Thursday, November 13, 2008

Pake Urban Six-Speed

Pake, a company previously only for hipster penny-pinchers, now offers a practical town bike.

It's laid back, with 6-speeds, a (black) steel frame and fork, with (black) fenders, (black) chainguard, and a (silver, thankfully) bell. It has removable decals, and a kind of vintage look to it. Best of all, you'll pay
$375 for it at Broadway Bicycle School.
The spec is nothing special, you might as well say, "some parts," but there are some name brand bits here and there, in places that make sense:
• Men's 18" or Ladies 16" step-thru
• Steel frame (black)
• Shimano rear derailleur and freewheel
• Sugino crank
• Shimano Revoshift Twist shifters
• Alloy V-brakes
• Kenda 700x35c tires
• 36h spoke alloy wheels
• Spring saddle-vinyl cover
• Steel fenders (black)
• Plastic chain guard (black)
• Bell (silver, the proper color for a bell, unless it's brass)

The company claims this bike is, "Faster than the Millenium Falcon," but as we all know, that was long long ago, in a galaxy far far away.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just tried to order this bike and was told it was off the market till March 2009

Anonymous said...

I just rode one of these at my LBS and was fairly impressed. Given the price they were asking ($280!), the components are not high end, but it felt reasonably solid overall -- good braking, smooth shifting, no clattering or rattling, comfortable riding position.

The really great thing about this bike, though, is the gearing -- it's quite low, which is an absolute must for the hilly city in which I live. Most of the bikes in this category seem to be designed for flat terrain and are geared fairly high.

What would I change about this bike? The handlebars are a bit wide for my taste -- a narrower set of "north road" style bars would suit me better. The pedals are cheap plastic junk; they'll probably hold up well enough, but chromed metal cage pedals would give you a little more grip and would better fit the overall appearance of the bike. A 7- or 8-speed Nexus hub would be a huge improvement over the 6-speed derailleur, but would probably double the price of the bike; fortunately, it looks like the dropouts will accommodate an internal gear hub, so this it a possible upgrade once the factory drivetrain wears out.

Overall, seems like a great short-commute / quick-errand / share-with-family-and-friends bike for the price. I'll probably be buying mine within the next few days.

Anonymous said...

I love it. Where can I try it in new york? Seems very few bike stores specialize in this sort of bike here.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous-they have these at Bicycle Station in Brooklyn on Vanderbuilt. Just tried one out this weekend.

Robert W said...

Their web site says it's been discontinued for 2012.