bike shop kept saying he could put on a better rear rack, seat, tires, and other stuff, but by the time he was done they would have cost more than getting much better bikes that already had everything to begin with. They're appealing because the 'look Dutch', but that's as far as it goes (as long as you don't look too long).