DTG

Without going into detail about the bike and/or bikes. Just go to this website right here https://www.joe-bike.com/bikes/commuter-bikes/ and they will take care of the rest.

fietsbob

There is Koga Signature Program, a bike parts pick menu to pick from and then its shipped to the Koga Dealer..

Just NB: they withdrew from the US Market . but have many dealers in other parts of the World.

a trip to AMS to take the Bus to the dealer , to try it out, get it dirty so a Used Tarriff applies,
then bring it back as Luggage, ... might be less than shipping it, since small orders will be Air Freight rates..

jyl

My reasoning is that on a typical commute, you spend very little time shifting versus a lot of time pushing the pedals and the wind. And when you hit your limits, of power or fatigue, it's not because your shifters wore you out.

Some prefer drop bars and some prefer flat bars, I've commuted on both. Whichever you prefer, they are very different. The drop bar puts your wrists in a different orientation (with the exception of the tops position); the range of different positions is wider (from high and back on the tops to low and forward on the drops); and on modern bikes, usually can be set up with a greater saddle to hands drop than flat bars (when in the drops ) and thus a flatter back/more aero position. If someone wants a drop bar bike, a flat bar bike is not real close to the target.

dscheidt

The essential fact is that flat bars are not drops, and drops are not flat bars. If one has a preference for one versus the other, it's a mistake to buy a bike with the wrong one and try and convert it. It costs a lot of money, and the results are rarely satisfactory.

acidfast7

Yeah, I forgot about KM.

Not awake when I made the original response.

downwinded

Dude, your in a "big" city! There are lots of bike shops in L-ville. Was there a few months ago and dropped in on a couple that looked like they would be very capable. Some small shops on Preston, Schellers out on Shelbyville Rd (I think there is more than one), and several others. Why not talk to some of those guys and find someone you hit it off with? Then, just leave your list of specs along with your phone number on the back of a blank check. Well, maybe modify that last part just a bit but you get the idea. Happy hunting! And...GO CATS!!!

acidfast7

I'm not a big fan of dealing with a build a bike shop because you're subject to their preferences.

Where I am, the LBS hates IGH. The owner/mech states that their too complicated, heavy, expensive and doesn't recommend them AT ALL.

If the owner/mech is that passionate about something like IGH, imagine about the smaller details.

Maybe what you need is a quick trip around Europe to see what's out them.

East coast to Frankfurt, Paris or Amsterdam in the summer. Rent a bike and do some cycling. Hit Tout Terrain and some of the Swiss manufacturers, then through Germany and see what they have going (VSF and Rohloff) and over to Holland to check out the KM factory.

Just a suggestion as I saw flights from the East Coast to the US round trip for less than 500 USD recently (if you book ahead). I just bought a flight for a 3-week holiday in China for less than 500 USD from CPH.

It's cheaper than you'd think

-=(8)=-

Ha ha . . . Cats ?? Lolz

Yes, we do have a few good shops within walking distance of my house, but I have some reasons why I just want to git r done in one fell swoop.
I campaigned for Jackie Green of Bike Couriers in his mayoral bid, so I like to use him when I need an LBS. If you get back here, checkout Old Bikes Belong on Preston Street and Vic's Classic Cycles on Bardstown. He posts in C&V sometimes. They are doing some unique stuff, a little different than the average shop.
FWIW, Ive been an avid cyclist since the 60's with my Stingray, and Louisville is the first place Ive ever lived in a long time where I haven't been offended by most of its shops
Parkside is the only one here that I avoid. The rest are all pretty good. In the other 5000 places Ive lived, that statistic is unheard of.

I agree with all of this, bike and otherwise. My Brother flies Continental-United International out of Newark, so cheap tix can be mine anytime I want. Ireland for this summer

chaadster

Typical commute, huh? Whatever... We all ride differently, of necessity or preference. We all spend more time pedaling than shifting because it cannot be any other way, so that's not saying anything, is it? I guess that what you're really saying is that YOU don't shift often and don't think shifting is an important part of how you ride. For me, it's the opposite; I do shift often and shifting ease, quality, and speed are all important to how I ride. I told you before that I ride aggressively and fast, and in order to do that, I need to shift frequently, because my urban commute has lots of rolling terrain, stops, and slows, so when it comes to carrying speed and accelerating, I employ gears to get there quickly and efficiently. Using gears (i.e. shifting) is precisely what allows riders to do more work more efficiently without hitting your limits.
Listen, I objected to your claims that flat bars were uncomfortable, slow, and put the rider in a position very different from drop bars. Those things are not true.

I fully realize the bar types are different, and that there are more hand positions with drops, but those differences alone do not make the rider more aero. Getting aero is a setup issue, and I'd point to the fact that the most aero cyclists, and those most concerned with sustaining high speeds, do not use drop bars, namely Individual Pursuit and time trialists. No, they don't use flat bars either (though TT base bars and pursuit bars do look a lot like flat bars with bar ends), but then again, we're in the commuting forum, not the racer forum, so ultimate aero is really taking things a bit too far.

The simple fact is that a flatbar can be set plenty low enough to get a low/flat back riding position for most commuters, based on how I see most commuters riding. I simple scroll through the Commuter Bicycle Pics thread will give a pretty good cross section of that, and plainly most do not ride in anything of an aero position.

It's just plain misinformation to state that flat bars are uncomfortable, slow, and difficult to setup.

acidfast7

On one of my bikes, I can't shift and I really like that!

I-Like-To-Bike

I once had a broken bike that wouldn't shift and I didn't like it.

acidfast7

You get used to it after a while. I really like it as I find myself much more dynamic in the range of cadences that I can comfortably tolerate.

But, it can be hard work up a hill or into the wind/rain.

gregf83 

I think he was just pointing out that, for most people, drop bars offer more flexibility in riding positions. Sure you can set up your flat bars to be narrow, with an aggressive aero position but most people don't.

jyl

That was basically my point.

In theory, you could set up narrow flat bars 6" below the saddle and very far forward of the headset, and get a nicely aero position. In theory. But very few commuters do. On many modern bikes you'd need a weird stem (super long and big negative rise). And then what do you do when you want to be upright with your head high?

A drop bar gives a wide range of positions, from low/forward/aero to high/back/relaxed. On the tops is a relaxed upright position similar to the typical flat bar (with the option of interrupter levers). On the hoods puts your hands around 8" forward. Drops puts them around 6" lower. Lots of choices.

When people try to get the same range of positions using flat bars, they end up using trekking (butterfly) bars.

Anyway, I'm not trying to convince you that drop bars are better than flat bars. As mentioned, I've commuted on both. My view is simply that they are very different. That's why I think a person looking for one shouldn't settle for the other.

chaadster

Well if that was your basic point, we sure had to carve a lot of fat off to get to the meat of a awfully simple observation, didn't we?

I think the problem I have with the way you say things is that you go beyond simply stating that drops offer more positions, which is inarguable, but that they are, per force, low, aero, comfortable, relaxed or whatever, and that simply is not true. This:
is simply not true, and I can't understand why you keep making the assertion.

Those attributes come by virtue of the setup, purely and simply. It's quite easy to set up drop bars very aggressively, such that nothing is relaxed, or conversely, close and high, such that no grip is low and aero. It's the same for a flat bar.

gregf83 

I don't know how jyl could make it any clearer so at this point I think you're just being obtuse.

CrankyOne

What a PITH (Pain In The Hand) all this. Non issue on my upright bike where my hands just steer and don't support any body weight :-)

acidfast7

I've got to agree.

From a number of hand positions ... a flat bar with some biokork GP3s has a similar number of "usable" hand positions as a pair of drops. I rode both in the last month extensively.

I like that flat bar better for the type of riding I do.

I think the US market is infatuated with drops because they don't get good flat bars with two-joint adjustable stems.

In essence, the US market only has the ability to evaluate one option.

weshigh

Granted, I didn't read the whole though thread, so my advice might not be on point. I have an All-City Space Horse that I've built up custom with an IGH. I think it make a great commuter. Fast, but able to carry a solid load. Room for varies size of tires with fenders. I don't have dynohub for it yet, but only because the wheels I currently have are from a previous build. I don't have the best pictures of it in its current build. Happy to take one if you'd like to see it better.

Giant Doofus

Someone else mentioned the Tout Terrain (sorry, I lost track of which post). It turns out Peter White isn't the only dealer. Joe Bike builds them up too: https://www.joe-bike.com/bikes/commut...-metropolitan/. They are pricy, but come with everything you've listed, including drop bars.

acidfast7

Still very expensive for you guys in the US. I'd just fly into Basel, head to the factory, get it built, ride it around for a week and bring it back in a box.

Silk Rod GT max spec is €3690 - 19% VAT = €2950 + €50 to fly it back to the states = 3000 or 3900 USD. If you're going to pay what Joe-bike is charging ... take the extra and buy it from the factory with some European riding

https://www.en.tout-terrain.de/filead..._2014_v1.1.pdf

dscheidt

He keeps making the assertion because it's true.

No, they come from having at least four places to put your hands. No matter how you have drops set up, the hooks are lower and farther foward of the tops. The hoods are foward of the tops, but not usually much lower. the drops are lower than the tops, but not forward. That's true whether you have the bars three inches above the saddle, it's true if they're even with the saddle, it's true if they're six inches lower. yes, if you have bars set high, the drops aren't going to be as aerodynamic as if they're lower, but they're still lower than 95% of the flat bar bikes I see.

acidfast7

to be honest, if we're talking bars and aerodynamics, I think bullhorns deserve some credit ...

-=(8)=-

Bars with hoods climb better too.
For me, personally, flat bars are useless. Drops or Bullhorns only, please

I think the argument is ridiculous though . . . Its like me telling you that if you cant fit into my clothes and shoes, you are dressing wrong

chaadster

Lower relative to the tops does not make it aero. Dropbars can be set up such that the rider is still relatively full chest into the wind.

Really...do I have to put up diagrams for you guys? I'm really at a loss to understand how you can't understand that hand positions are different from body position. It's truly baffling....unless it's because you just don't understand bike setup and what aero means. It is the commuter forum, so you'd be forgiven, Fred.