There is no doubt that we are going to see many more commuter/ shopper oriented bike designs on the market in the near future. In just the past few days, I have run across the new designs that are pictured here. Expect to see many more as tradeshow season approaches.
The Soulville from Masi is pictured to the left. I like this bike, especially the glossy black version, because it reminds me of the 70’s and 80’s city bikes from classic Italian brands. The flat aluminum fenders, cork grips, and embossed brown riveted leather saddle are all nice details. Here in the U.S., we are generally used to seeing just racing bikes from those classic European brands, but if you walk around the streets of Treviso, Italy, you are likely to run into an old lugged steel Pinarello with fenders and upright handlebars. This bike carries on that tradition of classic city bikes from brands with a road racing heritage. I think it makes a great addition to the Masi line. Nice job Tim.
Pictured top right is the “Scout” from Jorg and Olif. You are probably already familiar with the Jorg and Olif “Original”, their premium Dutch city bike. This new no-frills version, which is made in Belgium, is 15 pounds lighter than the Dutch made Original. It has a lot of the features that you would expect like fenders, lights, a chainguard, and even a traditional Dutch chrome bell. Though the styling is similar to that of the Original, the Scout retails for a lot less. A one speed will go for $495 (US) and a three speed will set you back $595. The new bikes come in 2 frame styles and 4 colors. Check them out on Jorg and Olif’s website.
Last but not not least, I want to mention the Gary Fisher Simple City, shown in the bottom right section of the above picture and also below this text. You may have already seen blog posts about this bike here, here, or here. It is spreading around the web pretty quickly and I think for good reason. The prototype bike, which features a nice optional front basket for shopping, was first shown at Trek World last week. In a Cyclingnews article, Trek product manger Chad Price said: “We wanted to create a bicycle that was unique and featured the best of two worlds; useful for transportation and shopping, but lighter and faster than the conventional city bike. Simple City says it all; a simple city bike that has the best features, like the unique geometry we created so the ride is stable and comfortable under load and the adjustable front dropouts that support the optional ‘two bagger’ front rack”. Everyone is curious about this bike, so I will let you know a little more about it next week.
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