City bike for ~1000€

martyc5674

Looking @ utilising the BTW scheme for a city bike.
Have a nice racer and MTB and looking for a city bike.
Not looking for a single speed but it mus look pretty nice.
I want it for in around town...a built in lock would be nice and maybe some kind of carrier on the front for the odd bit of shopping.
Had a look @ chain reaactions and like the look of this cafe creme
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=48560

Something along those lines.
If anyone knows of any obvious contenders sure let us know :-)
Cheers,
Marty.

Morgan

Globe live (they have one in Cycleways)?
http://www.globebikes.com/gb/en/globe/GlobeBike.jsp?pid=10LIVE1

Cotic Roadrat?
http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/roadrat

A plain old Raleigh Pioneer?

blorg

I'd go for this, I have been using one for my own commute.



Fixed gear TT bikes are good for the shopping while still being nippy



Alternately that Globe linked by Morgan looks good. Globe are a sub-brand of Specialized, who make good bikes. I have a Specialized Tricross as my general commuter for when I need more carrying capacity than speed and it works well.



Bear in mind lugging heavy loads up hills on a fixed/singlespeed may not do your knees much good, so don't rule out gears. Fixed are easier maintenance but a hub gear might also be a good option.

martyc5674

Cheers lads,
Something like the globe live is exactly what im looking for except it doesnt have gears.
A hubbed gear bike would be ideal.
How much do you know the globe live is??(im in limerick)
Marty.

Kootenay

I know that Cycleways in Dublin have Globe Lives for ~€550 (a bit far away, but it gives you an idea). You might also want to check out some other Globe bikes. Maybe consider the Globe Haul... it's advertised as a cargo bike, but it's basically a geared city bike with a really solid pannier rack. It goes for ~ €670.

rflynnr

If looks are a concern, someone's selling a nearly new Pashley in the Cycling Adverts Forum.

martyc5674

Looks arent a total concern...but if im spending a good few quid it ought to look nice!!
My missus has a pashley so cant have another one in the shed!!
Seriously though its not an option as it needs to be new so as to utilise the BTW scheme.
I might ring cycleways and see if they would put a globe together with an internally geared hub.
Cheers,
Marty.

PS i remember coming across an irish website not too long ago that had lo0ads of dutch bikes etc...anyone know the site?

cdaly_

Do you mean http://www.bsp-bikes.ie/? They don't seem to have the cargo bikes though.

martyc5674

No not BSP...they are nice enough though.

rflynnr

I bought my cargobike through this crowd: www.dutchbike.co.uk.

The fact that they were UK-based wasn't an issue when it came to the bike-to-work scheme and they have a huge range of dutch bikes.

martyc5674

Ordered a pashley roadster sovereign in the end!!
Will let ye know how it works out...sould have it in a week or 2 hopefully.
Only concern i have is apparently they come v highly geared, and of course when myself and the O/H go out on our pashleystogether we will be chortled @...or possibly stoned!!
Marty.

Lumen

martyc5674 wrote: »

Ordered a pashley roadster sovereign in the end!!

Excellent, stick it in Images Of Beauty when you get it.

ROK ON

I don't get the cargo bike thing at all. I mean how often do folks get the value from them.
I have done the weeks grocery shopping both on foot and on a bike and have carried the bags or put stuff in a rucksack. I shop for 5 people. How much stuff do people buy to fit in the cargo thingy.

Are these a mere eccentricity rather than actually useful. Not that there is anything necessarily out of order about eccentricity.

Rambling. Apologies. No sleep last night.

Lumen

ROK ON wrote: »

I don't get the cargo bike thing at all. I mean how often do folks get the value from them. I have done the weeks grocery shopping both on foot and on a bike and have carried the bags or put stuff in a rucksack. I shop for 5 people. How much stuff do people buy to fit in the cargo thingy.

You're obviously missing your vocation as a sherpa. I have trouble enough carrying a week's worth of shopping from my car boot to the front door in one trip, let alone all the way from the supermarket.

What if you live 5km from a shop, don't own a car and are not served by a bus route? Are you going to walk for an hour with a weeks worth of shopping?

There is always internet supermarket shopping. People I know in the UK haven't set foot in a supermarket for years. Not sure it's really taken off here though.

DualFrontDiscs

ROK ON wrote: »

I don't get the cargo bike thing at all. I mean how often do folks get the value from them.

I've two cargo bikes. I think I get value from them everyday. They're great for carrying the kids, shopping, picnics, etc. They're also very pleasant bikes to ride around town. TBH, for commuting/ utility purposes, I reckon they offer better all round performance than a 'regular' bike. Simply put, you can do more with them.

ROK ON wrote: »

I have done the weeks grocery shopping both on foot and on a bike and have carried the bags or put stuff in a rucksack. I shop for 5 people. How much stuff do people buy to fit in the cargo thingy.

Are you shopping for kids? Every week, I fill the trike and have a trailer for overflow. Admittedly, I am carrying two kids as well.

ROK ON wrote: »

Are these a mere eccentricity rather than actually useful. Not that there is anything necessarily out of order about eccentricity.

I think the eccentricity factor is definitely an aspect of it. Why ride a stock bike? Cycling with the kids is a real boon. Everyone smiles, points, waves. The kids do the same back.

DFD*

*DesignedForDevelopment.

ROK ON

Yes I have walked from home with shopping on my back (but I may have a broader back than you).

They are an eccentricity. That's fine. They are also ugly. That's fine too. Its like cars - unnecessary for most folk yet nearly every adult owns one. I even own one.
Walking is a perfectly valid way of carrying shopping - generations of people have done it and continue to do it.
It may burn a few extra calories which would either build an appetite and/or encourage more sensible shopping.

DualFrontDiscs

ROK ON wrote: »

<snip>
They are an eccentricity. That's fine.

There is an eccentricity factor, but describing them as an eccentricity is unfair. It would be just as easy to describe a road bike that's only useful for doing laps of Wicklow as an eccentricity.

ROK ON wrote: »

They are also ugly. That's fine too. Its like cars - unnecessary for most folk yet nearly every adult owns one. I even own one.

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And as much as this forum teases TT/ Tri bikes, I sometimes think much the same about road bikes.
I don't understand the car reference.

DFD*

*DiscussionForDiversity.

Cetyl Palmitate

martyc5674 wrote: »

Looking @ utilising the BTW scheme for a city bike.
Have a nice racer and MTB and looking for a city bike.
Not looking for a single speed but it mus look pretty nice.
I want it for in around town...a built in lock would be nice and maybe some kind of carrier on the front for the odd bit of shopping.
Had a look @ chain reaactions and like the look of this cafe creme
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=48560

Something along those lines.
If anyone knows of any obvious contenders sure let us know :-)
Cheers,
Marty.

I would put myself in a similar boat to the OP here. My search has led me towards a Nirve Fairfax:
http://www.nirve.com/mens.asp?cat=commuting&cid=582.73
It seems to have everything bar the price - it's available on these shores for E1149. Seems a little steep considering that its down as USD899 on their website. Am I underestimating shipping/other charges?

I've found a dealer in Amsterdam which has them at much more reasonable prices:
http://www.thechopperdome.nl/shop/42265/1/144/0/0/Sports?module=shop&buttonID=42265&shopID=1&articleID=14488&categoryID=144&subcategoryID=0
but to get at this I still have to get to and from Amsterdam. If that were possible, would you be liable for any tax when you come back into this country, or can you buy whatever you want and move freely between borders of of european brothers?