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It’s okay to call them foul-weather friends; we’re not offended. Joe Bike has carefully built one of the world’s deepest selections of high-performance city bikes equipped with the trifecta of year-round urban cycling: internally geared hubs, Gates Carbon Drive, and disc brakes. Common attributes: their drivetrains and braking systems are weatherproof, extremely reliable, clean, and nearly maintenance-free; all accept fenders, kickstands, and both front and rear racks; and all can be equipped with a front dyno hub to power both front and rear lights.

The practical-cycling movement in the US seems

**Commercial interruption: 10% off all 2011 Showers Pass and Bellwether jackets, pants, booties, and other raingear starting now and ending when we think it’s gone on long enough.**

to have taken its first cues, and its first models, from Holland, where the earth is still flat and where heavy bikes don’t feel heavy once you’re rolling. Where steel chaincases very sensibly protect your chain from the rain but make repairing a flat tire a greasy, sharp nightmare. Where sitting bolt-upright as if at your grandma’s dinner table is the only choice you have.

We love the Dutch and their influence on the transportation-cycling revolution that’s under way in North America, but Joe Bike is in Portland, not Amsterdam, and our idea of practical cycling runs fairly counter to Dutch (or, more accurately, Dutch-style) bikes and their misplaced advantages in favor of what actually works well in Portland.

For example, “practical” in Portland means the ability to climb a hill even with a full load of groceries without being deprived the use of most of your body’s muscles, and without a $3000, self-necessitating motor. It means you don’t need to oil your chain or to mess with a cumbersome chaincase because you’ve got maintenance-free, grease-free Gates carbon belt drive. The belt never rusts or stretches and lasts several times longer than a chain (and is now more efficient than a chain, too). It means your bike is both very strong and surprisingly light, and has a wide gear range to get yourself going and powerful, weatherproof brakes to get yourself ungoing. It means your rear rack weighs half as much as most others, yet carries twice the weight. It means if your body feels stronger and more comfortable when you’re leaning into the bike rather than imagining your back between (as your yoga teacher might say) two panes of glass, that’s because it is. You’ll ride more easily and more efficiently, maintain better control, do more on a bike, and have a lot more fun doing it.

With these ideas in mind, we’ve put together what we think is the best lineup of practical city bikes for the Pacific Northwest, whether you’re a beginner, a seasoned commuter, or somewhere in between.

• Spot Bikes Acme and Ajax: These are the ultimate in hassle-free, maintenance-free, high-performance commuters. Aluminum frame, carbon fork, Alfine 11-speed (or Rohloff) with Gates CenterTrack Carbon Drive, and hydraulic disc brakes. Ajax has the same frame and fork but uses the Alfine 8-speed hub and has mechanical disc brakes. There’s even a stepthrough version of the Acme for people under about 5’5″.
• Spot Bikes Sprawl, handmade in Colorado: one of the most gorgeous city bikes out there (currently available by special order only).
• Spot Bikes Coyote: Clearcoated steel, belt drive, two-speed kickback hub. 
• Civia Bryant 11- or 8-speed: For those who prefer drop bars and the supple ride of high-quality steel, the Bryant is our top choice. (Arriving late September 2011)
• Stop Cycles Proletariat belt drive: Portland-designed, custom-built just for you. Alfine 8 or 11 + Gates, n360 + chain, or single speed belt or chain.
• Norco Ceres belt drive, equipped with what Ecovelo.info calls “the best commuting-specific component group on the market.” 8 speed or 11.
• Norco Vesta Our single-speed, Gates Carbon Drive commuter with drop bars and disc brakes. The ultimate in simplicity and reliability. Highly modifiable with various drivetrain options.

Stop Cycles is a young Portland company specializing in urban riding; their bikes are designed in Southeast Portland and fully assembled by Joe Bike, with the frames constructed in Taiwan. Norco, of Vancouver BC, is Canada’s oldest and most highly regarded bike manufacturer. They’re known mostly up north and in Europe, and Joe Bike is one of a relatively small number of US Norco dealers. Spot Brand Bicycles, closely associated with Gates, is based in Golden, Colorado, and specializes in high-performance Gates-equipped commuter and mountain bikes. Civia Cycles, based in Minneapolis, designs high-quality utilitarian models such as the Halsted cycletruck, the Bryant, the Kingfield (belt/rim brakes) and several chain-drive models.

Note: We are also dealers of Sun, Origin8, Surly, Redline, Batavus, Koga-Miyata, Abio, Strida, Soma, and Abici, though we don’t generally keep them in stock. We’re happy to special-order any of their models for you, with delivery times typically ranging from 1 day to 1 week. A 60% nonrefundable deposit is required for special orders of these bikes.

Another note: It’s true, none of these photos show a drop of rain. We’re going to have to work on that.

A customer from BC built a fixture to hold a bicycle to his motorcycle. Then he rode seven hours down to Portland to pick up his Spot Bikes Ajax from us.

What do both of these bikes have in common? Gates Carbon Drive (belt drive), of course. Stronger and longer-lasting than a chain, maintenance-free, lighter, and now actually more efficient. Joe Bike is one of the world’s leading Gates Carbon Drive/internally geared hub bike specialists. We ship all over the globe, except when there’s a chopper and a sunny day in the Pacific Northwest involved.

Note: Mundo framesets are not available from Yuba at the moment (May 2012). We’ll post on it when more arrive.

Are you really that vain? Or do you just have company colors to show the world? Many people are, and many people do. If you’re one of them, then have your next Mundo powdercoated or liquid painted in any color(s) you like, in flat, matte, or some sort of glossy.
How does it work?

1. Take a look at this picture of a Mundo frameset:

2. Focus on your tongue. Are you drooling? If yes, you can get this flat black frameset for $575 and we can custom build your Mundo for you using components and accessories that highlight your smile and hide the foul mood you occasionally find yourself in. Think of it as a bouquet of flowers that can haul 400 lbs. If no, proceed to step 3.

3. Imagine yourself riding this frame in your environs while wearing the clothes you’ve always dreamed of wearing while riding a bike. What color would that bike be? Also, imagine wheels on this imaginary frame; they will significantly (though not completely) reduce friction.

4. Now take a look at this handy RAL color chart.

5. Which color or colors will make you feel like a million bucks? Unicorn white, you say?

6. Go completely insane. Imagine what component and accessory colors would make this bike literally POP OFF THE STREET AND LEAP INTO EVERYONE’S LONG-TERM MEMORY.

7. Call us at 503 232 1107.

Pricing:

Powdercoating: single color, $250; two colors, $425 in addition to the $575 frameset price.

Liquid paint: $300-600, depending on what designs you have in mind.

Shipping: Shipping of custom-painted framesets and of customized Mundos is available. Expect shipping costs to be under $200 within the lower 48 states.

Joe Bike is the world’s largest Mundo dealer, so we’ve got you covered. Please see our Mundo page.

This Sunday, August 28, some 20,000 cyclists doing SE Sunday Parkways will ride through a throng of 15,000 pedestrians attending the Hawthorne Street Fair. This year the two events intesect at 45th and Hawthorne. In what can only be described as a series of aneurysms of genius on our part, we’ve got a booth precisely where these two flows of humanity will intersect: in the 7-11 parking lot (right?). There, Joe Bike is offering free light-mechanical support and diagnoses as well as cargobike family test rides, fender-blender human-powered smoothies that you make yourself by riding a bicycle that doesn’t go anywhere, bikes on display, Joe Bike t-shirts for sale, free shade thanks to our fabulous pop-up tent, and various trinkets and baubles that we might barter for other trinkets and baubles whose brilliant colors catch our eye. Stop by and say hi to our mechanics and maybe try to stump them. Meanwhile, our shop, .25 miles to the west, will be open as usual.

Bikes we’ll have on hand at either or both locations:

–Our own handmade ShuttleBug, widely rated the best bike of its kind in the world

–The Boxbike

–The Yuba Mundo, the best bike in its class (longtails) from the world’s largest Yuba dealer (that’s us!)

–The new Sun Atlas Cargo

–Pushbikes from Strider and others. You know, for kids!

–A large bowl of water for dogs.

–A selection of our supercool weatherproof commuter bikes featuring internally geared hubs, Gates Carbon Drive instead of a chain, disc brakes, and other commuter-friendly features. Joe Bike is one of the world’s largest and most respected specialists in this kind of ultra-low-maintenance, high-performance drivetrain. Our staff will be on hand at both the booth and the shop to show you what makes these bikes ideal for Portland.

 –Clowns. Wait. Clowns? No clowns. Clowns are creepy even when (or especially when) they blow up balloons and twist them into poodles. We will have no clowns.

Many thanks to 7-11 for hosting a Sunday Parkways rest stop and for letting us set up our booth there. We’re buying our ice, water, and other things from them.

SE Sunday Parkways map and other info here.

Hawthorne Street Fair guide here.

This looks like just another basket, but it’s oh so much better. To find out why, read on.

After waiting through repeated delays in the production of Yuba’s frame-mounted front rack (which we still look forward to getting), we decided to just make our own. That is to say, we designed a way to adapt a big Wald basket to the Mundo’s frame mounts.

Frame mounts? Most baskets mount to the fork and/or handlebars, so the load turns with the steering. That’s inherently unstable during riding and inherently unsteady during loading/unloading and parking. Yuba, which has hands down the best longtail cargobike we’ve ridden (Joe Bike is the world’s largest Yuba dealer) wisely designed mounts into the frame itself. This means the load stays in line with the frame, not with the front wheel, giving you a steadier, more stable, safer ride that’s easier on your arms and on your nerves, especially at low speeds and/or when turning. This design is perhaps just as useful when the bike is not in motion, because loading and unloading the basket, not to mention parking the bike, is much easier and more stable with a frame-mounted basket. Compare this to, say, the platform that comes with the Trek Transport, which bolts to the fork, and you’ll see what we mean.

Details: 21 x 15 x 9 Wald Giant Delivery Basket, steel, black or silver, made in USA; steel rack made in Portland. Compatible only with v4 Mundo equipped with disc brakes. Use with standard brakes is not recommended because of cable interference. $139.