Specialized adds commute bike to line, 2004 "Globe"

Wow, first Trek, now Specialized. The Specialized model even has an integral
hub generator. There are even shops that are actually stocking the
Specialized model. I haven't found any shops except the Bike Gallery in
Oregon that is stocking the Treks.

http://commutebike.com

"Steven M. Scharf" wrote in message
link.net...

Wow, first Trek, now Specialized. The Specialized model even has an integral
hub generator. There are even shops that are actually stocking the
Specialized model. I haven't found any shops except the Bike Gallery in
Oregon that is stocking the Treks.

http://commutebike.com

Wow, very nice web page! Is it yours? I don't see any credits...

A few things --

One, I really like the Profile bottle cage too. It's the only one that holds my
heavy battery without extra tie-downs. And it doesn't wear out and crack, or
mark bottles.

Two, I wish they'd put a *full* chaincase on hub gear bikes. Those
half-chainguard things might help keep your pants clean, but won't do much for
the chain -- all the crud sprays up from underneath.

Finally, a $300 entry-level MTB/hybrid serves most people well. For that
matter, so does a $100 Walgoose. It doesn't have all the neat fenders and
stuff, but you can buy those. Most Americans using bikes for transportation
don't have enough money for these fancier ones -- or at least it's a tough sell.
All the great fortunes have been made by offering something "good enough" but
really cheap -- like the Walgoose. It's not always the best value, but it's
most consumers' default choice. However, if the industry can sell $800 wheels,
they could sell bikes with fenders to commuters -- if they cared to. It looks
like they're starting to care.

Matt O.

On Thu, 13 Nov 2003 20:51:26 GMT, "Matt O'Toole" wrote:

"Steven M. Scharf" wrote:

Wow, first Trek, now Specialized. The Specialized model even has an integral
hub generator. There are even shops that are actually stocking the
Specialized model.

Too bad it still has a derailleur instead of an internal hub.

I haven't found any shops except the Bike Gallery in
Oregon that is stocking the Treks.

http://commutebike.com

Two, I wish they'd put a *full* chaincase on hub gear bikes. Those
half-chainguard things might help keep your pants clean, but won't do much for
the chain -- all the crud sprays up from underneath.

I got one. But then I had to bring my Batavus Dutch city bike back from
Holland. I did phone and ask the dealer whether he would sell and ship one
to the US. He said yes. I would presume that in addition to their 14%
discount the 19% VAT would come off up front. Then add on shipping charges.
See http://batavus.com/ for bikes. (Which comes up blank and useless if you
have ActiveX turned off.)

Don donwiss at panix.com.

Don Wiss wrote:
I got one. But then I had to bring my Batavus Dutch city bike back from
Holland. I did phone and ask the dealer whether he would sell and ship one
to the US. He said yes. I would presume that in addition to their 14%
discount the 19% VAT would come off up front. Then add on shipping charges.
See http://batavus.com/ for bikes. (Which comes up blank and useless if you
have ActiveX turned off.)

Looks fine on Mozilla under Linux (by definition, no CaptiveX). You do
need a Flash plugin, though. (cue rant about idiot web designers who
think that people want the Web to be television)

English is not an option, though. If you don't know Dutch, Flemish(?),
Danish, or German, you're out of luck. I'm surprised that the .be site
doesn't offer French, either.

--
Russ --kill the wabbit to despam
"The solution is simple: all spammers, if convicted of spamming, should
be drowned in cow diarrhoea in televised public ceremonies. Start with
Ralsky." -Guy Chapman

On Thu, 13 Nov 2003 20:33:23 -0500, Don Wiss
wrote:

(Mostly snipped)

Too bad it still has a derailleur instead of an internal hub.

Some years ago, the Specialized Globe did have an internally geared
hub. My Mom has the 3 speed version from some time in the early to
mid 90s. It's an excellent city bike or short distance commuter, at
least in the relatively flat area where she lives. Didn't come with a
lot of extras, just fenders, kickstand, and a bell, but an inexpensive
battery light is okay for city riding, and decent racks aren't that
expensive.

IIRC, there was also a 7 speed internally hub version.

Maybe Specialized just wasn't selling enough of these. There are good
arguments to be made for internally geared hubs for commuting bikes,
but you still have to convince people to buy them.

MP

"MP" wrote in message
...

snipped

Maybe Specialized just wasn't selling enough of these. There are good
arguments to be made for internally geared hubs for commuting bikes,
but you still have to convince people to buy them.

If your commute doesn't involve any steep inclines then I guess
this is true.

If I go the "safer" route on my commute, it involves a relatively
unknown unpaved underpass, under a major freeway, which has quite
a steep incline, and where I'd have trouble with an internally
geared bike (if you try to get up enough speed before the incline
to avoid the need for lower gears then you'll likely end up in a
creek). This is why I decided against a Breezer. For now I'm
still on an older road bike. I'm hoping that Fuji sells the Hokkaido
in the U.S. since it's chomolly, rather than aluminum.

The Kettler Traveller is very cool. I was about to buy one of the
2002 closeouts but they ran out of them.

On 15 Nov 2003, "Steven M. Scharf" wrote:

"MP" wrote in message

Maybe Specialized just wasn't selling enough of these. There are good
arguments to be made for internally geared hubs for commuting bikes,
but you still have to convince people to buy them.

If your commute doesn't involve any steep inclines then I guess
this is true.

If I go the "safer" route on my commute, it involves a relatively
unknown unpaved underpass, under a major freeway, which has quite
a steep incline, and where I'd have trouble with an internally
geared bike (if you try to get up enough speed before the incline
to avoid the need for lower gears then you'll likely end up in a
creek). This is why I decided against a Breezer.

But you can change the rear cog wheel to give you a lower low. Yes, you
lose your highest gear. But you don't need it, and most likely rarely use
it. That is what I did with my Batavus. I changed the rear from 17 teeth to
20 teeth. That shifted the gears exactly one number lower.

Don donwiss at panix.com.

"Don Wiss" wrote in message
...

On 15 Nov 2003, "Steven M. Scharf" wrote:

"MP" wrote in message

Maybe Specialized just wasn't selling enough of these. There are good
arguments to be made for internally geared hubs for commuting bikes,
but you still have to convince people to buy them.

If your commute doesn't involve any steep inclines then I guess
this is true.

If I go the "safer" route on my commute, it involves a relatively
unknown unpaved underpass, under a major freeway, which has quite
a steep incline, and where I'd have trouble with an internally
geared bike (if you try to get up enough speed before the incline
to avoid the need for lower gears then you'll likely end up in a
creek). This is why I decided against a Breezer.

But you can change the rear cog wheel to give you a lower low. Yes, you
lose your highest gear. But you don't need it, and most likely rarely use
it. That is what I did with my Batavus. I changed the rear from 17 teeth to
20 teeth. That shifted the gears exactly one number lower.

Do you know the particular gearing this bike has? Newer 5, 7, and 8 speed hubs
have enough range that dealing with something like a freeway underpass shouldn't
pose a problem. Find out what the gearing and tire sizes are for this bike, and
plug them into Sheldon's gear calculator:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/gears/

Compare with the gears you think you'd use with a typical road bike. I bet it
will work.

Matt O.

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 21:36:33 GMT, "Matt O'Toole" wrote:

Don Wiss wrote:

But you can change the rear cog wheel to give you a lower low. Yes, you
lose your highest gear. But you don't need it, and most likely rarely use
it. That is what I did with my Batavus. I changed the rear from 17 teeth to
20 teeth. That shifted the gears exactly one number lower.

Do you know the particular gearing this bike has?

Yes, that is why I wrote "shifted the gears exactly one number lower."

Newer 5, 7, and 8 speed hubs
have enough range that dealing with something like a freeway underpass shouldn't
pose a problem.

I don't know what a freeway underpass is. I live on a terminal moraine in
Brooklyn. Some pretty steep hills around here, plus the East River Bridges.
The range of the gearing is fine. The problem is the bike manufacturers
center the range around a one-speed bike. So you have high gears you don't
need, and not low enough lows. As I pointed out this can easily be fixed.
And a new cog wheel was only 7.50 Euros.

Don donwiss at panix.com.

Steven M. Schar wrote:
Wow, first Trek, now Specialized. The Specialized model even has an
integral hub generator. There are even shops that are actually stocking
the Specialized model. I haven't found any shops except the Bike Gallery
in Oregon that is stocking the Treks.
http://commutebike.com/http://commutebike.com



I agree the Globe is a cool bike. I'm not sure what Trek(s) you were
referring to. If you like bikes with these disign parameters, check out
the Breezer bikes (http://www.breezerbikes.com/).



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