The Sole Ride was by far my most negative experience on a crank forward. It handled clumsily and was less comfortable. The Pure is a big improvement.
There are still some Raleigh Gruvs around, I've seen them selling at significant discounts.
If you want a sportier, well-crafted crank forward, then you could check out the RANS models, but you'll pay about 2.5X to 3X as much.
Cannondale makes one too, the Daytripper. Higher quality than either the Pure or Townie, but usually running $700-$800. The Daytripper Premium has the very nice Shimano Nexus 8 speed internal hub.
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"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L'Amour
There are two types of road bikers: bikers who are faster than me, and me. Bruce Cameron - Denver Post