Hey there, sometime lurker finally joining the community of riders!

My name is Robert, and I live in Clemson, South Carolina. This city is really very bike friendly, and even though I have only been commuting (really, I have gone car free, after selling my Cadillac) for a week I am thoroughly enjoying myself! I feel far more alive than I ever have before, and I am actually discovering parts of my town that I never would have seen otherwise!

My daily commuter at the moment is a 2010 Diamondback Edgewood LX, and it is a "decent" bike for what I am asking of it currently. I made the mistake of buying a bike without really researching my purchase though, and as a result I am pretty limited in my options when it comes to fenders, and the components certainly leave a good bit to be desired in smoothness and reliability. I have already flung a chain, luckily that is when I started really reading up on bike maintenance and adjustments/tune ups. I took my time and perfectly aligned everything on it, and so far it has been great since. My commute is only 14 miles round trip, so I am not setting any records with it, and I think it will be a fine bike for years to come.

Now for the questions:

I am looking in to taking delivery of a 2011 Raleigh Alley Way as my next bike to replace my DB as my daily commuter, and then relegating the Diamondback to days when I'd rather not subject the Raleigh to the elements, or when I need to venture in to the less savory parts of town. Is this a good plan? Heck, does anyone have any experience with the Alley Way as a commuter? It seems like it has everything I could possibly want: Belt drive, Alfine IGH, discs, fenders, and PLENTY of braze-ons and goodies. I know it seems silly to break in to such a higher end bicycle as a newbie, but now that I am car-free, I really view it as an investment in my ability to work and support myself. I can't rely on the Diamondback to always be ready to go, and it already almost let me down, so I figure it's similar to having the "nice car" and the beater 80's car to plink around in, or as back up for when I want to do something cool to the Alley Way. Am I approaching this the right way?

I am going to throw a picture up of my current commuter, just to show you guys what all I have already managed to do. I think its a great utility machine, I just wish it inspired a little more confidence in its reliability.

Thanks for this great resource by the way, over the week I have learned so much that has made my commute incredibly enjoyable, and even had my first run in with bad weather with no problems whatsoever!

My two cents? I have a Raleigh Sojourn, and have not regretted it at all. It has everything I need in a commuter/every day bike as it comes with a Brooks B-17, Brooks leather handlebar tape, rock solid racks, decent mud guards, great tires and even a pump! It's comfy for just a couple miles or for dozens. Just a thought...

Welcome, and I hope you are hapy with whatever purchase you make!

I seriously considered the Sojourn as well, but the deciding factor for me was the belt drive on the Alley Way. Also, I am not too keen on commuting on drop bars, since full attention and visibility is required on roads here. This state is still firmly car-centric, and I feel far more comfortable having a more upright position. Beautiful machine though.

I am pretty stoked, I am going to give it one more test ride tomorrow at the LBS, and then commit the rest of the money toward it Friday. I am also glad to see Raleigh back in the game with some serious offerings. When I was a kid, I had a Raleigh tourer that I ran in to the ground.

Update: My morning check up has shown that the cheap-ass wheels on my Diamondback suck. The rear wheel is in need of truing, and the bike isn't even two weeks old, and I have never hit even the smallest pot hole or object. I assume the doublewalled wheelset on the Alley Way will be a vast improvement over the aluminum set on this Diamondback... Pretty much seals the deal here.

welcome to the forum, the alley way looks like a solid rig. I might suggest carefully checking the geometry against your diamondback to make sure it will make a good fit, you definitely don't want to make a big investment on a bike that isn't comfortable.
Also, those wheels may not be the worst, machine build wheels often need a good tuneup after the first few hundred miles. Once they have had a good tuning, you should be able to ride them without too much trouble as long as they don't get abused.

I did not know this. Good to know, since I have already put around 220 miles on the rig. I'll probably take it to the shop while I practice on a set of childs wheels until I can do it myself. I have test ridden the Raleigh, and it felt very nice, but before I pull the trigger I am going to see if the LBS will let me rent it for a day to gauge exactly how it will feel on a mock commute run. I really like the saddle width though. It seems to be a contested issue though with some riders. Luckily, I am a very small guy, 5'10 @ 143lbs, and the narrow saddle fit like a glove. I also LOVE the smoothness of the hubs. I never thought a bike could be as smooth shifting as an automobile until I tried this one.

This place is great, everyone here has been a huge help in getting my confidence up to abandon my car. For what I was paying in insurance/gas/maintenance I can literally rent a car with the money I am saving every weekend should I feel like it!

Welcome and its awesome you are car free which makes me somewhat jealous.

The Diamondback you have isn't great its the low end of legit bikes. I would think with a little work and care it would be just fine for what you are asking of it at least for now. What are these reliability issues that you are having?

The Raleigh looks like a great bike. My opinion is that its alot of money to spend when youhave a decent bike already and you hve only been riding for a couple of weeks. I would hate for you to drop all that cash and then 4-6 months from now decide you want something much different. I am cheap and less picky than most people so don't let me sway you from getting what you want if your budget allows it. I think it might be good to ride what you have for a couple months to be sure of fit and all kinds of other factors. You might find you want something with different geometry or drop bars that allow you to sit upright enough to see around like on a touring bike or lots of other things. If you go forward with looking at the Raleigh...if you can bring the bike inside to work a shop should let you test it out for a day or if you do rent it the rental fee should go towards the purchase. Good luck have fun!

You might want to explore a number of bikes before dropping that kind of money. There are bikes with internal hubs and a chain that can be had for much less money. The Jamis Commuter or Bianchi Milano Alfine for example cost around half the price. The belt drive would be less maintenance, but at a steep cost.

If you've done your research and you like it, then go for it. It looks like a nice bike .

I am definitely reading as much as I can. I have a few Kona's to try out and also a Sojourn and then the Alley Way. I REALLY like the Alley Way though, it seems perfectly set up for real utility. It all depends on how my trials go. I am definitely going to make sure I have a comfortable and smooth ride, though.

welcome to the forum. i think you might have trouble with that seatpost trunk mount though

My advice would be to ride your DB for a while to see what kinds of features you would like on your "ideal" commuter bike. Of course, if you have already ordered the Raleigh, that's a moot point.

Your wheel problems are not uncommon even with a more expensive bike. Wheels often get out of true during the first few weeks of riding and need an adjustment. Take your bike to the shop where you bought it and they might true the wheels for free since it is a new bike.

No biggie, this rack was actually free. When I moved in to my apartment I found it in a dresser than had been left by previous tenants. Woohoo free stuff. For the Alley Way I was going to go with the Civia Loring rack, or possibly the PDW rack.

I haven't yet ordered it, so no worries there. They actually have one in stock at my LBS though in my frame size, so its pretty convenient to test out. I am going to get the wheel tuned up too, since I hadn't realized that it was a common issue. I truly thought I had damaged something.

My main reasoning for jumping in to the higher end so fast is I have learned from my time as a car fanatic that if its worth doing, its worth doing right. Especially when it comes to reliability. I have been riding the DB non stop, and have nearly 350 miles on it already (lots of fun exploration this holiday weekend!) and I have a pretty good idea for my needs in a rig now. The main limiter on the DB is the lack of fender mount options and the less than inspiring suspension set up. I still like it, but I think I really just made a pretty bad choice with the aluminum frame and lack of expandability. I am in no hurry though, so I will be checking some better options this and next week.

Best part of being car-free? I now have the disposable income to do this sort of thing. It used to be car-audio and performance parts (and the maintenance nightmare that follows), now I can afford really nice bike stuff!

Well, I took in all the advice today, and really thought about my needs and why I wanted what I wanted. I test rode three bikes today.

1. The Raleigh Alley Way
2. Raleigh Sojourn
3. The Specialized Globe Haul (2010)

I decided on the Haul! It was a _blast_ to ride, and I am able to readily get parts and such for it! I get fenders, 9x2 Alivio group, and a rock solid braking system. This thing feels like a tank, and the frame-integrated rack and lighting (though the frontal light leaves a bit to be desired) are AMAZING. I road it for miles and miles while I left my DiamondBack with the LBS owner, and I was hooked. The Raleigh was far too expensive for what I was able to get, and I can go Alfine on the Haul for less than 350$ if I feel the need later (for what it is worth, the cassette and crank groups of the Haul are far better suited for my commutes.)

The Sojourn and Alley Way are phenomenal machines, dont get me wrong. The issue of having readily available parts for the Alley Way nagged me until the end of the decision, and the Sojourn simply required far too much after-purchase investment in parts to be fully commute ready. I loved both bikes though, and it really is a shame that Raleigh didn't at least include a rack with the Alley Way. I still love that bike, but it really is more novelty than function, and my LBS guys helped me really dial in my needs, and figure out if it was worth the extra cash for the Alley Way.

I ended up buying the Haul at the end of the day. The out-the-door price for a set of matching panniers, lock system, and the bicycle was $525 and he left me the option of having a spare wheel built with the Alfine hub for $300 out the door with a full 1 year warranty! This is going to be the perfect bike for my commute, and I wish I had just done this before spending the cash on the Diamondback. I feel pretty dumb now, I'll tell you that. Now I at least have a beater that is still set up for commuting though...

TL;DR: The Specialized Globe Haul ended up being nearly $1000 cheaper, being far better suited for commuting, and retaining the excellent good looks that I loved about the Raleigh Alley Way, so I bought it, got a kick ass discount on last years model (unfortunately I missed out on the disc brakes of the 2011 model, and Alfine group, but that can come later.)

Thanks guys for giving me some real points to think on, and for keeping a healthy skepticism against spending 1500+ on a commuter!

EDIT: I should mention the main thing that swayed me toward the Haul was the ability to inexpensively repair the drivetrain and other components. The belt drive was great on the Raleigh, but would happen if I were to experience a failure 35 miles from home/LBS? Same for the Alfines. I stand a much better chance of obtaining and repairing the parts that might experience problems on the Haul, and it is pretty damn quiet to boot!