Bicycle Advice internally geared - BNE

[sh4unn]

Hey all,

I currently ride a $100 fixie I got off gumtree but I'm looking to upgrade in the next few months.
I use this bike to ride around just on bike paths and in the near future venture into the bike paths in Brisbane City.

I like the bike I am riding, but its a bit small for me (193cm)

Height: 193cm
Intended use: Casual cycling on the weekend (10-30km) on 95% bike paths may be a commute to work in the future
Wanting to keep it for an extended period of time
Budget: under 700-1000 aud (bike only) as I've got all the other stuff

I like the simpleness of a fixie bike but I had found I need another gear or so for small hills
I found the internally geared to be an option too, has anyone used one before? if so, what are their thoughts?
I found the
https://www.lekkerbikes.com.au/product/ ... s-3-speed/ and they also have the elite version on sale too

and the https://www.99bikes.com.au/pedal-messen ... black-gold

I'd preferably like to go to a brick and mortar store so it can be 'fitted' etc.

If anyone has any other bike suggestions, stores in BNE they love or tips about riding on bike paths in inner city bne just post

TIA.

[RonK]

Epic Cycles, Baroona Road, Paddington.

[Tamiya]

I like the simpleness of a fixie bike but I had found I need another gear or so for small hills
I found the internally geared to be an option too, has anyone used one before? if so, what are their thoughts?
I found the
https://www.lekkerbikes.com.au/product/ ... s-3-speed/ and they also have the elite version on sale too

and the https://www.99bikes.com.au/pedal-messen ... black-gold

I'd preferably like to go to a brick and mortar store so it can be 'fitted' etc.

Are you near them? I'm near a Lekker & several 99s down here in Melb... you should go in & test ride.

nb the Lekker you show is an alu frame, the 99 is a steel frame. You may notice a difference or you may not, probably feel has more to do with frame design & construction than alu vs steel... other than rust... usually ain't huge difference in weight either if the steelie uses good thin tubes.

Lekker is IMHO nearer a lifestyle brand, nice looking bikes & pretty popular around Melb inner suburbs. 99 is a big chainstore now appearing everywhere... suits some people I guess. Both afaik get "their" designs manufactured for them in China.

IGHubs are neat, Nexus have good name (I'm a stickler for SturmeyArcher originals). All their works are enclosed, doesn't leave your vitals flapping in the wind to get easily damaged. They may be "slightly" less efficient than derailleur when not running in 1:1 ratio but I doubt you'd notice... vs a dirty driveline if you're not into constant cleaning regiment.

Plenty of good bikes out there within your price range, both big brandnames & local niche marques. Eg was just looking at "iamfree" who's supposedly just around the corner here in Fitzroy, they're offering city/upright bikes with alu frame & IGH for around $400ish... and they even give tektro hydraulic discs! I need to pop in check them out one day.

[Tamiya]

Correction, my bad... just doublechecked iamfree website... their frames are CroMo (so it's steel not alu)

[sh4unn]

I like the simpleness of a fixie bike but I had found I need another gear or so for small hills
I found the internally geared to be an option too, has anyone used one before? if so, what are their thoughts?
I found the
https://www.lekkerbikes.com.au/product/ ... s-3-speed/ and they also have the elite version on sale too

and the https://www.99bikes.com.au/pedal-messen ... black-gold

I'd preferably like to go to a brick and mortar store so it can be 'fitted' etc.

Are you near them? I'm near a Lekker & several 99s down here in Melb... you should go in & test ride.

nb the Lekker you show is an alu frame, the 99 is a steel frame. You may notice a difference or you may not, probably feel has more to do with frame design & construction than alu vs steel... other than rust... usually ain't huge difference in weight either if the steelie uses good thin tubes.

Lekker is IMHO nearer a lifestyle brand, nice looking bikes & pretty popular around Melb inner suburbs. 99 is a big chainstore now appearing everywhere... suits some people I guess. Both afaik get "their" designs manufactured for them in China.

IGHubs are neat, Nexus have good name (I'm a stickler for SturmeyArcher originals). All their works are enclosed, doesn't leave your vitals flapping in the wind to get easily damaged. They may be "slightly" less efficient than derailleur when not running in 1:1 ratio but I doubt you'd notice... vs a dirty driveline if you're not into constant cleaning regiment.

Plenty of good bikes out there within your price range, both big brandnames & local niche marques. Eg was just looking at "iamfree" who's supposedly just around the corner here in Fitzroy, they're offering city/upright bikes with alu frame & IGH for around $400ish... and they even give tektro hydraulic discs! I need to pop in check them out one day.

Do you know of any other brands I should check out? I looked at iamfree and they only do them in M, (which I'm too tall for) but they seem excellent otherwise.

If myself a casual rider would notice the difference between for example the Amsterdam Elite by Lekker and the Pedal Messenger?
Also found the Reid blacktop which happens to be a discontinued since around June I think.

But I feel for longevity the quality of the lekker or Reid would be a better idea? I'm not sure

PS thanks for your very detailed reply.

[10speedsemiracer]

If you're looking for a higher quality option, the Marin Fairfax :



with an 8sp Shimano hub and belt drive, plus Shimano hydraulic discs. Is a bit more expensive than some of the other options listed prior, but is a better quality option.

https://www.bicyclesonline.com.au/marin ... -city-bike

[Tamiya]

Do you know of any other brands I should check out? I looked at iamfree and they only do them in M, (which I'm too tall for) but they seem excellent otherwise.

If myself a casual rider would notice the difference between for example the Amsterdam Elite by Lekker and the Pedal Messenger?
Also found the Reid blacktop which happens to be a discontinued since around June I think.

But I feel for longevity the quality of the lekker or Reid would be a better idea? I'm not sure

to be brutally honest imho there's no "bad" bikes sold new today, just "bad FOR YOU" if it don't fit or you don't enjoy it also consider budget, how much $$$ r u comfortable parking on the kerb daily?

If you're near a 99bikes I'd pop in, instead of their housebrand I'd sniff around see if there's any Merida that you fancy. IMHO Merida is a great grand, good value at (near)RRP even

Anaconda does Fluid brand, they don't look too bad... good value when they discount 30-50% regularly

Plenty of big brands like Giant, Trek etc Around now is when 2019 models are arriving, you can get decent deals on demo or floor stock 2018 models if you're lucky

Reid is not too bad, China made & there's often discounts if not $50 off vouchers - go subscribe their bookface or website. Had a play with their Harrrier recently, it's a good solid frame well finished - decent city single sod hack for ~$300ish, I think there's a 3spd variant now. Or definitely one with a reversible rear wheel with both fixed & oneway hub.

[10speedsemiracer]

Do you know of any other brands I should check out? I looked at iamfree and they only do them in M, (which I'm too tall for) but they seem excellent otherwise.

If myself a casual rider would notice the difference between for example the Amsterdam Elite by Lekker and the Pedal Messenger?
Also found the Reid blacktop which happens to be a discontinued since around June I think.

But I feel for longevity the quality of the lekker or Reid would be a better idea? I'm not sure

to be brutally honest imho there's no "bad" bikes sold new today, just "bad FOR YOU" if it don't fit or you don't enjoy it also consider budget, how much $$$ r u comfortable parking on the kerb daily?

If you're near a 99bikes I'd pop in, instead of their housebrand I'd sniff around see if there's any Merida that you fancy. IMHO Merida is a great grand, good value at (near)RRP even

Anaconda does Fluid brand, they don't look too bad... good value when they discount 30-50% regularly

Plenty of big brands like Giant, Trek etc Around now is when 2019 models are arriving, you can get decent deals on demo or floor stock 2018 models if you're lucky

Reid is not too bad, China made & there's often discounts if not $50 off vouchers - go subscribe their bookface or website. Had a play with their Harrrier recently, it's a good solid frame well finished - decent city single sod hack for ~$300ish, I think there's a 3spd variant now. Or definitely one with a reversible rear wheel with both fixed & oneway hub.

I'm sorry Tamiya but some of the above has left me bemused. The Fluid stuff as a starting point, is relatively poorly made and Anaconda's habit of misleading alleged discounting strikes me as deceptive with their ads often claiming an outlandish RRP in order to create the impression of big savings but the reality is that they had probably never sold any of those bikes at RRP because no-one would pay that.
I've seen an Iamfree bike in the flesh (the seller is very active on Gumtree) and they are the most entry-level of entry level bikes. Very heavy, very cheap. OP is considering an IGH bike, and I'm not familiar with anything in the Merida range which fits that spec, and the in-house 99Bikes brand is again, an entry-level unit. I'm also yet to be truly impressed by any Merida I've had thru my hands. Haven't seen a Lekker for a while, but the last one I did was very heavy and a weird mix of generic bits and just enough name-brand bits to create the impression of being decent. In my mind, I sort of group Lekker with SE bikes, Samson Cycles and the now-defunct Chappelli bikes as all being one and the same. I actually wouldn't be surprised if they all used the same Chinese-sourced frame.
Reid don't appear to offer an IGH any longer with the Harrier and Griffon being SS/FG only now.

The other consideration is the gearing gaps in the Shimano Nexus 3sp, and often in standard spec only 1st and 2nd are truly usable with 3rd being overdriven and needing a descent or massive tailwind (or both) to be used at any sort of decent cadence. The solution, and this does actually make a difference, is to either swap the rear sprocket to something larger than OE or the front chainring to a smaller unit. In this scenario, say a 40t front going back to a standard Nexus3 makes 1st a better gear for getting away from traffic lights or climbing, 2nd becomes a good mid-range and 3rd actually becomes usable.

For regular usage, especially commuting to work where reliability is a good thing I feel spending a bit more to get something with a decent wheelset, slightly better frame and a lower % of entry-level generic components is almost always a good idea.

[sh4unn]

Do you know of any other brands I should check out? I looked at iamfree and they only do them in M, (which I'm too tall for) but they seem excellent otherwise.

If myself a casual rider would notice the difference between for example the Amsterdam Elite by Lekker and the Pedal Messenger?
Also found the Reid blacktop which happens to be a discontinued since around June I think.

But I feel for longevity the quality of the lekker or Reid would be a better idea? I'm not sure

to be brutally honest imho there's no "bad" bikes sold new today, just "bad FOR YOU" if it don't fit or you don't enjoy it also consider budget, how much $$$ r u comfortable parking on the kerb daily?

If you're near a 99bikes I'd pop in, instead of their housebrand I'd sniff around see if there's any Merida that you fancy. IMHO Merida is a great grand, good value at (near)RRP even

Anaconda does Fluid brand, they don't look too bad... good value when they discount 30-50% regularly

Plenty of big brands like Giant, Trek etc Around now is when 2019 models are arriving, you can get decent deals on demo or floor stock 2018 models if you're lucky

Reid is not too bad, China made & there's often discounts if not $50 off vouchers - go subscribe their bookface or website. Had a play with their Harrrier recently, it's a good solid frame well finished - decent city single sod hack for ~$300ish, I think there's a 3spd variant now. Or definitely one with a reversible rear wheel with both fixed & oneway hub.

I'm sorry Tamiya but some of the above has left me bemused. The Fluid stuff as a starting point, is relatively poorly made and Anaconda's habit of misleading alleged discounting strikes me as deceptive with their ads often claiming an outlandish RRP in order to create the impression of big savings but the reality is that they had probably never sold any of those bikes at RRP because no-one would pay that.
I've seen an Iamfree bike in the flesh (the seller is very active on Gumtree) and they are the most entry-level of entry level bikes. Very heavy, very cheap. OP is considering an IGH bike, and I'm not familiar with anything in the Merida range which fits that spec, and the in-house 99Bikes brand is again, an entry-level unit. I'm also yet to be truly impressed by any Merida I've had thru my hands. Haven't seen a Lekker for a while, but the last one I did was very heavy and a weird mix of generic bits and just enough name-brand bits to create the impression of being decent. In my mind, I sort of group Lekker with SE bikes, Samson Cycles and the now-defunct Chappelli bikes as all being one and the same. I actually wouldn't be surprised if they all used the same Chinese-sourced frame.
Reid don't appear to offer an IGH any longer with the Harrier and Griffon being SS/FG only now.

The other consideration is the gearing gaps in the Shimano Nexus 3sp, and often in standard spec only 1st and 2nd are truly usable with 3rd being overdriven and needing a descent or massive tailwind (or both) to be used at any sort of decent cadence. The solution, and this does actually make a difference, is to either swap the rear sprocket to something larger than OE or the front chainring to a smaller unit. In this scenario, say a 40t front going back to a standard Nexus3 makes 1st a better gear for getting away from traffic lights or climbing, 2nd becomes a good mid-range and 3rd actually becomes usable.

For regular usage, especially commuting to work where reliability is a good thing I feel spending a bit more to get something with a decent wheelset, slightly better frame and a lower % of entry-level generic components is almost always a good idea.

Thank you for your detailed response, after a fair bit of research there seems to be the sub 500ish 'china' bikes
and then you go to the 700+ where you get things like 5-7 speed hubs, disc brakes which I'd like to have as I consider this a bit of an investment and spending 1k once better than spending 500 each year