CommuterCity
New Member
- Region
- USA
I am looking to ditch my second car, which is used for almost nothing but the six miles to and from the train station (downhill there, uphill every inch of the way back) and popping over to get groceries when I need more than I can walk with. I am just under five feet tall; when I was a collegiate road racer back in the day I had to have 650 wheels to get a bike that fits, and so I am a littler nervous about one-size fits all frames, though clearly everything here has still smaller wheels. I don't expect to need more that ~170 lb or so of carrying capacity between me, heavy clothes and a week of groceries. I do not need huge power, I just don't want to be dragging up that hill in the dark with a bag after a long day at work, unable to get out of the way of even modest hassle with any speed. I am not nearly as fit as I was in college! Road quality is so-so in the area but again, it's not a long ride, I don't need la-z-boy comfort - but too skittery could be an issue. I value reliability, serviceability and to some degree weight for those days when the elevator at the station is broken. It seems like being able to easily remove the battery to reduce theft concerns on the short errands might be nice, too.
In looking around, I have ended up with open tabs for four bikes, all 20 inch wheels and shimano gear sets and disc brakes. None of these are stocked remotely locally for a test ride. Do folks have a sense of what I'm getting that makes these bikes range from 900-1800 dollars other than looks, or of how they actually fit smaller people?
The Totem TC3: stupid cheap, not too pretty but who's judging?
The Jupiter Discovery X7: a little fancier looking? Got to buy your own rack, too.
The Qualisports Volador: same price, doesn't even come with fenders, but has a lot of people who seem to really love it, presumably for reasons.
The Vika+ flex: great looking bike, racks and fenders and a bag. A little heavier but maybe that's the joy of build quality?
All these prices are less than I pay in parking for a year, so I'm not too worried about prices in this range. Any insights? Any great bikes I haven't noticed in my weeks of idle browsing and trying to figure out which reviews are real?
In looking around, I have ended up with open tabs for four bikes, all 20 inch wheels and shimano gear sets and disc brakes. None of these are stocked remotely locally for a test ride. Do folks have a sense of what I'm getting that makes these bikes range from 900-1800 dollars other than looks, or of how they actually fit smaller people?
The Totem TC3: stupid cheap, not too pretty but who's judging?
The Jupiter Discovery X7: a little fancier looking? Got to buy your own rack, too.
The Qualisports Volador: same price, doesn't even come with fenders, but has a lot of people who seem to really love it, presumably for reasons.
The Vika+ flex: great looking bike, racks and fenders and a bag. A little heavier but maybe that's the joy of build quality?
All these prices are less than I pay in parking for a year, so I'm not too worried about prices in this range. Any insights? Any great bikes I haven't noticed in my weeks of idle browsing and trying to figure out which reviews are real?