Comments on: Betting high with Civia Cycles

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:12:56 +0000

Oh, and I’m on the “anti-carbon” team. Not a fan of the stuff. I’d prefer to see a nicely made steel fork with radiused blades. Carbon and commuting don’t mix, IMO.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:11:12 +0000

Nice looking bike, and love the Rohloff option (the main reason for the price). Tbe
Alfine 8 version is obtainable in the $1500 range these days.
Here’s hoping the new Bryant (steel frame, belt driven option) will get a Rohloff option.

Yuppie bike? hardly. Looks like a good, practical car replacement to me, at less than the cost of one year’s insurance, taxes and gas (in most places). A good internal drive is worth the money for anyone in a wet or snowy climate.

By: KDub

KDub — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:07:15 +0000

Re: Mike’s input on carbon forks…
A properly engineered modern carbon fork:
1. CAN have similar initial strength under static load, but under dynamic load, carbon’s modulus (ability to flex under load and return to it’s original shape known as “toughness”) is (potentially) much greater than steel. If you catastrophically fail a good carbon fork, it probably failed long after the wheel and yo’ bones.
2. the modulus of elasticity CAN result in more complaint and precise handling.
3. Carbon CAN have a much longer fatigue life than steel.
4. Carbon CAN weigh considerably less than steel.
Sorry aluminum, you’ve come a long way, but due to an unsuitable modulus, you can’t compete for most discerning cyclists.
Don’t get me wrong, I ride both and love steel, but from an engineering standpoint, if light weight, high strength, precision handling and a supple ride are important, carbon is a superior material for bicycle construction. If price and impact resistance are a factor, steel has the advantage.
Due to it’s high modulus of elasticity, carbon has a damp feel… dull in comparison to the sweet, lively and resilient feel of steel.
Carbon is only recently well understood for bicycle applications. Many carbon products are semi experimental and a lot of carbon products are a joke. Steel is sorted out.
As far as a commuter… well ok, I ride steel and will for a long time to come. I once bent a steel fork back to where the wheel would not clear the downtube. I bent it back and rode 40 miles home… try that on carbon huh?
I had a friend who locked his $4K Carbon Dura Ace bike up. He looked out of the store to see a thief yank his bike’s top tube against the lock cable and the top tube just popped apart in one shot. The thief made off with all of his broken bike. Try that with steel.
KDub ;^)

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:17:02 +0000

MMMmmmm…

I just don’t see $3,100 worth of bicycle there.

Carbon fork for a commuter is a bad idea. Carbon still has catastrophic failure when it does fail.

The front fork is just too important to go weight weenie.

That said, I think the bike is overpriced and getting a lot more hype than it deserves.

Commuters bicycles take far too much abuse and spend too much time with a rider in the saddle to

By: janeashley

janeashley — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 08:54:14 +0000

Inspite of having 4cars at home i prefer to ride my bicycle.Such is my passion for cycles.One of the best qualities is provide by Civia bicycles.A Civia’s ride quality speaks for itself and is undeniably their best sales person.They guide their business by three principles: Passion, Respect and Sustainability.They’re passionate about bicycles and the lifestyle they provide.They respect their community and the environment and seek sustainability from their relationships and business.
———————
janeashley
Sport betting guide

By: Toshi

Toshi — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 21:53:38 +0000

My (very late) 2 cents is that the average commuter would be much, much better off with a Novara from REI. The Transfer (26″ wheels, Nexus 7, full fenders/rack/lights/gen hub, $600!) and the Fusion (700c, one step up, Nexus 8, $750) are two great options.

Is the Novara Transfer laden with high end parts? No. Is it as sexy as this Hyland? No. But does it offer all the commuter needs/wants (internal gearing, lighting, fenders, rack, good riding position). Yes.

http://www.rei.com/product/744802

By: Peter R

Peter R — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:35:05 +0000

Old thread, but here’s my 2 cent’s worth: I just commissioned my new commuter: Ti frame, disc brakes, Rohlof hub, Chris King and Phil Woods build up, $5000. Why go so big? I ride every day in all kinds of weather and this bike will be the most dependable, longest lasting, lowest maintenance bike I could create. I’ve broken steel frames, my current commuter is a one speed at the moment – frozen dérailleur, I scared the poop out of myself last weak due to poor braking performance – rim brakes get glazed in a week in snow and salt conditions. The new bike will address all of these problems, and most of the parts are guaranteed for ten years or more so I don’t have to buy a new bike every two years. Anyone who thinks hanging derailleurs and rim brakes are good options for four season cycling must live in a great climate – that junk does not hold up to snowy conditions.

In summary, I think these bikes look like a good idea.

By: Efried

Efried — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:14:15 +0000

Great design – that high priced bike needs stop’n go support. With electric assist – demobilising via breaking the wheel is possible if the user does not authenticate- or sirens may go off if the wheel moves… .

By: Jared

Jared — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 04:15:56 +0000

Check out the Kind Bikes Commuter:

http://kindbike.com/index.php/bikes/commuter/

By: tonyp

tonyp — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 04:55:06 +0000

Aubrey- I don’t suppose you might be the guy who owns that awesome little shop on 53rd street eh? (I’m being vague of course)

As for the civia… I’d say hats off to QBP and Scott for taking a risk bringing a super high-end commuter to the US market. There’s few enough people that can appreciate this bike, and I’d say most of those people are quite capable of specing and building something similar for cheaper anyway… that’s the point of some of these comments. I’d notice though that currently no one will sell you a ready-for-anything-out-of-the-box all purpose commuter, and I’d think that’s the real market for these. Question remains of course- how many of us who *want* something like this are going to pay the additional cost of buying it from Civia instead of having it built ourselves from whatever bits and pieces strike our fancy…

And something else to consider. How heavy can you load this thing up before it starts misbehaving? To me it looks a bit like a koga-miyata, and I wonder if it can perform like one as well…