Public brand bikes
05-06-22, 11:01 AM
#1
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Public brand bikes
Kind of vintage-y so does anybody own one or have any experience with them? The IGH Mixtes are 4130 frame and fork so, in theory, have a decent starting point. (Yes, I know, they weigh a ton (32 lbs), build your own, blah, blah….)
Thx friends!
Thx friends!
05-07-22, 04:14 PM
#2
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Bikes: Lots of English 3-speeds, a couple of old road bikes, 3 mountain bikes, 1 hybrid, and a couple of mash-ups
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They are vintagey looking. I bought one used (and assembled incorrectly) several years ago. It was nothing special, but there was nothing wrong with it either. The paint was good and the components were low end but functional. I think it cost the OP about $300. It looked like this.
https://publicbikes.com/products/public-c7
https://publicbikes.com/products/public-c7
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I hope...that all mankind will at length…have reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats. Ben Franklin
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05-07-22, 05:21 PM
#3
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They are vintagey looking. I bought one used (and assembled incorrectly) several years ago. It was nothing special, but there was nothing wrong with it either. The paint was good and the components were low end but functional. I think it cost the OP about $300. It looked like this.
https://publicbikes.com/products/public-c7
https://publicbikes.com/products/public-c7
I would expect their products to be utilitarian rather than “WOW!” I was eyeing a previously enjoyed Mixte with an 8 speed IGH Nexus hub. I’m still waiting for the seller to get back to me. I won’t lose sleep if he doesn’t.
05-07-22, 07:38 PM
#4
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I worked at a Public dealer for two years, 2016-2018. In general I like them, they're attractive, comfortable, and practical. The nicer models are excellent bikes. The basic models (C1 and C7) are well-built gaspipe frames with nice thick dropouts and plenty of eyelets, but suffer from two problems:
1. The singlewall color-matched rims have deep, narrow wells, which OFTEN cause tubes to fail at the weld patch around the valve. The thick weld patch can't fit in the well and the thin rubber of the tube tries to expand into the gap. This stresses the tube and it fails. We saw this at least once every few months at the Public dealer. At the next LBS I worked at (2020-Feb. 2022) we saw it on multiple Publics too. People were very frustrated that their bike would keep getting flats for no reason, and were not happy to learn they would have to replace their entire wheel. I hope Public fixes this issue, maybe they already have.
2. The extremely long headtube of the stepthrough models limits the availability of replacement forks. J&B and QBP don't have anything that will work. When I worked at the Public dealer we could get replacement forks from Public, who would ship us a fork with a 350mm 1" threadless steer tube, plus a 1" threadless headset. The customer would have to buy a new 1" threadless stem and spacers with their new fork.
That said, they're still much nicer and more reliable bikes than the singlespeed or 7-speed stepthroughs from Schwinn, Critical, or Retrospec! And again, the higher-end models did not have these issues.
1. The singlewall color-matched rims have deep, narrow wells, which OFTEN cause tubes to fail at the weld patch around the valve. The thick weld patch can't fit in the well and the thin rubber of the tube tries to expand into the gap. This stresses the tube and it fails. We saw this at least once every few months at the Public dealer. At the next LBS I worked at (2020-Feb. 2022) we saw it on multiple Publics too. People were very frustrated that their bike would keep getting flats for no reason, and were not happy to learn they would have to replace their entire wheel. I hope Public fixes this issue, maybe they already have.
2. The extremely long headtube of the stepthrough models limits the availability of replacement forks. J&B and QBP don't have anything that will work. When I worked at the Public dealer we could get replacement forks from Public, who would ship us a fork with a 350mm 1" threadless steer tube, plus a 1" threadless headset. The customer would have to buy a new 1" threadless stem and spacers with their new fork.
That said, they're still much nicer and more reliable bikes than the singlespeed or 7-speed stepthroughs from Schwinn, Critical, or Retrospec! And again, the higher-end models did not have these issues.
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05-08-22, 09:21 AM
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493 Posts
I worked at a Public dealer for two years, 2016-2018. In general I like them, they're attractive, comfortable, and practical. The nicer models are excellent bikes. The basic models (C1 and C7) are well-built gaspipe frames with nice thick dropouts and plenty of eyelets, but suffer from two problems:
1. The singlewall color-matched rims have deep, narrow wells, which OFTEN cause tubes to fail at the weld patch around the valve. The thick weld patch can't fit in the well and the thin rubber of the tube tries to expand into the gap. This stresses the tube and it fails. We saw this at least once every few months at the Public dealer. At the next LBS I worked at (2020-Feb. 2022) we saw it on multiple Publics too. People were very frustrated that their bike would keep getting flats for no reason, and were not happy to learn they would have to replace their entire wheel. I hope Public fixes this issue, maybe they already have.
2. The extremely long headtube of the stepthrough models limits the availability of replacement forks. J&B and QBP don't have anything that will work. When I worked at the Public dealer we could get replacement forks from Public, who would ship us a fork with a 350mm 1" threadless steer tube, plus a 1" threadless headset. The customer would have to buy a new 1" threadless stem and spacers with their new fork.
That said, they're still much nicer and more reliable bikes than the singlespeed or 7-speed stepthroughs from Schwinn, Critical, or Retrospec! And again, the higher-end models did not have these issues.
1. The singlewall color-matched rims have deep, narrow wells, which OFTEN cause tubes to fail at the weld patch around the valve. The thick weld patch can't fit in the well and the thin rubber of the tube tries to expand into the gap. This stresses the tube and it fails. We saw this at least once every few months at the Public dealer. At the next LBS I worked at (2020-Feb. 2022) we saw it on multiple Publics too. People were very frustrated that their bike would keep getting flats for no reason, and were not happy to learn they would have to replace their entire wheel. I hope Public fixes this issue, maybe they already have.
2. The extremely long headtube of the stepthrough models limits the availability of replacement forks. J&B and QBP don't have anything that will work. When I worked at the Public dealer we could get replacement forks from Public, who would ship us a fork with a 350mm 1" threadless steer tube, plus a 1" threadless headset. The customer would have to buy a new 1" threadless stem and spacers with their new fork.
That said, they're still much nicer and more reliable bikes than the singlespeed or 7-speed stepthroughs from Schwinn, Critical, or Retrospec! And again, the higher-end models did not have these issues.
