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| The 2012 Trek Cocoa. Photo credit: Trek. |
We can tell that it's a "Dutch-style" bike because it is only offered in glossy black. All right, all right, maybe also because it has an internal gear hub, fenders, and full chaincase. Despite the retro, Dutchy look, the frame is made of aluminum and the internal hub is Shimano Nexus. There's definitiely a demand for this type of bike (did you read Tom's last post?) and Trek, the 800-pound gorilla of bike manufacturers, is weighing in with the Trek Cocoa.
Who does Trek think will buy the Cocoa? Here are a couple hints:
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| Do you see the appeal? Photo credit: Trek. |
All and all, the Cocoa is a much better effort than Trek's last attempt to woo women riders - remember the Trek Lime? Jennifer of General Carlessness declared that the Lime was "rotten" and that "[i]t's not a bike for the rest of us." I totally agree.
The Cocoa is a different story. It has potential to be a fun, practical bike. But I think it should come with custom racks, or at least some kind of basket, so that it can, you know, carry stuff. That's a basic thing that a bike should be able to do.
Here are a couple other reviews of the Trek Cocoa:
Lovely Bike
Bicycle Times interbike review
Here are the specs, as reported by Trek:
Colors: Gloss Black
Frame: Alpha Silver Aluminum
Fork: Steel w/curved blades
Sizes: 15, 19"
Wheels: Alloy front hub, Shimano Nexus 3-speed rear hub; 36-hole double-wall alloy rims
Tires: Bontrager H2, 700x32c
Shifters: Shimano Nexus, 3-speed twist
Crank: Forged alloy, 42T chainring
Cassette: 20T cog
Pedals: Steel, city type
Saddle: Cocoa comfort saddle
Seatpost: Alloy seatpost w/clamp
Handlebar: Alloy, swept-back
Stem: Forged alloy
Headset: Threaded, 1"
Brakeset: Long reach alloy caliper brakes w/alloy 4-finger levers
Grips: Kraton
Extras: Fenders, kickstand, skirt guard, full-coverage chainguard
3 comments:
Ok... now how about you offer both this bike and the Belleville with a 7 or 8 speed internal hub and then they will have a couple of very nice city bikes.
I need more gears than just 3. I live in a pretty hilly city (Spokane, WA) and I currently commute on a road bike with 21 gears, so coming down to 8 will be enough of a transition. I don't even look at 3-speeds.
And I want more color options than black, Henry Ford. If your target demo is women you'll need a wider palette.
This bike may only have 3 gears, but the range between each is very large. For instance, I have a bike with a SA 5-gear hub and the range is barely higher/lower than the 3-speed because the spacing is closer. The 8-speed nexus hub from Shimano has a pretty wide range, though the steps between each gear is considerably smaller than with a 3-speed. Derailleur bikes with 21 or more gears have a wide-range indeed, but there's plenty of overall with some of the combinations (unlike with internal hubs) and if you don't maintain the chain regularly, it really loses efficiency.
Depending on how steep your hills are, you may even be fine with a 3-speed after some time and adjustment. I regularly ride up hills and can easily outpace my friends on their 30-speed road bikes with my trek hybrid; I don't even change gears anymore for hills.
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