Hi all,

New to the bike commuting scene, looking to buy a stylish, practical commute bike. I have narrowed it down to either Priority Bicycles which is a relative newcomer on the market and Linus Bikes, which I love for their basic, simplistic design. Does anyone have experience with either or? Which one would you recommend? Thanks

Do I rightly guess what you want is a stylish economical commuter bike that will mostly be ridden on flats?. My vote is for the Priority because of the belt drive and Nexus 3-speed hub. It looks cleaner and will probably stay cleaner too.

That's precisely it. Mostly on flats, very minimal hills and occasional recreational riding. Thanks for the input! I was leaning Priority just a little hesitant due to the shipping costs to Canada

At $399.00 plus $85 brokerage fees and shipping costs to Canada, Priority is an outstanding value for a bicycle under $500.00.

For day to day riding, it really can't be beat.

Yeah I figured that, plus in comparing the price for accessories Priority has the edge there too. I checked with my local bike shop and the price on their Linus bikes seem ridiculous, $750 plus taxes for the 3 speed and their accessories online seem ridiculously overpriced as well

Linus is overpriced. And if you need accessories Priority offers $10 flat shipping for that in addition to the bike.

And the lightweight aluminum frame, I think was a good call. It makes for a light, strong and stiff bike. Not stiff in a bad but stiff in a good way since an alloy frame doesn't flex and transfers your power to the pedals.

As a concept, its a bike stripped down to its pure essentials, which fits the needs of most riders.

Linus does make beautiful bikes but you do pay a premium for them.

Linus bikes are very popular around here. They look very solid and well designed.

Also look at Biria bikes, if they're available in your area. I hear they are even better built, with more durable paint.

I love seeing new companies building good upright bikes like Priority. I hope they do well. Some quick thoughts. Fenders look really close to the tires, this could be a problem in snowy conditions when snow/ice can build up in there and could prevent mounting of studded tyres if needed. There's a reason the fenders on Dutch city bikes have considerable clearance. A beltcase (chaincase) would be helpful. Belts aren't as dirty as chains but can still leave a black line on your pants. I'm a big fan of coaster brakes. Too bad they don't offer an option for a front hub dynamo and dyno front & rear lights.

Without riding it you'll not know how it handles. Some bikes like this that I've tried have been kind of squirrelly, at least compared to our Dutch bikes. I've found that with many of these the seats are really poor and fortunately something easily upgraded.

Good luck

Bikesdirect.com has a nice looking bike in that ballpark too:
Save Up To 60% Off City Bikes | Classic, Stylish Three Speed City Bikes | Urban Bikes | Commuter Road Bikes | Windsor Oxford from bikesdirect.com

I would look into a gates centertrack at some point, if its in your budget.

- Andy

You should also look at Public bikes. Similar aesthetic to Linus as well.

Can anyone comment on the frame geometry of the Priority bike? It looks very upright. Also, I assume things like the stem and such are standard?

Seems like such a great value, especially for someone looking for a belt-drive bike.

Wow, yeah, that Priority looks like the bee's knees. You could outfit that with a rack, fenders, both U-lock and cable locks, and a pair of Ortlieb Back Rollers before even touching the price of one of the Linus bikes. The foot brake might take some getting used to but, damn, that's a nice price for a belt drive.

Edit: Ah, nm, you're probably looking at the Dutch 1, which is much more comparable in price (and features). Still, I like the allure of the belt drive.

Standard quill stem on the Priority bike.

I test rode one once. My first time ever riding in Manhattan traffic. LOL. Also my first ride after more than a year away from cycling.

There's a front-brake option you may want to grab if unaccustomed to coaster brakes. I had not ridden coaster brakes in forever, and kept grabbing the non-existent front.

They are introducing a kids model now, with a look that goes well with the adult model.

I have a concern. First, I am an IGG / Belt drive Fan. That is what I use on my commuter and its great. However, I am looking at the picture of the replacement belt and it does not look like a centre-trak design:

From Here

The centre-trak is essential. Trek tried a conventional belt and it was a failure. That initial failure of the SOHO doomed the line and is the source of most of the bias against belt drive. While Trek, as I recall, updated the next years models with the centre-trak design it was too late.

The centre-trak belt has a raised rib running the length of the belt and the pulleys are grooved in the centre. This keeps the belt from walking off the pulleys. Compare the picture above to this picture:

From Here

I like the belt for a commuter bike; but, I would want clarification of the type of belt this bike uses. As an alternative, I would also look at the Bikes Direct offering that someone else linked to. It is, essentially, the same as the Linus for less money.

I'd get one of these. If you're going to buy a basic city bike made overseas, 90% of the difference is in finish. These are cheap and they look good in person.

really like the priority kids bikes that are coming out! thanks for turning us onto these. our kid bikes are pretty terrible, we have 2 from walmart that are heavy and fall apart if ridden aggressively (which of course the little one does). it's just not ideal. i was thinking about shelling out $$ on a kids specialized bike (the only nice ones i've seen)...

If it was me, I'd go $100 more and get the Windsor Kensington 8. I'm essentially building the same thing up for my wife, but have spent way more money buying the parts piecemeal using a vintage Cannondale ST400 frameset.

[MENTION=399856]dondapper[/MENTION] let us know what you decide and please post back with your thoughts on how you like the bike you chose!

Well, after all the deliberation, my financial situation changed and so I've held off on the nice shiny new commuter for now. Just bought an old Nissan Skywagon bicycle (I know, I was surprised too, had no idea Nissan ever made bicycles) for $50 from a used bike shop and am adding components like a gel seat, lights and a rear rack to make it more commuter friendly. In the future however, I definitely have my sights set on the Linus. I tried one at a local bike shop and fell in love with it!

Downtube decals don't mean much. I wouldn't think anyone outside of the Nissan marketing department had much to do with it.

You did well. Saving money on the bike allows for experimentation in the accessory fun. You can find out a "gotta have" doesn't really fit the bill and try again.

Off and going.....I hope your dream bike fits the bill when you get it. At least you'll have all the pieces to make it a useable machine!!

Linus is known for trying to peddle their expensive farkle crap and most shops in my town refuse to carry the stuff. Don't let it put you off. The bikes are insanely fun to ride and they're as ubiquitous as Vespas. The Nexus hubs are well made and built to last.

I'm curious if your handle has anything to do giving threads the Lazarus treatment