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"Milk Bikes was founded in 2010 by long-time cyclist and commuter Mark Meadows who grew increasingly frustrated with the amount of time spent cleaning and maintaining his bikes."
http://road.cc/content/news/33612-new-uk-low-maintenance-bike-brand-launched
There's quite a few more bikes that seem to be coming on the market now complete with guards and racks. I think manufacturers must finally be catching on - last years magazines seemed to have it as a selling point if they just came with the brazeons for them. There was something for £100 in Cycling Plus last month that was a single speed shopper bike with racks, guards, basket and (bottle) dynamo lights that got a generally favourable review despite lack of gearing.
nice! if I wanted a commuter, id want that.
No chain/belt guard though!
Hmm so some chap has decided to import basically what most of Europe is using already...
and it will cost heaps. A frame price of £450 PLUS Alfine, plus Gates...
It will be well out of normal commuter market money.
People who want low maintenance tend to me non cyclist thinking people and therefore tend not to spend a lot on a bike. The obstacle to commuting is not maintenance. On the whole a bike (even a low priced model) is an exceptionally reliable and cost effective means of getting around.
I think he missed the point. This is just a high end commuter for those who have the cash - not a transport solution for people who need it most.
I'm surprised that it's being marketed as a commuter bike when the rider is expected to stick his/her bum so high in the air. Don't commuter bikes let you sit more upright?
For me - (hilly commute, bad at changing gears, hard on the bike, often weighed down with two panniers of shopping) bikes marketed as low maintennance are as high maintennance as any other bike I have plus I don't know how to do a botched fix on hub gears in the way that I can footer with derailler. If I had better legs a single speed would be low maintennance. The less bits something has the less likely it is to go wrong. I am going to The Bike Chain this saturday for review of Crossroads commuter - may go for Sturmey 3 spd or simple derailler one cog on front, 7 on back. Removing the rubbish Nexus 8 hub will decrease the weight. I understand Alfine are better but they are not cheap. A heavy bike with rack, panniers, marathon plus, full mudguards. This is the reality of my commute where I am carrying a lot of stuff and do not want p-word. Other people use the A70 on skinny tyres and a rucksack. THe surface is quite ropey for this style but it is quicker. I noted the lack of chainguard and high seat post position. If meant as commuter then the guard is sensible (though Crossroads and Globe still don't have this) the high seat post is just trendy.
well, this does sort of fit the niche I posted about - a practical bike for those without interest/aptitude/time for bike maintenance, but not girly-looking!
This does seem to fit more with the "urban fixed-wheel assault vehicle" sorts of bikes that are coming out and aimed at those with bulging wallets, except with added guards and rack.
In terms of maintenance a belt must be good until it goes wrong. You can replace a chain yourself with no skill and a £10 chain tool - how are you meant to replace / fix a belt (especailly at the side of the road in the dark and the rain)?
Why just white (especially if they're intended to not require regular washing)? Why not Friesian/piebald, like the website background?
I'd be interested to know where they were tested over the winter. Surely sufficient regular applications of road-sludge could cause even a belt drive some smoothness issues?
K'nik - you're just not the person this bike is aimed at. Trust me, I will _never_ try to replace a chain by the side of the road. I quite agree with tbc's comment that people who they want to attract might not want to spend a lot on a bike, BUT, I think after a few years riding a crappy bike, this is the sort of 'replacement' bike someone might get, who does a lot of commuting and sees the point to investing, but doesn't want a flash bike, or one that needs a lot of attention.
"or simple derailler one cog on front, 7 on back"
Lot to be said for it - that's the configuration on one of my most used bikes.
But it's becoming more difficult due to 'fashion creep'.
I remember when six cogs was 'wow'. You could go into shops and 'build your own' with a complete range of cogs hanging on the wall (behind the counter). My choice was 14, 16, 18, 21, 24, 30 - SunTour.
Until then bikes were single speed, 3 speed (Sturmey), 5 speed (14-24 was a 'big' range) or ten with (usually) an amazing 52/49 double chainring set up.
A few years ago it was easy to get 11-34T freewheels and cassettes giving a range of gears that would suit most people with a single chainring (apart from serious off-road use).
Now it's just about 14-34T only - in 7 speed.
8,9,10 etc. give spurious extra choice with thinner components that are likely to wear out faster unless of high (expensive) quality.
Shaft drive?
@SRD - what I was trying to get at is why an (expensive) belt drive is being touted as some sort of panacea to not having to clean and maintain your bike. It's not indestructable or immune to wear (particularly - as wingpig says - through exposure to winter grinding paste) and when it fails, much like a chain, it fails. I could be wrong but I imagine it would then definitely require a trip to a shop to replace and is unlikley to be a "yeah we'll get that sorted for you in 10 minutes" sort of a job. So point is that cheaper components that are easier and cheaper to maintain might in the scheme of things be better than a more elaborate, high-end solution.
Basic mid range touring bike and use any cash saved for a six monthly service?
I'd typeed a big long reply and lost it. Goddammit.
Basically I think you're all (save for SRD) being a bit curmudgeonly about this. As well as being classically 'anti' new ideas (there are quite a few manufacturers already looking at using belt drives (including Trek I think)) - a stance that has history in new braking systems, new gearing systems etc etc etc (and rememebr, televisions were a 'fad' and 'nobody will want a computer in their house'. Who is to say that in ten years the market won't be awash with belt drive bikes?
Okay, so it needs a beltguard, and the position needs to be a bit more upright, but he's aiming at a niche that quite simply isn't us. The person buying this (most likely, as SRD says, to be someone replacing an old bike that they've got fed up of clagging up, or that hasn't been used for ages because it has a puncture/the chain snapped/the handlebars are loose. They will read the marketing and think 'wow!'. And if the belt breaks? Well if the chain broke they would have taken it to the LBS anyway, and they don't know if it should be a ten minute or 24 hours job, so won't care that they've got to leave it overnight or whatever. Hell, they'd probably have done the same for a puncture).
Personally I quite like it...
Aha, and reading some more (it's the cycling journalist in me... ;) ) he's got a Dutch-style upright design in the pipeline - this is designed as a 'faster' commuter. (though yes, I realise, not as fast as some other bikes)
this is designed as a 'faster' commuter.
Not as fast as the bloke on the carbonium-framed time-trial special powering through Roseburn in the superman position this morning!
I think belt drives are overdue, I'm surprised there aren't more on motorcycles as well (there have been a limited number around since the eighties).
The bike itself is fine for what it is...
I just feel that if you are a non-bikey commuter there are better options. The designer wanted a bike that doesn't need washing/maint, well I'm afraid most/many utility riders do none of the former and little of the latter, regardless of the design. If it breaks then they take it to the lbs (and complain). If it doesn't then it's a "good" bike. Like white goods, it doesn't matter how it works as long as it works.
I don't think he's really aiming at the utility market, he's aiming at enthusiasts who like the style/tech/image or want a commuter to save their "best" bike(s), the washing thing is a red herring. If it were aimed at real utility it would be built down to a rpice not up to a spec unfortunately :-/
Low maintenance bike - a great idea. As a kid I loved nothing more than bike tinkering (although it rarely seemed to improve anything)but now find it a real chore, as I have lots of other commitments.
If cycling is to become more popular then bikes will have to change to appeal to as many people as possible, particularly those with no interest in mechanics or maintenance. Obviously this bike will not appeal to everyone (I could not afford it and agree with some of the concerns raised above) but once this technology is proven and taken up by the likes of Giant then the price will come down and reliability go up.
Cyclists have happily adapted to V and disc brakes rather than calipers (road bikes excepted), suspension, aliminium and carbon etc. I don't see why we can't adapt to belt drives, new types of hub brakes/gears and so on. Don't fancy them - then stick to what you like. That's the beauty of cycling - something for everyone.
If it was at least described as requiring only minimal washing (perhaps by idly waggling a hosepipe at the bike for five minutes until it gleams prettily) alongside the 'virtually no maintenance' it would seem more realistic; likewise if they specified that the hubs and BB were specially-chosen to be virtually impervious to water penetration from a pressure hose for hassle- and worry-free careless washing.
I've nowt against (and obviously no experience of) belt drives but (even if they don't consist of lots of little metal bits in between which littler bits of abrasive crap can creep) they can only reduce the amount of cleaning a bike requires, not remove the need altogether.
Having once been chided by a bike shop for the amount of muck (on a different component to the one they were replacing) I've often wondered how many have considered adjusting ther table of charges for servicings, perhaps appending £5 for 'and thoroughly cleaning everything if your bike is particularly unpleasantly filthy when you drop it off' which might even attract extra business from people who don't bother to do their own maintenance or cleansing.
Cyclists have happily adapted to V and disc brakes rather....
Though there is an argument that each of changes you've listed is an enhancement to the existing functionality. New brakes are invariably better than side pull callipers, suspension has allowed more and more extreme trails to be ridden etc.
I don't see the belt drive as a major advantage, its no more efficient and while it might be lower maintenance, when it goes you need to reconstruct your frame.
Personally i'd say my "answer" to this problem is more disposability. Probably not the best solution either but... Design stuff to last until its broken then dispose of it, even if its a bike shop job compared to having a modern car serviced bikes are incredibly cheap to work on. Design the drive train as a unit to be replaced every three years or 8k miles. New chain, chainset, bb, hub and cassette. These might be heavier and not shift as well but would last longer. Thick chain, 5 speed cassette or hub gears, single solid chain ring.
Every three years you take your commuter into the shop the drive train is replaced for a flatish cost wether or not an individual component is dead. The shop can give the frame and head set a once over and away you go. The used parts could be reconditioned or recycled. That just leaves the brakes.
which might even attract business from people who don't bother to do their own maintenance or cleansing.
Do kids here do 'car washes' for charity? this was always a big fundraiser at home for sports teams etc. maybe we should try out a 'bike wash'. I'd bring mine along to one!
SRD - how much would you pay someone to wash your bike for Charidee?
compared to having a modern car serviced bikes are incredibly cheap to work on.
Not sure that's really true. Annual service on my car (16V turbo auto) is ~£150 and I don't expect to have any flats or wear-out issues in any year until I hit ~50k miles.
Whereas my bike will consume brake blocks, chains, sprockets and tyres and have several flats each year from new. If I was paying parts and labour, it wouldn't be far from £150.
I can't help thinking that in countries where bikes are mainstream transport it is cheaper than a car. But maybe not here....
@alibali - what about putting fuel in the car? (granted that wasn't mentioned by the bit you quoted, but...).
And in two years of having my (new) car I've had two flats that have necessitated new tyres, each over that magic £150 mark...
"And in two years of having my (new) car I've had two flats that have necessitated new tyres, each over that magic £150 mark... "
Run flat tyres?
You can still get a car tyre puncture fixed for free; doubt that's possible on a bike (unless you were getting other work done?)
No free lunch. I suspect the cost of free puncture repair was factored into the price of the tyre.
That's why they were so expensive - even run flats struggle to maintain air pressure with two inch pothole-caused gashes in the tyre.
Serves me right for driving a poncey car with no spare and specialist tyres.
@anth Yes, of course the fuel changes everything. That's why I'm here after all!
I do wish bikes were more reliable commuting machines with less requirement for special tools (cassette lock nut, for example) though.
Sorry to hear about your run-flats, at least your rims survived...
I gather the MOD use foam-filled tyres. Would that work on bikes?
"I gather the MOD use foam-filled tyres. Would that work on bikes?"
Various companies have tried - and several types of solid ones too.
http://www.greentyre.co.uk/bike.html
Appropriate for wheelchairs (didn't realise how many different sizes there were!) but, curiously - after all these years, a mix of rubber and air seems to be the optimum for comfort, safety and speed.
The jury is still out (on this forum at least) about 'puncture resistant' tyres.
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