Thanks for all the info everyone. Last weekend I headed over to the Daily Rider and test rode a Biria CitiClassic e8 (http://www.biria.com/bicycle/citiclassic/e8), a Breezer Downtown 8 (http://www.breezerbikes.com/bikes/details/downtown-8-us) as well as a Gazelle and the Pilen Lyx. It was great to finally try out the classic city bike style of the Gazelle, which was great fun to ride, but also to confirm that this is not for me. I couldn't even lift it, let alone carry it up the stairs to my apartment. And while it was actually much easier than expected to get up hills, I just don't think I'm eager to have my only bike be such an upright tank.

The Pilen was similarly tall, but with a very different feel. If it also wasn't so heavy and so very pricey, I'd be a bit torn about that one. Even with the heaviness and the very fat tires, it felt so easy to just keep going with it.

The Breezer Downtown 8 was probably the most in line with what I've been looking for: 8 speed internal hub, comes with chain guard, fenders and a rack, but it just didn't stand out to me. It felt fine in terms of gearing, and once we adjusted the saddle height and angle it was pretty comfortable. But the step through was very high, almost like a mixte, which seemed odd for a bike like this. The looks don't do it for me, though I know that's not the most important thing. And though the bike could handle bumps, I felt them more in my hands and body than I do on my old Maruishi. I don't think the Breezer will be the bike for me.

The CitiClassic was surprisingly tempting though. It's almost exactly the same frame design as my old bike, and I do like that sporty but upright positioning. It has 8 speeds but no internal hub, it only comes with a three speed internal. The bike is light, felt good on the road, and really fun to ride. It is putting me into a bit of a crisis as to whether I really need to insist on having internal gears. The other city style bikes I had tried with derailleur gearing (specifically a Bobbin) felt like they didn't shift smoothly. This was easy and smooth and felt great. The easy step through is exactly what I'm used to: low enough that I step through to dismount while in motion, but not all loopy and dutch-bike-esque. This style is new from Biria last fall, and I can't find any real reviews online. Anyone have any info on it? At $630 this is well within my price range, and I could afford to add a nice saddle and maybe change the grips to match.

I also found out that they could build me up a Soma Buena Vista with an 8 speed internal or an external gear setup there. I'm waiting on some quotes from them, but they seemed to think they could get it to come in at the $1100-$1300 point, which isn't much more than the Public. I'm really excited to see what they come up with.

I also tested out the Linus again for a little longer, and am still not sure what I think. Everything feels fine, but I didn't walk away from this test ride feeling super excited. Despite the mixte look, the bike doesn't really feel livelier than my old three speed (see photo), and I realized that stepping through a mixte frame is a bit tricky. It is definitely speedier though! And the 8 gears are great.



Basically I'm feeling totally confused and conflicted. Do I really need to stick with the internal gearing in order to commute year round? I didn't bike today in the snow because DC drivers are terrifying in any out-of-the-ordinary weather and I wanted to give the city a day to deal with the roads before I put myself in their path. It only snows three or four times a year here anyway, so it's not like my bike has to deal with a lot of snowy/icy winter conditions. If I am careful to do maintenance, could I stick with a derailleur setup year round? I know internal hubs are recommended for city/commuter type bikes for reliability, but what do you all use? What has your experience been?

And does anyone have advice on how to step over the bar on a mixte without getting tangled??