I have given up driving for a variety of reasons, but after 6 months of walking and buses I realized I needed something that gave me more range and some carrying ability. So I went searching for a comfortable bike for my still large and forever old ass. I saw that the Electra Townie was pretty popular iwth the “comfort bike” crowd, but then I saw the Day 6. Looked like a great bike, but the thing that sold me was the seat.
I didn’t want to commit without riding it, and no one in Southern California sells them. So a dealer in Northern Cal. ordered for a demo because he comes down to LA a lot. He brought it down, I rode it, and after doing some of the incredible variety of adjustments available to fit the bike to anyone, I found my sweet spot and promptly told the dealer that he was only getting the bike back if he pried it from my dead hands.
I LOVE THIS BIKE. It is incredibly comfortable. Just a joy. It’s got the easy step-through design (none of this silly boy/girl bike stuff), feet are flat on the ground when you stop (or should be! Make sure you adjust properly!) Gear changes are extremely smooth, so far working with breaking parts down is very simple (the amazing seat has three parts that can be adjusted independently for the perfect fit, all quick release. I think I’m going to replace the quick release with bolts eventually to help deter any attempts to grab the seat.) and I’m incredibly glad I made the effort to get my hands on it. I rode theTownie, and it’s nice but it’s not this baby…
Now, the downsides, which aren’t so much downsides as mere bumps in the road to bike nirvana:
It’s unusually long (51" wheelbase) so I found that it wouldn’t mount on the Metro bus’ bike rack the normal way. I have to turn the front wheel backwards, and even then I need to bungee one end of it that won’t quite go all the way into the channel. But once I do that, it’s fine. Just a little extra work to do before the bus arrives. I am near a bus layover station so I went over there to practice rather than trying it on a bus that was on a schedule.
The amazing seat is not built like other seats, which makes many accessories designed for normal seatposts unworkable. This is a pain in the ass, but the seat is completely worth it, so I’m dealing.
The front end is extremely light, which makes it pretty loosy-goosy and that definitely needs to be gotten used to. I’m still working on it. I’m also getting a very heavy chain lock next week, I plan to carry it on the front to help weigh it down.
So if you’re thinking of getting a bike, for going green on your commute or local errands, or just for pleasure, and particularly if you’re not especially athletic and need something that doesn’t require you to be in great shape in order to get right on and go, this is a really excellent bicycle.
Am glad you’re riding Stoid, and cool that you like your new bike. The thing is, as an avid cyclist for years, I can tell you with certainty that that bike cannot be healthy for the knees, the angles are way beyond all fucked up. I hope you don’t have too many hills in your area. I won’t comment on the seat, except that even if I was an old man, if I showed up at the trail with one of those I would hope my friends would beat me to death with a club. I am sorry, but that is awful, that is the worst bicycle seat I have ever seen. What’s next, people peddling around on their living room couch?
Runner Pat: But unlike the angles of full recumbent, these angles stress knee joints akin to riding conventionally with the seat positioned too low in height.
Good for you. Thanks for your observations and evaluation.
I’m an avid bicyclist. An Electra is probably nothing that I would ever be seen riding. But that’s not the point.
When I’m out on the promenade I see people that are really out of shape trying to run or do a fitness walk. I see people on crappy or ridiculous bikes (and I’m not saying that an Electra is crappy or ridiculous, they’re not). The thought that runs through my mind is, “it may not look pretty but at least they are out there doing it.” To me, that’s huge. Enjoy! Just keep it up. If you do it long enough you may want to change bikes but you can take that at your own pace.
That’s funny… why do you object to the seat? For an old broad like me it’s heaven. Even when I was a young broad I could never find a seat that didn’t hurt in some way or another.
As for my knees… well, my knees are kinda delicate for a variety of reasons. So far they aren’t bothered at all, at least no more than they are by any kind of cycling, and cycling was part of my rehab after a miniscus repair. The position of the pedals on this bike are considered “semi-recumbent”, and most of the reputable sources I check with consider it better for my knees than a regular upright bike. And I did boatloads of research before choosing this bike, and the overwhelming message was that “crank forward” bikes are excellent for old creaky folks like me, especially in conjunction with my crazyass seat.
Sports cycling is a different animal, that’s kind of the point. Until recently most bikes were designed for people like you. Middle aged baby boomers wanting to go green and get some more exercise find most bicycles too painful and difficult, so these new “comfort bikes” were born and I’ve heard nothing but high praise for them in terms of body comfort, very much including knees.
Keeping it up is not an issue at all, I keep finding excuses to go riding. I go out to the market 6 blocks away and find myself getting home 4 miles and an hour later because I just wanted to keep going.
Not to mention the fact that this is my real transportation now! I’d much rather be on my bike than walking, walking is very hard on my knees, not to mention the rest of my legs! On top of my weight I have hyper-extension of my joints and that makes my poor knees very unhappy after I’ve been walking awhile - it’s hard to have to actually remember to make the effort to keep my knees slightly bent when I walk or pay the price.
So far the only comments I’ve gotten have been extremely positive (which doesn’t mean that elitist performance bicyclists haven’t been snickering to themselves, and let them!). Just today 5 people asked me where they could get it and wrote it down and basically raved about how great it is, especially my awesome seat. One lady was bummed because she’d sunk a lot of money into her Electra Townie a year ago and she was wondering how much she could sell it for to replace it with this. Of course, they were all middle-aged…
About the seat, I think the back rest is going too far, except maybe in full recumbents where you need to brace, but I don’t like the idea of recumbents either, because of the power transfer they don’t climb very well. They are relaxing otherwise and aerodynamically efficient. I just worry about the knees joints, it just looks to me that bike would be tough on them. But then again, I see cyclists all the time with their seats positioned too low. And when I do it almost makes my own knees start to hurt.
I think it’s a yet another sign that I am becoming older, more and more things look dangerous and painful; yet younger people seem to be having fun engaged in these activities.
Am glad you’re riding, and I should not be dissing your seat. Maybe this is a passive aggressive attempt to lash out, jealous of a comfortable seat that my culture and creed has deemed unacceptable and off limits.
I guess it would be a good way to find out if I had any true riding friends, if I showed up at the trail with that seat. Maybe it would be okay if I was a better rider, but there are too many younger people thrashing me as it is.
Good luck with new cycle, be careful; and please wear a helmet, esp if you’re out in traffic.
I read somewhere the answer is “gear down and spin!” and that works for me. Not that I’m climbing much of anywhere to begin with!
Hehehe… maybe so. I can’t imagine giving two shits of a damn what anyone on earth thought of my seat if it pleased me. Ditto my clothes, my house, my car, my choice of TV shows, my anything! If I like it that’s all that matters!
Sure hope you’re joking! Life’s too short to give up anything at all for the approval of others who are shallow and judgmental enough to make it a condition of their acceptance…
Thank you very much! I’m a good bunny, I didn’t ride for the first three days even though I was itching like hell just because I didn’t have my helmet yet.
Of course I have recently had a terrible reminder of how very important safety is and how dangerous it is to be riding something that leaves me so exposed… the first few days I rode I had the strangest sensation that something was missing: a seat belt!
Good for you. Thanks for your observations and evaluation.
I’m an avid bicyclist. An Electra is probably nothing that I would ever be seen riding. But that’s not the point.
When I’m out on the promenade I see people that are really out of shape trying to run or do a fitness walk. I see people on crappy or ridiculous bikes (and I’m not saying that an Electra is crappy or ridiculous, they’re not). The thought that runs through my mind is, “it may not look pretty but at least they are out there doing it.” To me, that’s huge. Enjoy! Just keep it up. If you do it long enough you may want to change bikes but you can take that at your own pace.
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Believe me, I could not be more supportive of you. Personally, I have a knee that is worn out from athletic competition. For years I was a runner, boxer, skier (amongst other things) and now, on the advice of top-notch orthopedic surgeons, I have been told not to run.
However, I can bicycle without pain or damage to my knee. I do long distance bicycle touring.
There are few thing better than loving your bicycle. Any and all of my comment are intended to be supportive and to encourage others. The bicycle is one of the greatest inventions in the history of mankind. We all should make the best of it.
Thanks. Some of the best moments of my life have bee when I have been riding my bicycle.
As with any physical activity, there we always be those that are in it for their ego. Their motivation is to better than somebody else. That’s total BS. It’s the participation that is important.
An anecdote: When I was 13 years old and was playing amateur hockey, at the end of the season the league scheduled a father/son game. We were watching the game and there was one father out there that was totally pathetic, to the point of embarrassment. A kid sitting by me while we were laughing at this display said, “He’s a mature man, he’s probably having a great time.” The guy that said that (who was 13 years old at the time) went on to be a philosophy major. The comment probably taught me as much about maturity as anything.
So Stoid, do your thing and enjoy you bicycle. Other than human love, sex and intimacy, bicycles are maybe the next best pleasure in life.
Not my style of bike, but if it works for you then it is an awesome bike. The more you ride, the better you like to ride.
I did 60 miles around the San Fernando Valley yesterday (yes the wind was a bitch, why do you ask?)
BTW bikes are a lot like cats. Seems you can’t have just one. I’m up to 4 right now. 2 mountain and two road.
Yeah, I’m finding that… the more I ride the more I like it. I’ll like it even better when I have all my various accoutrements. I just got back from my first trip to my favorite shopping center - made me very happy. The worst thing is the pain in the ass breakdown/lockup, but it really doesn’t bother me all that much, and with time I’ll get faster at it. I approach it all from a very Zen perspective…going to the well to draw water sort of thing.
Helluva lot more fun and satisfying to bike to the store than drive, that’s for damn sure.
Good for you stoid! The bike biz has, for too many years, been focused on selling racing bicycles to people who never race. Your bike is part of the trend of getting back to selling the sort of bike that will never win a race, but do what non-racers need of them.
I have a friend who swears by her Electra Townie. Precious few stories carry them around my way, but I happened to run across one not too long ago – nice bike, but it floored me it was only one-speed If I were to take up biking in all earnest, a bike like that wouldn’t stand a chance around here.
Don’t know where you heard that. Not only are the majority multi-speed, some are internal. I think they only have one model that’s single-speed.
My Day 6 is better, though. And its 7-speed. There’s also a 21 speed, but that’s really overkill for someone like me. I just need to be able to spin when the going gets hard…
If I were to take up biking in all earnest, a bike like that wouldn’t stand a chance around here.
And its 7-speed. There’s also a 21 speed, but that’s really overkill for someone like me. I just need to be able to spin when the going gets hard…