mrbubbles

Novara Fusion 2009. I must say they did a great job getting it right, Alfine IGH and dynamo, disc brakes, fenders, rack, chain guard for $900 ($720 with 20% off sale, if they have it). If I was in the market next year for a new commuter, this would be it.

https://www.rei.com/product/774422

Nightshade

Sorry to rain on your parade but a much better 'bang for the buck' bike can be found with anyone
of the bikes in this thread......

https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/473408-riding-20-yr-old-clunker-work.html

New ain't necessarily better nor is it anywhere near cheaper.

JeffS

Don't lie.

thdave

Love it. Looks great and has all the features I want.

pinkrobe

Buy used - biggest bang for the buck by far.

mickey85

https://www.konaworld.com/09_smoke_u.cfm

?

bkbrouwer

I love it, but whats with the drive train tensioner? They couldn't add horizontal drop outs?

mrbubbles

No IGH, no dynamo, and no disc brakes. IGH and dynamo are ideally the ultimate components for a commuter, long lasting parts with little maintenance as possible.

Horizontal dropouts are finicky when changing flats, EBB is too expensive. This bike is marketed towards people who want to do the least maintenance as possible.

Quickbeam

Looks pretty good to me. A lot of nice features for a commuter. Good price too!

spider-man

+10 bajillion.

benda18

it may not be sexy but it makes sense

uke

It's a nice bike, but I'd pass. To me, an ideal commuter would have to cost less than $500 to truly be a "people's bicycle", if that makes sense.

Blossom

Honestly this is exactly the bike that I have wanted to recommend to people that ask me what kind of bike should they buy for commuting. Everytime I get rolling on tire width, fender selection, and rack usefulness, their eyes glaze over and I want to just point to a bike like this. It is awesome to see REI address the commuter market with a perfectly equipped bike.

mrbubbles

If people can afford the upkeep for the car(s), they can afford a $900 low maintenance bicycle, don't argue with me about affordability when the average American spends $100 on gas every two weeks.

Sheik_Yerbouti

What the hell is it about Americans and ugly stuff. This is the Pontiac Aztec of bikes. Why can't it be nicer looking?

Ken Wind

That may be true, but the fact is that most people would never even consider spending more than $300 on a new bicycle. When my friends ask me for bike recommendations, and I tell them that I would spend at least $500 on a new bike, they are dumbfounded.

mrbubbles

Spread the word. For the parts on this bike, it's very good deal, add 20% off for REI's sale, it's absolutely superb for a brand new bike. It's a commuter, function over form. This is the 2008 model in hideous lime green, all sold out.

uke

As said above, people may be able to afford it, but that doesn't mean it isn't expensive. I have two bikes that together cost just under $1000. I also have a car.

There's no way I'd have paid $900 for my first bicycle (or my second). If it came down to the $900 bike or a Walmart bike, I'd have bought the Walmart bike.

If a friend asked me for a first bicycle recommendation, I'd recommend a number of things to them, but a $900 bike would never be one of them. It's too much of an investment for most people.

mrbubbles

This gets better, chainstay disc mount, Alfine dynamo (Ultegra/XT level), Alfine IGH (best of Shimano's offering).



Ask them how much they pay for gas, insurance, car payment, and maintenance a month, that should change their mind. I'm not against bikes less than $500, just that, for a bike of this caliber at $900 is one time investment that should last you a really long time.

You may not be in a financial position to be able to afford them, but think about it, for how much money people are throwing at their car(s), they can afford a $500 bike, they only think it's expensive because they are conditioned to see it that way. Just like how they think $10,000 for a car, they won't blink an eye.

IMO, if you were going to buy anything from Walmart, should've look at the used market first. My regular townie and my grocery getter is free, people throw out perfectly functional like-new bike all the time, and if you know your stuff, these are far better than Walmart's offering.

I'm not against Walmart, but for buying a bike, that's the last place anyone should look, for the short life span of those bikes, they are not investment at all, they are throwaway toys.

I-Like-To-Bike

I'll take coaster brake over cable operated brakes for minimum maintenance and ability to ride while holding a package or beverage in my hand.

"Horizontal dropouts are finicky when changing flats"? For whom? Anyone capable of changing a flat should not have a problem with horizontal dropouts. Shoot, my friends and I could handle it when we were 7 years old with our one speed American heavyweights, why can't the owners of this super duper cycling machine figure it out??

I-Like-To-Bike

You are not going to change a single person's mind with this silly argument no matter how great this bike is. No one is going to get rid of their monthly car payment or insurance or maintenance because of the swell features of this bike, because few people will be convinced that they no longer need or want a car because of this bike's features.

uke

Exactly. You can't berate people into changing their lifestyles and making a significant investment in an unfamiliar domain just because you tell them they're wasting money in other parts of their lives.

Furthermore, I don't think any commuter needs to start out with a $900 bike, no matter how many "essentials" it has. There are plenty of cheaper bikes that would get the person just as efficiently from A to B. Recommending a $900 bike to someone who dries full time is a great way to keep them driving for another five years.

SouthFLpix

I am definitely going to have to agree with you. In order to have 'mass market' penetration, it needs to stay at $500 or below and include all the basic commuting accessories. Fenders, rack, rear blinkie / front headlight combo and perhaps even a cheap trunk bag. It would be enough to get someone started commuting, and later on they can decide if they want a higher end bike.

You can not talk Mainstream Joe into spending $1000 (or close to it) on a bike........no way, you will not succeed. Perhaps after he 'gets hooked on cycling' you can do it, but not initially.

weavers

imo any bike you can find under 100bucks that rolls will have the most bang for the buck. you can always replace brake pads, tires, tubes, ect on the cheap.

personly i'd love to have disc brakes(front atleast), fenders, rear rack, dynamo hub with kelvar belt, (or sram rival groupset) chain guard, drop bars w/ brifters and a steel or cf frame weighing in under 20 lbs. but a bike like that would be well over 1k new and would be shinny it'd be stolen in the first month reguardless of the best locks. not to mention i would never be able to afford it. maybe so of you making six figures a year that a choice on wheather to drive the prosh, bmw or comuter bike to work can spend over 1k on a commuter bike, but to me, a working college student that makes no sence.

Doohickie

I think it's a beautiful bike. Then again, it reminds me of my current commuter, only with all the touches I wouldn't mind adding: