Originally Posted by Tom Bombadil
Yes, there are now a slew of sub-$500 (U.S.) crank-forward bikes out, some as low as $300-$350. These include the Giant Suede, Electra Townie, Trek Pure, and Raleigh Gruv. The Gruv has been recently discontinued but is still available. The Suede is a rather conservative crank forward, with the crank only being about 3" forward of its normal position, wherein on the Gruv it is more like 6". They all have rather mid-level, or below, components. Some have only Shimano Tourney or SRAM ESP3.0 derailleurs, others are a bit above that at Shimano Acera. They are fun to ride, I took a Gruv on an extended spin last weekend and had a blast on it.
Trek had the Sole out in 2006 and it is probably still around, but I didn't like it much. And there's a slight crank forward Electra Amsterdam that is a very pretty commuter bike at $550-$600, but only in a 3-speed.
None are the match of the Rans bikes, but are far less expensive.
I don't think much of the lower-priced "relaxed geometry" bikes, because they don't use a geometry that is nearly relaxed
enough. They suffer a
big loss in pedalling efficiency while only providing a
minor difference in comfort. They don't really solve the saddle problems that upright bikes have--and if you're going to the hassle, you should get a
real relaxed-geometry bike and enjoy the benefits.
The only one that is interesting is the Giant Revive, because its rear suspension can be of some use to people with bad backs, who want to avoid as much road shock as possible. But then, at $700 MSRP for the lowest model, the Revive isn't exactly cheap, either.
If you cannot afford the $1K+ for a RANS, then two others to consider are the Lightfoot Surefoot and Day6Bicycles, both sold mail-order.
~