Filed under: Transportation Alternatives, On Two Wheels
Cannondale working on innovative commuter bike called the "ON"
So, you read our recent post about urban-biking and you want to get started. First, you'll need a bike, right? There are quite a few choices, some of which have been covered here on AutoblogGreen before (see related posts). As our recent article pointed out, many manufacturers are seeing the rising trend of city-bike riders and are developing specific models to entice those shoppers. Cannondale is one such brand, and the urban-bike that they are designing has some interesting innovation to offer. From the "righty" single-sided front fork to the folding frame design, the "ON" was designed with city dwellers in mind. This is still just a concept at this point, but expect to see something like this available in Cannondale dealers before too long.
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[Source: Cannondale]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
pdx 1:02PM (10/14/2007)
I had a terrible time trying to buy a "Street Premium" bike from Cannondale. It is one of their high end commuter bikes that they sell in the USA. They sell only a couple models in the USA but they sell around twenty commuter models in Europe. (I found that strange since Cannondale is USA based... They should at least let us order the bikes they sell in Europe - even if they don't sell them at retailers).
I wanted to buy Cannondale because it was American Made. But I waited 3 weeks for the delivery date, then Cannondale slipped the date two weeks. I waited the two weeks, and they slipped the date another two weeks. I waited the two more weeks, and they slipped the date another two weeks. I called them and asked what was the deal - they said that they were having trouble with production. Clearly... I waited another two weeks and they slipped the date again. I cancelled my order.
I bought a Biria instead.
http://www.biria.com/
However, back to this Cannondale. I din't see anything really helpful for regular commuters. No fenders to keep crud off the clothes and gear. No racks to carry stuff.
If you need a folding bike, I highly recommend "Bike Friday". They are outstanding, and a great company to boot. http://www.bikefriday.com/
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1985 Gripen 2:33PM (10/14/2007)
This 'blog (ABG) is set up to cover automobiles from a green angle. How a new Cannondale city bike is related to automobiles, I just don't get.
If you want to link an automobile to the latest trend of "city bikes" look no further than Saab.
Saab is (and has been for some time) offering the Saab Everywhere Bike. It's actually designed and manufactured by a Dutch company called Biomega.
This Saab urban bike folds small enough to fit in the smallest of Saab automobile trunks (that of the 9-3 convertible), features disk brakes, eight speeds, and an integrated cable lock which acts as a functional structural piece (the downpipe) so if anyone were to cut the cable to steal the bike the bike would be useless as it would just collapse on itself.
Saab had an urban bike offering when all its competition were only offering mountain and road race bikes.
http://us.saabexpressions.com/Products/Product1.aspx?ItemId=50000059
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kballs 6:34PM (10/15/2007)
What happened to the hydraulic transmission they hyped up with the Jacknife concept? This one is a manual 9-speed hub transmission (though it's nice, it doesn't provide automatic or continuously variable shifting).
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