tar wheel

I'd like to start commuting to work, and I've decided to purchase a commuter bike, as opposed to converting my old mtb. I'd like something with full fenders, rack, and a little style, for under $600. I love the looks of Pashley bikes, but they're awfully tough to find, and they're quite expensive.


Enter the Linus Roadster Sport: https://www.linusbike.com/models/roadster-sport/



This seems to have everything I'm looking for. Has anyone had any experience with this bike, or other Linus bikes? I'm curious as to whether this would be a good choice in this price range, if it's durable, etc.

Are there other bikes in this price range that would be a better buy? I'm also considering used (or vintage), but the thought of having something fresh from the factory does appeal to me...

Thanks!

no1mad 

Didn't see a price on that Linus, but there a few models in the $600 neighborhood (or less).

Trek Belleville
Giant Via
BD line of city bikes

tar wheel

My local shop has one for $579. Took it for a spin around the block and it felt good. It was comfortable, and it seemed pretty sturdy.

I like the look of that Trek.

SouthFLpix

Nice bike. If I was paying around that price I'd want an 8 speed hub, though.

tar wheel

I'd certainly prefer an 8-speed. There's an 8-spd version of this bike available, but the price jumps to $789.

no1mad 

Have you seen the KHS Cidi 8? Or the Jamis Commuter 3 and then add the rack of your choice?

tar wheel

two more strong candidates. I actually tried out the Jamis, and liked the feel of the Linus a bit more, though the extra speeds were handy. I had not seen the KHS, so I'll check that out. Thanks!

amckimmey

My girlfriend has the Linus Mixte 3speed. We just got rides it every day. Does really well on it. We just got done with a 2day tour she did awesome on it. Not good at all for climbing hills but she got it done. The quality of the bike is pretty good for how much the bikes are. We would like to upgrade the hub to something more like a 8 or 11 speed hub. She got the bike before the 8speed was even available.

I don't think you could go wrong with the Linus.

tar wheel

Glad to hear it! Thanks for posting.

Rhodabike

The Norco City Glide 8 and Ceres models have 8 speed internal hubs and might be within your price range.
e.t.a.: Okay forget the Ceres, it's about $1200. The City Glide 8 is about $665.
https://www.norco.com/bikes/urban/cit...y-glide-8-igh/

lostarchitect 

I thought I liked these bikes for quite a while, but now that I am seeing more of them on the street, I dunno. There is something cheap looking about them. I think the bikes direct city bikes are very similar for a MUCH better price. (https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/city_bikes.htm) Specificaly, the Windsor Oxford Deluxe. (https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...ord_deluxe.htm) If you want to spend $600, I think there are better options.

tar wheel

The BD's specs actually look better, and it has a chainguard as well. I think I'm going to give that a shot, since this will be my introduction to commuting, and if it works out I'll most likely find something a little nicer down the road. Thanks for the heads up.

mikepwagner

I find the Ceres pretty interesting, but I don't see any dealers anywhere close to me (NC).

Is it possible/recommended to buy this bike online? Is a LBS likely to be able to get it from a distributor?

Mike

tar wheel

OK, it's a done deal. Just ordered this, but in black. Hoping it'll turn out to be a nice bike!



Thanks everyone for your input. In the end, the wallet won out, but I don't think this will be my last bike purchase. I'll post a review when it arrives.

lostarchitect 

Cool, I think you just got a bike that's just as good for $300 less. I have a BD bike that I really like as well. For the money, they are a good deal. Let us know how you like it.

tar wheel

I think so too, or at least I hope so. I'm going to invest the extra money I would have spent in panniers, a nice saddle, and some necessary accessories (pump, bottle and cage, flat kit, lock, etc).

monsterpile

If BD had those city bikes in a larger sizes I would try and get my friend to buy one because I think he would really like a simple IGH bike.

Saffa

If you take a closer look, the Linus looks to me like the better bike... much nicer crank, stainless steel hardware, double wall rim, reflective tire wall, alloy headset, leather grips. I also don't like how discount on-line retailers are killing local bike shops... not looking forward to a landscape dominated e-commerce shipping warehouses.

tcs

At your suggestion, I did take a closer look, and noticed...

Linus: Hi Tensile steel with chromoly down tube frame
BD Windsor: full chromoly frame

BTW, the Windsor's Weinmann DB17 rims are double wall.

lostarchitect 

Uh. No.

The Linus costs 2x as much, and offers little to nothing that improves on the BD bike in any real way. They're both made in Asia, by the way.

squirtdad

Well it is too late as OP has ordered the windsor and I hope they have good luck.

Based on what has been consistently posted about bikes direct and looking at the specs of the bikes

The bikes are similar, but overall the components on the Linus are higher end.... simple things like pedals.

If you bike a bike direct bike a compentent mechanic should take it apart and go over it. There have been too many reports of BD bikes not having grease etc.


I think to truly compare prices you need to look at the bigger picture, especially if a buyer is not a person

base price Windsor $350 Linus $600 advantage Windsor $250
add a rack Windsor $30 Linus $0 advantage Windsor $220
Build check Windsor $50 Linus $0 advantage Windsor $170
First tune up Windsor$50 Linsu $0 advantage Windsor $120

If you consider the bigger picture vs just initial purchase price the Cost difference is not nearly as big.

lostarchitect 

Squirtdad, the Windsor comes with a rack, so that's minus $30. A lot of people don't need the build check or tuneup because they can do it themselves or have a friend who can, and can teach them in the process. So in many cases the $130 you're quoting won't really be accurate.

I've seen lots of these Linus bikes around, and they're really nothing special in terms of components. I had the good luck to see one of these Windsors just the other day, as luck would have it, parked right next to a Linus. Seeing them right next to each other, the Linus looked surprisingly like the cheaper bike. The fit and finish on the Windsor was noticeably better.

squirtdad

lostarchitect: When I looked I did not see th rack....my miss

My key point is you can't make a pure dollars to dollars comparison between a bike (any bike) from a LBS and Bikes direct without taking into consideration: Do you do your own wrenching on bikes? Did you do a detail comparison of components and are you ok with the differences (ie pedals....if you plan on putting on a set of clipless you don't care if the BD pedal speced is a cheapy plastic vs a nicer alloy pedal) Are you ok with not having a LBS to go to for questions, issues, warranty etc.

This is a very personal decison and just saying the LBS is 2x the BD cost is misleading for many people.

I check out BD fairly often and some times they have things that look good, but then you see that the spec only have one or two of the items that caught your eye like ultegra (maybe ultegra deraillers and shifters but different bb and cranks) and other times they have very full groups (ie the specs on this one https://bikesdirect.com/products/moto..._pro.htm#specs) bottom line is you just have to look close to understand exactly what your are getting

lostarchitect 

I fully agree.

tar wheel

Here's a quick update... Below is a pic of the bike when it arrived (after a shipping snafu...not bd's fault), and after spending about 45 minutes unpacking it. It was VERY well-packed.



squirdad is right, in that I decided to pay the LBS to finish the assembly and set up the bike. I hope to pick it up later today, so I'll know an exact total at that time, but here's how it's looking so far:

Bike - 350
Setup - 100
Brooks saddle - 100
Brooks grips - 75
New pedals - 25
F/R lights - 50

Total: 700

This is $50 more than the price of the new Linus at the same shop, which is about 75 over the MSRP. Admittedly, I would never have paid that, especially when the other shops around the area were selling for MSRP, but that's the deal. I believe that the comments about the components on the Linus as being superior are essentially correct, but they're certainly far from high end. It's a cheap bike, after all.

However, the most important aspect to me was the frame, which is a solid upgrade from the Linus, and the chain guard is something that was very important to me, as I'll be commuting in a suit most of the time. Of course, not really fair to compare the Brooks stuff to the stock Linus stuff. In the end, for what my LBS was selling the Linus for, I believe that I wound up with a nicer bike, professionally assembled and set up, for $50 more. I'll have to wait a little while longer to find out if I'm right though!

I'll post an update later today or tomorrow.