Arleigh went to Trek World in Madison, WI, where she snapped lots of bikey photos. Dr. Logan noticed this prototype Gary Fisher Commuter bike in the photostream.
This Gary Fisher commuter bicycle has Shimano's Alfine shifter, Bontrager Satellite Plus reflective sidewall tires, a huge basket on the front, separate fender and rack mounts on front and rear (!), leather saddle and handgrips, full front and rear fenders and a chainguard. I don't believe Alfine comes with a Coaster brake, but I don't see a brake cable going to the rear so they must use something else for the internal gear hub in the rear. A hand brake controls the rim brake on the front wheel. Trek's designer sensibly put a forward facing rear fork end on this bike for easy rear wheel removal.
Guitar Ted talks a little about this and another commuter prototype that he saw in Madison. G-Ted writes:
This Gary Fisher commuter bicycle has Shimano's Alfine shifter, Bontrager Satellite Plus reflective sidewall tires, a huge basket on the front, separate fender and rack mounts on front and rear (!), leather saddle and handgrips, full front and rear fenders and a chainguard. I don't believe Alfine comes with a Coaster brake, but I don't see a brake cable going to the rear so they must use something else for the internal gear hub in the rear. A hand brake controls the rim brake on the front wheel. Trek's designer sensibly put a forward facing rear fork end on this bike for easy rear wheel removal.
Guitar Ted talks a little about this and another commuter prototype that he saw in Madison. G-Ted writes:
Fisher was showing off two prototype "townie" type bikes with a retro-ish/hand made flair. Sporting wrap around chain guards, full fenders, and internal gearing, these bikes were quite different and maybe even a bit out of place at the show.Please remember to click the Digg and CycleCluster links if you like this article.
I got a chance to chat briefly with Gary Fisher himself and I asked about these bikes. Were they something that Fisher will actually produce? I got a resounding "Yes!" in answer. It seems that we will most likely be seeing more of this type of utilitarian, work bike coming from Trek and Fisher in the future. I applaud Trek and Fisher for making an effort in this area and the bikes are certainly looking great so far.
In fact, I might even go so far as to say that they look every bit as cool as anything from the North American Hand Made Bicycle Show, where these would have been right at home.
8 comments:
Wow, beautiful bike!
utility and commuting go mainstream! bout time for sure. hopefully we'll see the same level of inspiration / progression that has come about to the go fast, racer boy bikes.
i hope these bikes show up as real workers - no gimmicky fenders or cell phone holders on the handlebars - just good solid engineering creating a usable, everyday ride.
This is exactly the type of bike I would buy for running errands around the neighborhood. Something that you just hop on to goto the store for some groceries or what not. Lock it up and not worry about it. My road bike is good for commuting back and forth to work (30 miles round trip) but it's less then ideal to go to the market. It is just asking to get stolen.
That is almost the bike I am trying to build out of seconhand bits and pieces. I live the big front rack.
I amazes me how much you can actually carry on a bike. The other day, while out running some errands with my partner on our bikes, We decided that a couple of beers in the sunshine would be the ticket for the afternoon. The panniers engilfed a whole case (24 stubbies) of beer and were transport up the hill to home.
I wants one!
It's great that a major manufacturer is embracing a practical city bike...but this GF show bike is nearly a direct rip off of a Kogswell (down to the color!), which is a clone of a 1940s French porteur. What's old is new again...
I got no problem with a cell phone holder option. One basket isn't enough, though...Would an Xtracycle work on it ? hmmm would need a custom chain guard...
But seriously, it honestly looks designed for most-weather riding... most-weather *on purpose* riding, not "well, we stuck fenders on in case you got caught in a rainstorm so you don't get the stripe," but stuff put internal because it's *going* to get wet and you might not want to clean it all off every time. It also doesn't say "steal me! steal me!" ... it says "ride me! Ride me!"
What a beauty!
I came across some more great pictures of this bike and the 3-speed step-through version at www.biekgallery.com.
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