DVC45

I like disc brakes and I was saving for a Safari.. ....

https://www.rei.com/product/807245

CCrew

Ouch.

Has the mounts and hubs at least. $100 will put BB7's on it. Was it more $ last year and they did it as a cost savings?

AsanaCycles

REI has probably lurked on this forum and realized that Disc brakes are over rated...

xizangstan

I think it's an honest way to sell new bikes. Put on V-brakes but provide lugs and hubs for disc brakes as a user option. I like choices.

DVC45

Yeah, but if someone wants Disc brakes, its gonna cost >$150 more.

They could have at least lower the price to compensate.

My purpose isn't really for touring, but for commuting/winter beater/general bombing around bike.

I think I might just settle for C'dale Hooligan.

AsanaCycles

that is a rockin bike!

Katamari

The 2011 Safari is steel, whereas previous models were aluminum. Same price as last year.

vik 

I hear ya. I keep looking in the news for reports of the new Safari owners getting killed because they couldn't stop at a light with those rim brakes or having tubes explode on mtn descents sending them hurtling to their deaths. I bet REI will go back to discs after the lawsuits start slamming them...

AsanaCycles

I assume, more than likely, the "new" Safari is a culmination of price points.
and the overall Novara Bikes, strategy has reallocated its capital to other aspects of Cycling as a whole.

when you consider that the Novara line up consists of 34 bikes
https://www.rei.com/search?brand=Nova...les%3ABicycles
thats a pretty wide range of bikes coming from any manufacturer

i.e.
the Novara Buzz Road bike at $834 with BB7 road calipers
vs
The Sarari at $849

suggests to me that the more lucrative market lays in the commuter (rain or shine) segment
vs
Touring (and/or to consider the array of other Novara "touring" products, i.e. panniers that would augment the bike)

which I suppose is indicative of the economic climate
i.e. https://bikeportland.org/2010/11/05/m...ith-cars-42290

Meanwhile The Big Buzz continues to rock the Urban market tagged at $600 https://www.rei.com/product/775488

at $800 the Novara E.T.A. complete with FSA's Metropolis handlebar and a rigid fork, is very much aimed in the genre of the likes of Fargos, where at Sea Otter FSA had debuted their Metropolis commuter groupo

the Verita is spec'd with SRAM's new Apex groupo, which suggests to me that REI has vested itself with SRAM (a very good idea, and solid choice in components, being the company of Truvativ, Rock Shox, and Avid)

when I see the Safari as its spec'd for 2011, I translate this to suggest that Novara is expanding and in doing so, has chosen to somewhat downgrade the parts list on the Safari. which says to me, that sales on this model has not been as strong as others, like The Big Buzz.

if it were me, at Novara, with its cornucopia of SRAM parts, and especially in light of the forward push for 2x10, I'd start to think of a rigid 29er in 3x9 with at least a 32t cog, and quiet possibly using that FSA Metropolis bar. The bar has a bit of an ergo flat section, and is designed for flip flop mounting like many stems.

what this would do, is to introduce a bicycle that covers a wider range of usage, from urban commuter, mtb, to of course touring. Very much in line with the method in the Salsa line up, which is really the ideal of QBP.
in that light, REI would be keen to develop accessories which are able to be used in a modular fashion.
i.e. NOVARA racks and panniers

a quality rigid 29er with BB7's standard MTB drivetrain, and a frame with all the braze-ons at a price point around $900 for a complete
plus the accessories that easily double duty from touring to commuting, seems to me a no brainer.

while the Big Buzz at $600 is a screaming deal
the Verita at $1100
the Ponderosa 29er at $950 with its Suntour 80mm travel fork... this bike is eeking into the 29er MTB market, but honestly, the bike market is already filled enough with these likes.

while the GT Peace 9er Multi was a few years before the market.

I think a versatile quality 29er, coming from a huge Sporting Goods Supplier such as REI, would be a solid sale.

especially when you look at the Ponderosa, where its spec'd in WTB fare.
this meaning to imply that the store could simply stock WTB NanoRaptors, Vulpines, the entire line of 700c, from All Terrain to the Thick Slick

seat_boy

Or it could just be that steel costs more than aluminum, and they want to keep the same price point.

I would like to see a versatile, rigid, flat bar 29er out there. They're surprisingly rare. Remember when all mountain bikes had eyelets for racks and fenders?

jameson2wheels

Lucky me I found a 4 yr old Safari in DC this year with 50 miles on it

The new safari are really ugly....I hope they make a change back to the aluminum frame and baby poop brown one's........

BigBlueToe

This is interesting to me. I remember when touring bikes started appearing with disc brakes there were people who disapproved because discs are heavy and hard to service out in the middle of nowhere. At least, I think those were the objections. I don't remember exactly, but I'm sure I remember people who were skeptical about the discs.

Perhaps this new strategy is, in part, to answer those who want an expedition-touring style bike but don't want discs, as well as those who really do want discs.

I've heard similar concerns over STI brake levers for touring, but I've had some on my road bike for awhile now and I think they're wonderful. I wouldn't hesitate to have them on a tourer if other factors were equal.

My plan-of-last-resort in case of unfixable mechanical breakdowns has always been to stick my thumb out. If I couldn't get my brakes or levers in shape to make it to the next bike shop, that's what I'd do.

If I had the money I'd love to buy a touring bike with discs to give them a year or two's trial. I'd also like to try a tourer with STI's. And then there's an internal-geared hub, a bamboo frame. Ah.......sigh.......the family budget. But I'm not complaining. I love the touring rig I have, and I love the tours I've taken. I'm totally excited about the prospect of more touring on it in the future.

DeadGrandpa

"I think a versatile quality 29er, coming from a huge Sporting Goods Supplier such as REI, would be a solid sale."

I bought a 2014 Novara Safari for $630 (30% off Labor Day Sale), and am really stoked. Steel frame, quality components including caliper Deore brakes on 29er rims (28 x 1.6 Continental tires, but the rim says 29er), can upgrade to disc brakes (recommendations?), Shimano 27spd drive train and braze-on fittings everywhere. What more could I need? Of course, a front rack to augment the rear rack that came with the bike, a set of panniers and a few other accessories.... My bucket list is getting nervous. Anybody want to come with?

NormanF

Four year old museum thread!

fietsbob

NB nobody has to leave their bike as it was , out of the box.

spinnaker

What the heck is it with newbies? Do they have nothing better to do than read every old thread on the forum? This is at least the 3rd or 4th old thread I have seen dragged out by a newbie in the last couple of weeks.

fietsbob

Rather than ask the same question over and over again and think they were the only one it ever happened to?

( and impatient the solution was not offered that very day )

Altair 4

Go easy on the guy. It's like his second post. It's obvious that he googled up his own bike and came upon this old thread.

sstorkel

In terms of disc brakes, the Avid BB7 provides the most bang for the buck. Do not buy the slightly less expensive Avid BB5. Only one of the BB5's brake pads is adjustable, as opposed to both pads on the BB7, so maintenance-wise the BB5 is kind of a pain in the neck. Be aware that Avid makes two versions of the BB7: one for road bikes and one for mountain bikes. It looks like the Novara Safari uses Shimano Deore brake levers, so you'll want the mountain bike version of the BB7.

DBA

And I thought I had OCD...sheesh
j/k.....as other's have said, Avid BB7's are a good choice and not a ton of money

edthesped

At least he used the search button. FWIW, I saw the Safari for $630 at my local REI and the only reason I walked away from it is that I want to build an AWOL...

Very nice purchaseDeadGrandpa I think you'll be very happy with your bike, it's a heck of a deal at the price you paid.

Wilfred Laurier

i am glad this thread got bumped
as i had not thought to look at the rei bike lineup in a couple years

DeadGrandpa

You are welcome. And it was my second post and I did use the search button to look up threads on my new bike. It might be a little sad in a way but it was effective, was it not? Thanks to DBA and sstorkel for the advice on disc brakes, as they are new to me. BTW, how should I have asked for advice (in a way that didn't offend Norman F's sensibilities in dragging up a four year old thread)? Now I've got to go look up an old thread about front pannier racks. My bike only came with the rear one.

imi

Haha! It's all good, zombie !threads or "that thread again!"... A truly original thread hasn't been started since before anyone can remember anyhoo

staehpj1

I personally wish folks would start a new thread rather than drag up very old ones, but that is a preference that not everyone shares. Things do change and what was posted 4 or more years ago may or may not be still true today. Even the people who posted on them may say something entirely different today. Not a huge deal though in the grand scheme of things.

I think REI does a good job of outfitting as well as possible to their price point. So they are usually pretty good bang for the buck.

Glad you like your Safari and welcome aboard.