I don't see the point of it. There is no protection for your clothing from the chain, and no protection of the chain from the elements. Why bother with the Nexus then? A derailleur would be cheaper and slightly more efficient -- most of all, there would be a larger gear range.

It just seems to be a hybrid with fenders. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it would be too inconvenient for me to use for anything.

Paul

Why not just get an Ibex Corrida and add some Freddy Fenders and a rack? Perhaps the perfect around town bike.

Thanks for the info! I was thinking about retrofitting my touring bike into a Nexus-8 commuter, but if the price isn't too much greater, it might be better to just go with a new 50/50 and keep the touring bike for, well, touring and serious hauling. If you don't mind, about how much did you pay for the Fifty-Fifty? Was the front disc an upgrade? It's difficult to tell, but it looks like the bike comes with a v-brake in front, but has a disc mount on the front fork. If the price is right, I may just see if I can get a test ride at the local C-dale dealer.

As American bicycles go, it looks pretty solid. I like the Nexus hub, I like the fenders, I especially like the enormous 26" tires, and the upright handlebars as well. It'd be nice if the other bikes were available out here, but this one doesn't look half bad!

Nevermind - some quick sleuthing online has revealed that most dealers are selling the Fifty-Fifty for about $1,000 - $1,100. Not a bad deal, especially if it means that I don't have to buy a new touring bike after converting the one I currently own! So instead of $500 to make the conversion (yeah, seriously) and another $1,000 to build a new touring bike, I get to keep my touring bike as is and spend $1,000 on a shiny new commuter. Hmm! The only problem... as a college student, I have no money to spend. Well, perhaps, perhaps... someday.

A derailleur would be less reliable, need more maintainance and cannot be shifted if the bike is at a stop.

The 50/50 does seem to be basically a hybrid with fenders and a Nexus hub though. I would like to see the Nexus on something with 700c wheels and maybe even drop bars.

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I test rode a Bianchi Milano over the weekend. A more pedestrian bike than I am interested in (it even had rubber pedals), but the Nexus hub was great. Fast shifting is a very nice thing to have in Manhattan.

Unfortunately, it looks like it will be impossible to get the Nexus hub in an off the shelf bike I would actually want to buy (I don't want a hybrid - too slow/heavy). One option would be retrofitting a singlespeed bike (Bianchi makes a single speed version of the Volpe for example). I am not sure what that would cost.

I still haven't seen a great solution for shifting an internal hub from drop bars though. Anything that requires me to move one of my hands from the bars is not a great solution IMHO.

The Brooks Vintage Cannondale has some kind of chain enclosure; don't know how it works.

If I drive the four hours to a bike shop in MA, it would cost about $950.

see

https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/bianc...os8/index.html

I've always considered my Milano to be a rigid MTB with street tires. They look like cruisers,but really make nice urban bikes.

Which is basically what a hybrid is. I am not really sure what the difference between a hybrid and a cruiser is but I am looking for something between a hybrid and a race bike.

A cruiser bike is more oriented towards the style, looks, and geared towards recreational riding(I thought that your ordinary beach cruiser, to the Raleigh Choppers and Schwinn Stingrays fall into this category). Hybrids are an attempt to fill the void that legitimate utility bikes left when they fell out of favor, and are based on MTBs, mostly(because they followed right after the MTB boom, and manufacturers are well, cheapskates). Utility bikes on the other hand are your old school upright bike, cruisers arose from these bikes, but geared towards function than recreational riding, and the look is secondary. They have that classic bicycle shape, unlike the cruved designs on some cruisers. I also tend to think that they are based more on racing bicycles, or rather and more correctly, vice versa, racing bicycles are based off of them. Cruisers and hybrids can be utility bicycles, but not all utility bicycles are hybrids and cruisers, is the way I look at it.

It does look like a nice commuter to me. But I don't think I'd pay the premium to get it delivered; by the time you got done screwing with all of that, you might as well just buy a frame and build exactly the bike you want.

Assuming you have the tools and skills to build a bike or don't mind paying an LBS (and don't mind waiting for them to complete the job).