January 11th, 2011

We’re back from the Christmas break and things are pretty busy already.  If you are bringing your bike in for a service at the moment, then it’s definitely best to call ahead and book a day.  Over the break we moved everything out the back so we could paint the workshop floor.  We were expecting the first week back to be quiet enough to get everything back to normal, but we were swamped with repairs and we’ve only just got all the furniture back where it ought to be.  Among the things we had to install was a new workstand – stand number three. While we were doing this we took the opportunity to improve the rigidity of two of the three stands.

The other exciting thing we’ve moved onto the floor is our selection of Creme bikes.  Check out their site here.

We’re stocking their Cafe Racer models.  It is available in a men’s and a women’s version and each comes with two different build specs the more expensive Doppio model and the cheaper Solo.  They are all made from steel (our favourite material for bike frames), they have sensible wheels and are intended for regular commuting use and should stand up to it very well.

Their female Caferacer Doppio model is especially cool – a classic Mixte step-through with graceful curves, a steel frame with skinny tubes, nice parts and a great front rack for carrying things around.  It comes with mud guards, a light and a Brooks saddle.  It’s a great bike for someone who loves their old Repco traveler, but wants a newer, higher quality bike where everything just works like it should.  The dropouts on the Creme are forged and the rack and mud-guard eyelets are solid and reliable.  The brakes are powerful, the wheels and tyres are both good quality and robust.  The wheels have internal gear hubs that will be reliable and long-lasting and the mud guards and chain guard are thoughtfully placed and secured.  The front rack lets you carry quite a bit of stuff without it getting hard to handle, and it looks amazing – the whole bike has a very French look to it, and is inspired by some of the old French custom bikes, especially the Porteurs that were used for newspaper delivery and in some cases in delivery races.

The main differences between the two female Cafe Racer versions is that the more expensive Doppio ($1700 as of Jan 2011) has a 7 speed Shimano hub whereas the Solo ($1200 as of Jan 2011) has a 3 speed Shimano hub, the Doppio has a Brooks leather saddle whereas the Solo has a Velo saddle and the Doppio has nicer cranks.  There is also a dynamo option available on the Doppio which is more expensive.

The male versions of the Cafe racer are much the same, but with a few tweaks and the option of single speed hubs.  Mixtes were traditionally considered a unisex design and plenty of Peugeot mixtes get used by men.  Similarly some women prefer the higher top tube of the men’s models, so don’t feel restricted by the gender of the models.