mc510

I'm currently riding a very beat up 1974 Raleigh Sport 3 speed, and it's time to upgrade. I want to stay with an upright position, upgrade to 7 or 8 speed Nexus internal gear hub, and I have a limited budget. I'll use the bike for commuting and shopping, with rear and front racks. What do you think of these options, and what others should I consider?

Bikes Direct Kensington 8 ($500). Pros: I'm a bit of a sucker for this just because it looks a lot like my Raleigh. Cons: Some say it's heavy (though I'm sure still a lot lighter than my Raleigh); low quality components; side-pull rather than v-brakes; comes with racks that I'd probably discard and replace; can't test ride.

Breezer Downtown 7 ($640). Pros: Possibly a bit higher quality than the Kensington, V-brakes. Cons: more expensive (would have to wait for a sale or find a discounted prior year model); lacks attachment points for front low rider rack; some say the seven speed Nexus is less smooth than the eight speed.

Bikes Direct Swift8 ($400). Pros: aluminum frame maybe lighter? V-brakes. Cheap! Cons: Need to buy fenders; probably replace straight handlebars with swept back roadster style; aluminum frame plus blade fork seems like it would give a really harsh ride; lacks attachments points for front low rider rack; can't test ride.

Thoughts about these bikes? Any other bikes in this general range that I should consider?

fietsbob

Breezer Dealer sold bike has service after the sale.. Bikes Direct its just you and the importer.

noglider 

To help choose the right bike, tell us why you want to replace your bike. Whatever you get may not be of the same quality as your Raleigh. You may want to replace the rear wheel and shifter if you really want more gears. Are three gears really not enough?

mc510

Yep, definitely something that I'll give some weight to in my evaluation. But it's only one factor of many.

Main reason is that the Raleigh is very, very, very beat up and rusty; needs pretty much everything replaced. But the frame is a bit small for me, so that doesn't seem worthwhile. And there are some hills in my area that would make a wider gear range attractive.

mel2012

I had the Windsor Kensington 8 for several years and was perfectly happy with it, but it is heavy. Performance Bike has the Breezer Downtown 8 available in men's and women's for about $400 if you buy today during their 15% off sale.

https://www.performancebike.com/bike...551_1212248_-1

https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...551_1212251_-1

noglider 

This looks like the best bet!

mc510

Wow, heckofadeal after the 15% off and free shipping to store! No idea how to select frame size for this “sloped top tube” style though. 6’-0” tall, might just take a flyer on the 56cm size.

52telecaster

my sister has the kensington 8 and it is an excellent bike but for less money i would go for the breezer. fwiw i would not discount the dual pivots on the kensington. i think they are better brakes than the breezer's. also that nexus 8 speed is a darn nice hub. lots of range but a little more resistance than an old sa 3 speed aw.

mc510

Done! Thanks all, I'm glad I just happened to ask this question today!

Stadjer

The Shimano 7 has most mechanical drag in the middle gears, so it's not very fitting to a flat environment.

WheresWaldo

Just bought two of the 2017 Breezer Downtown 8 from Performance, was $97 @ cheaper than than the Kensington 8 I was considering. The 15% off this past weekend made it a no brainer. I have zero issues with BD bikes having owned four of them even before people started to like them here. The Breezer was a better deal and left me more money to buy the Brooks saddle I have always wanted. Breezer suggests 3 cm smaller than your road bike for their frame size, I ride a 55/56 cm road bike and the 52 cm Breezer fits perfectly.

mc510

Hmm, I may have ordered too large of a frame size then . Performance Bike has a full refund policy, so I won't be out any money, but I will be out the bike that I wanted. Obviously I'll wait and see how the fit is when it arrives at my local store.

WheresWaldo

This was on the Performance Bikes Learning Center Page

fietsbob

Late November, a few years ago 2 guys from Sweden, passed thru town, they had started in Alaska and were flying home from Florida.

Bikes; step thru commuters with Nexus 8 speed IGH.

mc510

I take responsibility for being in a rush and ordering the wrong size, but dang, why couldn't this information have been on the product page?

Darth Lefty 

I don’t think you should worry you got the wrong size til it arrives and you try it. We go on a bit on this forum about bike fit but it’s less important on this type of bike. It’s almost like worrying you got a wheelbarrow that fits. That’s an exaggeration but one size off is probably ok and you might have picked the right one anyhow.

i also think it’s pretty likely that blurb only applies to curly handlebar road bikes.

52telecaster

i concur.... in fact i like the biggest bike i can stand over.... very technical fitting and all.

WheresWaldo

And these do have a sloped top tube making standover a bit more lenient. But the bottom bracket is also very high so the bikes ride bigger than the frame size indicates.

Stadjer

I doubt I could feel it without direct comparison, but it's difficult to feel if a bike is fast anyway. But is does count, it will influence your average speed with the same effort.

52telecaster

i doubt its anymore drag than a dynamo hub and i have those on all my bikes. dont even notice them anymore.

mc510

Hey all, just picked up my new 60cm Breezer Downtown 8 today; size is great .

Bike is pretty nice too, for the price, but I'm surprised by the very heavy friction somewhere in the drive train that's evident when I attempt to spin the crank backwards. I posted a question about it in the Bike Mechanics forum Friction in Shimano Nexus drivetrain?

emptym

Great! I hope you enjoy it. If I'd seen this earlier, my rec. would have been the Brilliant L-Train. Full price is 650 and no fenders or racks, but it has a belt drive and there's currently a coupon on the site for 15% off.

52telecaster

i bet the backpedal friction will loosen up after a while. if it coasts fine, you'll be fine.