Opinions on this bike?
 

After i get the SE tripel n have it all set up, i plan to get this guy. The idea is to take some of the burden of use off the uptown especially in warmer weather and for longer rides, especially rides with hills. I like everything about this bike. I might swap the 8 speed shimano for a speedhub as the only alteration if i feel the 8 speed is limiting me, and that's a huge if.

Breezer Bikes - Beltway Elite - Bike Overview

http://breezerbikes.com/images/produ...Elite_Side.jpg

Opinions?

- Andy

Looks sharp.
Looks like it's just about all set up for commuting.

They did not go cheap with the parts. Looks like a very high quality build (for the little I know)

That's a really nice, sensible do-it-all bike. It did catch my eye when I was looking, but unfortunately a bit too expensive for my budget.

Very impressive! Maybe the most innovative bicycle of it's type. I'd like to see more bikes like that (I would like to own one). What is the price... $1600. I hope you have a safe location (like at your desk) to park/store the bike during your work day. Too nice a bicycle to leave chained to a pole in the alley.

Great looking bike but even if you've got an inkling to change out the Alfine for a Speedhub I'd look into something with that already installed as you're going to need to swap the shifter as well.

That said I've got a bike with the Alfine 8 and the gearing is fine for my measly commute.

Looks like a nice ride! I can't think of anything that's missing. The pump post on the rack is a clever feature.

Agreed. I would not pay for a perfectly fine Alfine 8, only to immediately swap it out.

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The perfectionist in me can't believe that the manufacture can't be bothered to get the fender gaps even. Especially on the bike for the (web) sales brochure!

It all depends on your goals. That looks like it has a lot of good features for a commuter. The belt should be interesting to try out, as well as the generator light and discs.

But it all comes at a bit of a price. Accoriding to this review, the bike comes out at 29.8 lbs

That is a pretty hefty bike, but I assume that includes fenders, dynamo, and internal geared hub.

I'm not sure I'd spend $1500 on a bike with the wrong rear hub. The number of gears and range all depends on where as well as how you ride.

That's actually a rather light dry weight for a fully kitted commuter, most weigh more. My Gazelles dry weight is almost 50 lbs, and is over 60 lbs with bag, baskets, additional lights, ect.

Had 2 guys From Sweden on a Bike tour from Alaska to Florida , Pass thru town Traveling down the west coast, in November 2 years ago,

they were riding step through commuter bikes with Shimano's 8 speed hub, they brought over with them , from Scandinavia.

If I could keep from being worried about it being stolen, I'd pick one up in a heartbeat. It would probably become my touring bike, too.

You need to get one of those locks that links to your cell phone. Unless you just have a super secure place to lock it up at work. Very cool bike.

I plan to get & use several high grade locks including for when it's at home. :) I may get a bike rack & bolt it to the floor in the garage for all 3 bikes as well to minimize space taken up.

The speed hub wouldnt be an immediate thing. If i did take that route, i'd have a whole new wheel built around it. This way i can put the stock wheel/hub on if i wish to sell it or whatever. I'm not afraid of changing out the shifters, as i'm pretty mechanically inclined & not afraid to look at a manual to get it right. :P

- Andy

Not from my perspective. Both my commuters weigh less than 20 lbs with fenders and lights.

Not a fan of alloy forks,but YMMV. Also,I know you like wide tires,what kind of clearance does that have? It comes with 32's,and it doesn't look like there's much more room under the stock fenders.

Since you asked for opinion, I'll give my honest opinion... There are two things I don't like about it, one is a belt drive the other is eccentric bottom bracket. I think those two gizmos add unnecessary complexity and spoil an otherwise nice bike...What about frame clearance for bigger tires, is there enough room to run bigger tires with full fenders ??

Modern geometry with retro styling. Ugh!

Personally, I like the idea of belt drives but think sliding dropouts are probably better than an EBB. Maybe they don't work correctly with belts. Don't know. I do have an EBB on one of my bikes. It's not a particularly good one but I haven't had any problems with it and it does make getting the rear wheel off and on again a little bit easier. No worries about chain tension.

If you think about it, a chain is a whole lot more mechanically complex than either an EBB or a belt are. I really hope belt drives eventually become more mainstream so that cogs, chainrings, and belts get cheaper. To me that is the big drawback.

Whew! A speedhub would be sweet. You could always split that cost and go for an alfine 11 sp. I'd love to eventually have a rholoff

It's a nice bike but I must say that you have an interesting way of looking at things. I don't feel that I'm "burdening" my bikes by riding them. In fact, they should feel honored. :p

Hahahaha! The truth is that i'm not fond of rim brakes, and as much as i love my uptown, the more i ride it the more it will cost in rims and maybe spokes when i have to change rim models. Basically having two other bikes means that i can ride less concerned about the brakes & rims because its over-all use will go down. I was told by a person who knows their stuff that the rear rim has basically one winter left in it. That ain't going to work for me long term. Plus the "quirky factor" of having a bike no longer made, a belt drive bike, and a 3 speed is pretty high up the scale..... :D

- Andy

No need to covince a bunch of bike people about an N+1! I can't say I have worn down a rim yet

I've got a tandem that I bought with a stuck eccentric BB. I suppose eventually I should pull it apart and see if I can get it unstuck. But I don't have my +1 for the tandem so it hasn't been a high priority. Perhaps the problem was just a heavy hand and poor maintenance previously.

Anyway, the belts are not supposed to stretch. So, while one might be constantly tweeking the adjustment of a chain, the belt may be more of the set-it-and-forget-it type, at least in theory. Assuming reasonable QC for the belt production, one may not ever have to adjust the tension even when replacing as long as one sticks with the same brand. With that in mind, the eccentric might not be a bad idea.

Mine is the type with set screws and I think those are the kind that people have issues with creaking, slipping, etc. It probably wouldn't ever get stuck. Or at least it would be pretty easy to knock loose. Is yours the expanding type?

The Breezer uses a split BB which seems like it should be pretty fool proof as long as was designed with enough strength.

Interesting. Thanks for the input!

The parent company of fuji/breezer/SE (ASI) is based down in philly, and i have their number, and a reliable shop in guy's bicycles located in feasterville basically right down 532 from newtown. I'm not too worried about tension adjustments. Whatever i can't figure out between this site and manuals the shop can sort out, and ASI has been really great with customer service. The neat thing about the beltway, is that its the kinda bike i can ride to the shop down 532 no worries. :)

- Andy