Chennai asked about my current 'round town bike so I'm posting
about it in case anyone else wants a review from a car free
perpective.

Executive summary: It isn't perfect but if you want a reliable
daily transportation it is an excellant choice.

My perspective: I'm a fan of the internal geared hubs for their
low maintenance. I've ridden transportationally a variety of
internal geared bikes:
A Raleigh with 3 speed sturmey archer hub served me as a paper boy
for several years. I also rode a yard sale raleigh for a winter.
I bought a Specialized Globe with 7 speed nexus hub and used it for
shopping and commuting for about a year before it was stolen. I
replaced the globe with another 7 speed nexus hub Raleigh steel
frame cruiser that I attached racks fenders and generator lights to.
I also rode a German city bike for a few years. The german bike had
a SRAM 7 speed hub gearing and very good hardware, heavy duty rack
fenders AXA generator lights.

Although recreation and exercise and touring and off road and commuting
and other types of cycling happen with me, I've even stuffed the bike in
a friend's car once, I'm writing this from the transportational cycling point
of view, I really can't speak to how suitable this bike is for the more
typical cycling that people do. I ride in all weather and on crappy
city streets hauling loads and sometimes other people. I don't ride in
stretchy cycling clothes with special shoes and don't carry huge bladders
of hydration fluid. If I'm thirsty or hungry I stop and get something to
eat or drink so I don't know how well the bike rides while sucking on a
water tube and eating energy bars.

Compared with the other city type bikes I mentioned above, this Trek L200 with
the NEXUS 8 speed hub is the best. The hardware isn't as good as the German
bike but the hub gearing is smoother.

Good points about the bike: Like the german bike and the specialized globe,
this bike came as a package, with mud guards, generator lights, bell, and rear
luggage rack. The bell is loud and color coordinated and small and has this
nice hard rubber rim that protects it from bumps. At first glance the
electronics look cheap but they've held up well for two winters. They don't
have the diode powered stand light that stays on for a minute when you
stop but the light is bright. I haven't had to mess with the lights and
can't tell if they incorporate zener diodes to clip the wave form at high
speeds. I suspect not. The rear light is a battery powered red LED and
lasted two winters. I haven't taken it apart yet to see whats going on.
My parts box has a nice dToplight so I'm not worried. The rear luggage rack
is a serviceable one with these side bars that keep things away from the
spokes. The luggage rack says 25kg but I think it will easily hold more
weight. The chain case fully encloses the drive chain, top bottom sides. It
keeps the chain and your clothes clean. I ride the bike in a suit sometimes
and never have to worry about getting dirty. The chain case pops off with
an easy flick of a screw driver. I don't need a pants clip. The top tube
is almost horizontal on my large frame so I can sit a passenger there.
The down tube has an elliptical cross section with the major axis at the top
along the axis of the bike and with the major axis at right angles down
near the bottom bracket. The bike frame is aluminum and very stiff. You
feel it immediately. It has a harsh ride but good acceleration. The
rear fender has a coat protector so you and things hanging of the rack
get extra protection. The bike has a built in frame lock that clamps
the rear wheel. In DC that is only adequate if you remain in site of
the bike. The rear brake is hand operated but is a drum brake. The front
brake is a rim brake. The bike came with decent schwalbe tires but since
I ride for my job into some trashy neighborhoods with many broken adult
beverage bottles I added tire liners.

Like other Nexus and the SRAM hubs making gear adjustments is a breeze.
But, I made some adjustments after the initial cable stretch and haven't
had to tweak it a bit. With the Nexus 7 on the Globe, I had to tweak it
anytime I took a wrench to the rear wheel. This bike has remained adjust
ed for a year and a half or so even after a rear tire change.

Marginal things about the bike: The rear mudguard doesn't drop down far
enough to keep dirt off the luggage rack. If I reach back and make sure the
little mud flap is bent out it does ok. This might not be a bad thing, when
squeezing the bike into tight spaces like elevators or storage rooms, the rear
fender doesn't get all smashed up, the tire hits the wall first. The luggage
rack comes with three custom elastic bands. They are handy but after a year
and a half they are wearing out and I'll have to go back to bungee cords.
The luggage rack came with a pump. I gave it away before it got stolen and
just carry a nicer mini pump in my bag.
The orginal seat was uncomfortable and it wore out in a year. I had a better
one in the parts box.

The original pedal surfaces were too smooth for me. I had these
grippier mountain bike pedals that I switched in. The mountain bike pedals
are narrower so now when I take fast corners the edge of my shoe touches down
before the pedal. I like that better.

The hand grips are weird. I like them except that now they are
loose. Someone told me that aqua net hair spray will tighten them up. What
I like about them is that they have these little wings that distribute
your weight if you are leaning on them during a long tiring trip.

The hardware for the mudguards is flimsy compared to the specialized globe
and the german bike, but it has held up better than the hardware you get
from cheap "Planet Bike" after market mudguards.

The gearing might be too low if you like to crank it up on long smooth
downhills. The gear intervals are close. I like the low end when I'm
coming home with a load since I live uphill from the discount stores, and
I like the low gearing when towing my friend's trailer but if you like to
go fast you might run out of top end. It isn't a racer but some people
get frisky no matter what bike they're riding.

One of the dumb things about the bike is it has quick release on the front
wheel. I always lock it and since it has that built in rear wheel lock
I chain the front to something but still, for a city bike the designer
should have known better.

Maintenance problems: I don't know if it is from rough roads or heavy
loads but I've had two broken spokes. The seat wore out in a year. The
original pedals began to make a clicking noise after six months. The rear
light switch got unrealiable after a year. There is something loose in
there. The kickstand came loose in the first month.

The worst thing about this bike and others like it is that you
really have to do the work yourself or shop around for a mechanic that
likes European transportation bikes. The people in the shop I ordered it
from are pretty lame. I knew I was in trouble when they tried to talk me
out of ordering it and talk me into buying a hybrid and having them install
the rack mudguards bell and of course buy a multi hundred dollar lighting
system. When I took it in for the first week tuneup I ended up showing the
mechanic how easy it is to adjust the gearing. Several times at several
different shops I've ended up showing the mechanic how to deal with the
rear hubs on these bikes. Chennai related an experience with a mal adjusted
head set when he took one for a test ride. Fortunately in DC I've met
a couple guys in the bike shops who appreciate bike transportation so if
something happens that I can't deal with, I'll make sure I get one of those
specific mechanics to look at it. The person I got the german bike from
told me the mechanics refused to work on the bike because of its looks. I
had the same experience with it until I found a guy who just lit up when
he saw it and seemed eager to get it working. These Euro style bikes
are like car free, they are a good social filter. If the people at the
bike shop take an interest in the out of the ordinary stuff on it you
know they have a genuine interest in bikes and probably take their job
seriously. You learn to stay away from the guys who make excuses not to
work on it or say crap like "I gotta charge you 20 bucks more because
its sooo complicated.".

Style and Sexiness: NO NO NO. The only people who chat with me
about this bike are bus drivers and winos. Several times at stop lights
bus drivers have opened the window to ask all about the bike.
One bus driver told me he's tired of sitting all day and thought he could
use a bike like this for personal transportation instead of a car. He said
he had been looking for a bike that a normal person could ride wearing normal
clothes to do normal things like go to the store or visit his family.

If you are insecure about your attractiveness to the sex of your choice,
you might want to stick with the latest bike fad. In DC this year it seems
to be fixed gear with a free wheel. I'm not sure what you call it - a fixed
gear that lets you coast too. Definitely not this dorky euro style.

Conclusion: If you are looking for bike transportation this Trek L200 should
be a serious candidate. It has been reliable in all weather. Since it
isn't perfect I would shop around but it has been the best all around
bike I've owned. It isn't the fastest, my carbon fiber road bike was faster,
it isn't the most comfortable tourer, my recumbent is better for that,
it doesn't handle rough trails as well as a mountain bike but for city
riding within 20 miles of downtown it is my favourite.