I've never ridden a Worksman but the are very heavy. At least 35 to 40 pounds but that's not the point. They are perfectly ergonomic for sitting in an upright position and cruising around with 20 extra pounds of cargo. The comfort of the upright positions makes the weight penalty disappear as long as you don't have any major hills. New York has none that qualify in my opinion, including all the bridges. Plus Worksman soes make a great pizza delivery bike!

http://clevercycles.com/?p=193

(picture of nude bike jousters at the end possibly not safe for work)

They're not only heavy, but they're expensive too. Guess I'm stuck with a hybrid for now.

A few weeks ago someone posted a comment here with a link to a post about the seat angles of various bikes. The idea that Dutch "comfort bikes" were only a few degrees less reclined than recumbents made me think about a more comfortable ride.

I went down to Bike Habitat and priced some bikes. I talked to a guy named Matt, who pointed out that the comfort bikes were all a bit heavy to carry up to my third-floor apartment. He suggested a hybrid and said that you're not quite as upright in one, but much more so than in a touring bike. I took one for a spin and found it to be very comfortable and easy to maneuver. I'll probably be getting one soon.

I forgot to mention in my earlier post the value of bike shoes and clipless pedals. Bike shoes keep your knees healthy by stabilizing your foot from flexing. Clipless pedals eliminate the risk that your foot will slip off the pedal when you mash down really hard.

I recall, from a trip to Europe a few years back, that the 1 Euro is worth 1.50 U.S. Dollars.

That may account for some of the price discrepancy between the German commuter bike and the U.S. commuter bikes you saw.

My own two cents about this Interbike trend: single speed bikes require little to no maintenance - few carry brakes, and they can be removed or are coaster brakes, an there are no gears - so the drive train is easier to maintain.

Once the bike is adjust to fit your body, all you really have to worry about are wheels going out of true or flat tires.

What could be better for a commuter bike?

Jonathan -- Well, yes, you have to keep your hands on the handlebars of a mountain bike! Though I admit I rode with no hands from time when I was a kid, it is not something I would consider doing now, even if I could.

I think this makes for a jumping-off point for a different discussion. So, here goes: If you ride with no hands on the street (as opposed to on a closed track), then, to be honest, this strikes me as an irresponsible thing to do. Also, I think it creates a bad impression of cyclists to any non-cyclist who sees you doing this.

(Jonathan, please understand that I am engaging in what I perceive to be a fair criticism of your stated actions, in hopes of promoting a discussion among cyclists, and not a flame-war.)

This is a critique that I have also made on occasion to friends. There is this one friend I sometimes ride with who used to cause me a little embarrassment along these lines. He would never stop at crosswalks for red lights -- he would just roll right through, and then stop (or not) at the front end.

I am not claiming that I wait out the entire red light in every case; but I *do* always stop at the crosswalk before continuing through if traffic allows, for the simple reason that the crossing pedestrians are entitled to an unimpeded path across the street.

Several times while riding with this friend, I witnessed the crossing pedestrians being surprised by his rolling through the crosswalk. So I had to finally tell this guy that I didn't dig riding with him if he was going to do that, for the same reason that I have cited to Jonathan -- because I felt it put cyclists in a bad light.

He seemed to understand this reasoning -- or else he is humouring me. Either way, he doesn't do that anymore when we ride together.

Anyway, I hope that Jonathan will not take undue offense; and I also hope that others will agree that the concept of promoting a good image of cyclists is in the interest of everyone who rides a bike, and of everyone who hopes for the continuation of the recent trend towards improving bike infrastructure. If we make the general public think we're mostly jerks, then that's going to be bad for us.

the REAL revolution is everyone building up bikes, buying bikes built up by independent shops, or getting their hands on used bikes via craig's list, etc.

many (but not enough) of the city's cyclists are saying good bye to factory assembled, "off the rack" bikes!

If you go into any German bike shop (I visit often to see family), 80% of the bikes on the shop floor are simple commuters and town bikes with comfortable upright rider positions. This is even the case for shops that have a reputation for carrying higher end road and mountain bikes. Commuter bikes start for as little as 250 Euros and include fenders, generator lights and a rear rack. Compare that to a $500 low end commuters being offered by the American companies. Your lucky if that bike even comes with fenders at that price. Also most entry level cyclists won't spend $500 on an entry level bike. They still think a bike is supposed to cost $150 but with a little explaining you could entice them with a bike for $300. (Sucks that the Dollar ain't worth a hoot anymore!)

The new "Coasting" bikes from Shimano are not the answer either. I bet there is at least over $125 in added technology and componentry in that system just to make the 3-speed hub shift automatically that could be used for fenders, rack and lights. I say, if you can't figure out how to shift a 3-speed internal hub then you've got bigger problems; Like missing a brain!! Nothing could be easier to use than a 3-speed internal hub but then again Americans have a reputation for not being too bright.

The real bicycle innovations are happening in Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany and a bit in England (Those wacky Brits come of with some really cool, oddball ideas from time to time). The bicycle companies their keep on coming up with new and creative innovations that make the humble bicycle an increasingly practical option for tasks normally reserved for the automobile. Most notable are the Bakfietsen (Dutch for "box bike"), AKA the "Dutch Minivan", coming out of the Netherlands with versions also being produced by German and Danish manufacturers as well.

To satisfy an overwhelming demand by enthusiast Clever Cycles (http://clevercycles.com/) of Portland OR (Of course Portland!) has started importing Bakfietsen as well as the traditional Oma and Opa bikes (old-school Dutch townbikes). They can't keep them in stock and are getting requests from all over the USA.

If we want 20% bicycle mode share in this country, the industry will need to produce practical bikes that can be used to replace car trips, by regular people in regular cloths. For the past 20 years, the American bike industry has been merely producing toys for us bike freaks and not functional transportation for everyone else!

Andy B

PS - My daily commuter is a 3-speed Ross Eurotour from the 1970's, complete with fenders, chain guard and rear baskets. It weighs about 40lbs but its one of the easiest and most comfortable bikes I own.

Mike, TimesUp used to do a Thurs. morning ride from Brooklyn (mid 1990's?), but I don't think it ever caught on. I'll bet it would now.

Regarding gears, I think the issue of number of gears on a bike is overblown. My Specialized has 15 gears and really, few people would use all of those. Ten gears is more than enough and I bet that five would be sufficient for 95% of people if they had properly spaced ratios.

Ddartley -- While I'd doubt that switching away from a mountain bike will let you go any faster, I'd agree with your sidelong glance at shocks. (I don't have shocks, and so I forgot that they are now considered standard on a mountain bike.) If the hybrid you are considering has fewer speeds than the mountain bike you have, then this factor, combined with the thinner wheels, would likely leave you needing to use more effort than you do now.

If your current mountain bike is not cutting it, and you want to get a new bike, maybe just a better mountain bike might do. You don't have to spend much -- you can get something good and durable for $250 or maybe less. (At a real bike store; not at Toys R Us or some deptartment store.)