Importing European touring bikes to U.S. Stupid idea?

Art Winterbauer wrote in message ...

There are some dealers who deal in these, or similar--

Kettler has a few dealers in the States...and I was somewhat surprised
to find them under "comfort bikes" in the modell's sporting goods
website www.modells.com.

But as many others will have noted, they will never take off. They're
expensive, compared to 'plain' bikes.....never mind that they come
fully-loaded with everything needed for practical transport, but the
mass market doesn't shell out RealMoney for what it thinks of
primarily as a fair=weather toy. The sport market will shell out
RealMoney for its toys--but a large proportion of these drive to ride
and wouldn't dream of actually using the bike to get around.

So that leaves...errr....

-Luigi

In article ,
(Luigi de Guzman) wrote:

Art Winterbauer wrote in message
...

There are some dealers who deal in these, or similar--

Kettler has a few dealers in the States...and I was somewhat surprised
to find them under "comfort bikes" in the modell's sporting goods
website www.modells.com.

But as many others will have noted, they will never take off. They're
expensive, compared to 'plain' bikes.....never mind that they come
fully-loaded with everything needed for practical transport, but the
mass market doesn't shell out RealMoney for what it thinks of
primarily as a fair=weather toy. The sport market will shell out
RealMoney for its toys--but a large proportion of these drive to ride
and wouldn't dream of actually using the bike to get around.

So that leaves...errr....

There's a definite (albeit small) commuter market, but I think this
evolution is typical:

Phase I: ride what you got. Probably no rack, fenders, or lights. Most
likely a rigid MTB with mild knobbies, but could be anything from a road
bike to a department-store FS.
Phase II: evolved ride. bike is probably a hardtail or rigid MTB, though
a road bike is possible. Fenders, rack, and lights are added as they
become necessary. Slick tires get put on, completing a semi-permanent
commuter bike.
Phase III: there is no phase III. If you've got an evolved ride, there's
no great advantage to a Euro-style city bike. You might like the
tradeoff of fewer gears for a simpler 7-speed driveline, but that's a
pretty expensive trade.

--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

"Luigi de Guzman" wrote in message
om...
Art Winterbauer wrote in message
...

There are some dealers who deal in these, or similar--

Kettler has a few dealers in the States...and I was somewhat surprised
to find them under "comfort bikes" in the modell's sporting goods
website www.modells.com.

But as many others will have noted, they will never take off. They're
expensive, compared to 'plain' bikes.....never mind that they come
fully-loaded with everything needed for practical transport, but the
mass market doesn't shell out RealMoney for what it thinks of
primarily as a fair=weather toy. The sport market will shell out
RealMoney for its toys--but a large proportion of these drive to ride
and wouldn't dream of actually using the bike to get around.

I looked at the website and have to disagree. They do not come with lights,
so I certainly wouldn't consider them to be fully loaded. And they
certainly are expensive, at least to me. Of course, when contemplating
commuting in a true winter climate, such as Winnipeg, the thought of a
thousand-dollar bicycle is rather laughable.

"Jeff" wrote in message ...

I looked at the website and have to disagree. They do not come with lights,
so I certainly wouldn't consider them to be fully loaded. And they
certainly are expensive, at least to me. Of course, when contemplating
commuting in a true winter climate, such as Winnipeg, the thought of a
thousand-dollar bicycle is rather laughable.

Many of the Kettler's come with lights, i.e.

Paramount
Jan
City Tour
Traveller
City Comfort
Elegance
Wings

For most commuters, these lights are sufficient, since
they're riding on lit streets and the lights are
more just to be seen.

There are a lot of commuters in my area, and they generally
are the more well-off professionals who do not hesitate to
spend money on expensive bicycles. No harsh winter climate
either.

Art Winterbauer wrote in message ...

Some similarly styled bikes that reader Yannik pointed me to we

http://www.utopia-fahrrad.de/
http://www.batavus.nl
http://www.pashley.co.uk/
http://www.sparta.nl/

I threw together a web site with currently available
"Eurobikes" in the U.S.. Basically the selection
is small and the prices are outrageous considering
the compenentry, but "you get what you get or you
get nothing."

"http://nordicgroup.us/commutebike/"

Fuji has some very nice models that they don't sell in the
U.S., including the only derailleur equipped chromolloy
model I could find. I sent an e-mail to the head of Fuji U.S.
suggesting that they consider selling some of their models
here, now that Trek is doing so. I have little hope of a
positive response!

Art Winterbauer wrote in message ...

Some similarly styled bikes that reader Yannik pointed me to we

http://www.utopia-fahrrad.de/
http://www.batavus.nl
http://www.pashley.co.uk/
http://www.sparta.nl/

I threw together a web site with currently available
"Eurobikes" in the U.S.. Basically the selection
is small and the prices are outrageous considering
the compenentry, but "you get what you get or you
get nothing."

"http://nordicgroup.us/commutebike/"

Fuji has some very nice models that they don't sell in the
U.S., including the only derailleur equipped chromolloy
model I could find. I sent an e-mail to the head of Fuji U.S.
suggesting that they consider selling some of their models
here, now that Trek is doing so. I have little hope of a
positive response!