I saw this bike on the bike rack at my work today. "What a nice bike," I thought.
1) The frame has beautiful curves to it. I'm a big fan of the smooth curve on the top of the frame. The little wiggle by the front tire is classy. It's some Austrian frame I've never heard of and can't remember.
2) It's got fenders. OK, they don't make the bike beautiful, it's just hard to respect a bike that doesn't have fenders.
3) There's a little basket under the seat. See #2. It's actually a white plastic "weave" basket that is meant to go on the front of a kids bike. Very simple. Very practical.
4) It's clearly not "off the rack."
5) It's got a bell.
6) It's got a Sturmer Archer 3-speed hub and is single track.
I don't like two things.
1) It's locked by the rear wheel. Know I know it's inside at my school and is probably fine where it is. But I worry about anybody who would lock their bike this way. One day it will get stolen. sniff.
2) The handlebar stem is a modern clamp job. It's standard now. But I still think they're ugly as hell and hope to never have one on my bike.
3) The Sturmer Archer 3-speed hub. I've come to the conclusion that they suck. The risk that it's misadjusted and the peddles don't catch is too high. Eventually it happens and I don't want to be riding it when it does. But that's just my opinion. It's still cool. They're good hubs and I love the clicking sound.
It's a great city bike. It's well loved. I assume a women rides it, just because of the basket. A sexy, urban, very attractive women. Just lock it, please.
Speaking of stealing, last week somebody ripped the rear light off my cruiser bike when it was locked by the Steinway St subway stop. They actually ripped the light off and broke the clamp rather than just taking the light off, which was perfectly removable. Bastards. Oh well.