Originally Posted by
stapfam
Will offer the advice that you will find out about.
First of all find the Local Bike Shop (LBS). Plenty about but finding the one that will treat you right is the difficulty. And second- One you have decided on a bike- or bike type- Test ride. And not only the one you are thinking of. You may be thinking Nexus hub- but try a bike with conventional gears aswell.
Normally, yes. But the EBC Courier series is usually considered as good or better than big manufacturer bikes costing £50-100 more. That Nexus model's usual price was £400. So at £300 it's the equivalent of a bike that a typical LBS would sell for £450-500 - at that bigger a discount, I'd take a risk and leap. The worst case would be that the OP would have to mail order it - and UK law gives him a one week return period on mail order.
The EBC's position is a little lower and sportier than the Vienna's, btw. Unless you have a back problem, very weak arms, or a lot of fat around the stomach, I'd recommend it - the Vienna would be an absolute pain to ride into a headwind. The EBC bike doesn't have racing biking aerodynamics, but it's in what I'd call the sensible middle of the range.