Moozh

Why am I so taken with this bike right now? It looks stripped down, bone-simple, and unencumbered. Somewhat ideal for rough and ready scrapping about the city streets, Gearing for a sensible pace on flats and also something for the hill and an easy-peasey coaster brake..plain enuf. 'Cheep' too!!

Anyone have one or have ridden one? Is the "kick-back" simple and easy as it seems (reality vs marketing I s'pose)?

EChing

I haven't found any reviews, but only previews. If the gearing is good enough for the hills around here, it'll be hard to say No to this.

cloudrider

Reviving this thread. Like Moozh, I was immediately taken by this bike. I was traveling out of state recently and saw it in a shop. The store had a large basement where I rode the bike briefly. The gearing is nice. The coaster brake would take some getting used to (I haven't had one in 30 years). The shifting is pretty smooth and simple. Maybe too simple, as the slightest backward motion is enough to shift. The shop guy strongly advised adding a front brake. My only complaint was the really hard saddle.

Anyway, I'm looking for a dead-simple errand runner for town and am split between the Torker and something like this Windsor Essex (black one on the left), which I have not ridden. Both seem like good no-nonsense options.

Any experience with these out there?

jdswitters

I think the KB2 has the same frame as the graduate, which i have. I test rode the KB2 and felt I would like a few more gears. It is all relative though, there are others that dont like the way the 5 speed is geared.

Anyway, the component selection/rims is pretty good for the price, chainstays are short so if you run errands with panniers you may have them set with the centers behind the rear hub which can really impact the handling.

hubcap

Here is a review.

https://www.bikecommuters.com/2011/03...er-kb2-review/

The 430mm chainstays are not long by any strech, but I would not call them short either.

cloudrider

Great info, many thanks. That KB2 review is very helpful, as is the second one in the comments area below it.

nashcommguy

2 speed kick-back. My neighbor had one of these when I was a kid. A turquoise green sparkle w/chrome fenders and a matching rack. Dual headlights. The more things change...

Dahon.Steve

It's a nice bike. It's more like a Sturmey Archer 3 speed but without the 3rd gear. I didn't run the numbers with Sheldon's calculator but I figure with a 22T cog, it's probably geared low. I still think you need a front brake and that can be installed.

Dahon.Steve

I have the Graduate and those Kendra tires are horrible in the wet. Flats on a hub gear bike is a time consuming repair. I would replace that rear tire with a good Schwalbe and put a Tuffy tire liner so that you'll only get a rear flat once a year if that.

cloudrider

How does the kickback hub make flat repairs harder? Looks like just two nuts and the coaster brake arm to remove. Not that simple?

I'm also looking at the Torker U-District now. It's a single speed with two hand brakes. Maybe a simpler option overall than the KB2?