Do it ! I'll be your 1st customer !

Now check this out. I was amazed to find the electra dealer list not only includes the shop down the street where i've bought all my bikes, (tho i think they may not stock them since i never noticed them) but it includes the dealer that i found who has the giant in stock ! If they have the townies in stock i will be able to do a A/B on them ! Thats something i was hoping for but figured it was all but impossible. I will have to see if they have em in stock when i go to check out the giant this weekend.

By the way, the one i'd be interested in is the next one down from the 24 you posted...the townie 21. It doesn't have the all black thing going on, which looks nice but gets very old looking quick. (black gears! not 4 me) It's a 21 speed which is fine. It'll get me up to the speed i want i'm sure. And it comes in my favorite color like the giant.....silver. I still love the look of the giant a hell of a lot tho. but considering the gear ratio being much lower than i want i'd probably opt for the townie. But we shall see. I'll certainly post my findings after i go vheck them out this weekend.

Well, seems i wasn't feeling to well today and had to take the day off. Oddly i felt a lot better around 10 am when the bike shops open. But seriously, i did go and try 3 bikes...the giant suede, the townie 21, and the specialized expedition. I tried the exp. to see how i felt about a comfort bike with regular geometry compared to the flat foot geometry of the townie and suede. (by the way, the boot at the bottom of the suede's head IS indeed a shock)

I really liked the townie best, tho i do have a question. I tried it at 2 shops, one of which had last years model and one the 05'. One shop owner told me the sram gears are smoother and better in the low $ range, and i tend to agree. the giant had sram and the older townie did too. The newer townie had shimano. Having driven the townies an hour or 2 apart i wan't sure if the older sram equipped one was better, but i think it was. I rode the giant and the newer townie at the same shop. The giant i wasn't impressed with, but it's sram gears were easily better than the townies shimano. The older townie with the sram.....well, i wish i had been able to ride it right after the newer one to be sure, but again the giant's sram was easily better and i *think* the older townie's sram was too.

What do you all think about the low $ sram gears compared to the shimano low $ stuff? And yes, i did make sure it wasn't only the shifters that were of a given brand on each bike, but also the derailers.

Aside from all that, the townie was unbelieveably comfortable. I feel like i could ride any distance i'm capable of w/o the slightest butt pain. It's as comfortable as sitting in a recliner ! and as for the notion that you can't stand up on them, i didn't find that to be true. Yes, not as good for that as with a regular geometry bike, but doable for sure. The one and only thing i find thats possibly negitive is that sitting in that position doesn't allow as much leverage as a regular bike. It's kinda like your leg muscles do all the work instead of allowing the weight of your body to contribute. But this isn't a big issue when considering the many other advantages. I rode an expedition after the townie and it was very uncomfortable compared to the townie geometry.

So the townie is probably gonna be in the stable as soon as i sell the stumpie. I still have reservations tho. Not because the bike wasn't all i hoped it would be, but because being so very different i can't help but worry that even tho i absolutly loved riding it, i fear in a few weeks time the thrill may wear off and i may wish i'd bought a regular geometry comfort bike. I doubt it, but stilll you never know.
Oh, and one thing about the older one in silver that i absolutly hated.....red seat and grips ! One question electra....WHHHHYYYYYYYY!!!!???? damn ! If i want the older one to get the sram i have to deal with a red seat and grips.....geez......fire the guy who made that decision will ya !!

well, i found a townie with black set and grips and bought it. But here's a rather odd thing i found. If you look at the silver townie 21 on the electra site it shows a bike that has a black set and grips, shimano derailer, and a rear brake cable that runs thru the inside of the top frame tube. Thats the bike i bought. However, i had to call a load of bikes shops to find it because every other shop has the silver with red grips and seat, sram derailer and the cable running outside of the frame.

Before i found this "unique" one i called electra to ask why the picture on thier site was different from the bikes all the dealers had. I had seen 2 and called 5 other dealers that all had the silver 21 with red and the outside cable and sram. He said and i quote, "every townie 21 in silver we ship has black seat and shimano derailer ! he said he knows of none with red seats ! I also asked the dealers if thier bikes were 04's or 05's and they all told me 05'. And the kicker is that the dealer i bought this black/shimano one from told me he's sold a load of them and has never seen one with a red seat !!

i swear, this is like the friggin twilight zone ! Anyway, just thought this was interesting.....gotta go take my 1st ride. I love the way this thing feels

About the Suede (we have several built in our store)...

It looks like a bike for occasional users. The bottom bracket is low to the point the pedals drag into the most mild of turning efforts, and the bottom bracket doesn't clear most curbs. The front DOES have suspension, though its a very poor version of Cannondale's Headshok apparently, and not very functional. The bike IS a blast to ride, but the parts seem extremely sub-par and not very durable for the sticker price. Its somewhere between a Recumbent and a Comfort Bike. Handling is very poor, and I wouldn't use one for commuting because of it. Would be a SWEET bike for just cruising the local path or very slow pace casual rides.

Jon

Ahhh ! how'd you find that?! I couldn't seem to find any info on previous years. But isn't it amazing that the electra rep didn't even know that ! Geez......where do they recruit thier employees from !!! Also odd is that of 7 dealers that had them, none had the 05 except the 8th one i called. And even more bizzare is that he (who i bought it from) said he's sold a ton of them and every silver he's had came with black ! Still seems like the twilight zone to me...Just amazing....

I rode it today and it's really unbelievably comfortable. Words fail me in that regard...just fantastic. The only drawback is that going uphill is tougher, but in think i can handle it considering the whole point for me is exersize...FUN exersize specifically. However, after i rode i adjusted the seat as far forward as it goes, which is about another inch. then adjusted the bars and seat angle. I'll see how that feels tomorrow.

But the one thing that floors me about this bike is this. Ever since i've been riding i have always had this vision of a bike that was comfortable as sitting in a chair and somehow was so easy to pedal on flat roads that you were oblivious to the fact you're powering it yourself. Almost like you were riding a motorcycle and just enjoying the ride and the scenery. this bike is exactly that ! i thought that wasn't a possibility, but it is and it's just friggin awesome !

I was just about to rebut you post in almost every respect till i realized you were talking about the suede ! But i can now agree with you at least to some extent. I rode the suede and i agree it's not as well made as i had hoped for. That and the fact that the townie just hands down beat it during my test rides is why i bought the townie. The quality of the townie is also considerably better. In fact, this new model (which it must be) is nicer than the one pictured above. A lot of nice details, and sitting next to my 02 stumpjumper it actually looks comparable in quality. I do realize the SJ is made with better materials and such. But it really does look quite close in build quality in most respects. Actually suprising compared to other bikes in the same range that i've looked at and owned. as to your thoughts on the ride of the suede, i can assure you they don't apply to the townie with a couple exceptions.For one the slow speed handling is a bit shakey due to the long wheel base. But i'm talking walking speed only. Anything more and the handling actually feels better than a regular bike. And hills are tougher. but these things are trade-offs for advantages that are much more numerous. No problems going off curbs either. The biggest disadvantage is going uphill. Yes, it's tougher. But i'm in it for the exersize anyway ! and the comfort is so far advanced from even a regular comfort bike i could see going much further distances because i've always had a problem with distance as far as butt wrist and back fatigue. This this eliminates all that completely.

I forgot to mention one thing concerning the bars. I like the feel, but they are very high and i think if they were lower it might be equally comfortable if not more while giving the advantage of more power. I noticed that with the geometry of the bike and the position you're in, you tend to pull on the bars to get power to the pedals. i think lower bars would feel more stable and the angle change would give you more power to the cranks and make hills easier. I may try a straight bar in the future and see. they'd still be plenty high for comfort of body position i think. This is not to say i don't like them as is, but i do think it could make the bike even better.