THE PERFECT SPEED - JUST IN TIME FOR SPRING
Imagine a bicycle smart enough to shift gears for you, keep you comfy on those casual rides around town, and one that will permanently put a smile on your face. At last, a bike that understands you – the Raleigh Coasting bicycle. A dynamic combination of the very stylish Shimano Coasting components featuring a three-speed auto shifting system with a coaster brake and an elegantly designed frame with a “six-pack” front rack – just the right size for six of your favorite canned or bottled beverages and it even has a built in bottle opener. The Raleigh Coasting bicycle is smart, simple, practical, and stylish too.
Shimano’s concept "Coasting" stems from the desire to reunite people that haven’t touched a bike since their childhood with the fun and exhilaration of riding. There has been a lot of great coverage in the past month so here are a few links to get you informed:
Bike Portland
Design & Emotion
Hemispheres - Feb. Issue under "Executive Secrets" (United Airlines In-Flight Mag.) or PDF here
Spirit - Southwest Airlines In-Flight Mag.
IDEO
Coasting
Bicycle Design
GeekSugar
Bicycling Magazine - Great 7 page article in current Buyer's Guide Issue
Industry Outsider
Cycle-Licious
{click on bikes to enlarge}
Women's Coasting - Fresh Mint Men's Coasting - Black Forest Green
16 comments:
Wow, glad to see that Raleigh has a blog. It looks great so far.
I kind of botched some of the initial info in my recent Bicycle Design post about the Coasting concept, but I think it is corrected by now. The Raleigh Coasting bike looks great. You guys did a nice job with it.
James - thanks for the compliments! No worries on "botching" the post for Coasting, it was great to see it appear on your blog. We here at Raleigh are huge fans of your blog and appreciate your intelligent and unique approach to informing us all in the world of bicycle technology.
There has been tons of positive feed back surrounding our Coasting bikes and the Coasting concept in general - hats off to Shimano for courageously addressing the non-riding market. We are happy to be apart of this great movement.
Can't wait to get my hands on one of these and check it out :-)
I rode it and loved it. But what does a six-pack have to do with re-uniting folks with biking? What other accessories are lined up? The down tube has a visible wire; can it be hidden?
Finally, it's a strong contender to purchase even though I love the PUB.
oops, sorry about the deleted comment - robots had attacked!
air_cooled,
glad you have had a chance to ride the Coasting bike. It is hard to not have fun on it and that is basically why we included the 6pack rack - to add another element of fun to the bike along with functionality. So the fun/fashion factor was huge in designing these bikes and most of us here at Raleigh think racks are pretty great. We have people asking if they can just purchase it separately. As far as other accessories the folks at Shimano are providing them and they are still being developed.
Cheers - and have fun on that PUB
PS- The visible wire on the down tube can not be hidden on our bikes .
Well, I did it; I purchased a Coasting! More later...
Sweet!
Glad to hear we have another Coasting owner. air_cooled, if you don't mind us asking, what was your decision process in considering and then purchasing the Coasting bike?
We look forward to your "more later."
Enjoy
I purchased a Raleigh Coasting bike yesterday. It was the first time I've been on a bike in nearly 30 years, and it's great!
I've wanted to check out my local bike shop for quite some time, but since I'm not a tall thin guy in spandex, I figured I wouldn't be welcomed. A friend of mine bought one of these bikes a week ago, and recommended I try it.
Thanks for making a bike that works without being arrogant and condescending to us "old guys"
I never thought that gadgets made any purchasing influence on bicycles. Forgive me, the Shimano widgetspanker mathingy is cool and all but the bike itself is too cool and gorgeous to require any included new technology. I'm disappointed that big bike companies just can't make wonderful bikes.
So my experience is kind of mixed. I love the bike as a bike; the auto-3 is just along for the ride (forgive the pun.)
Also, bike companies should have a rental division. Many folks don't buy bikes BECAUSE of logistics. Many folks don't want to transport their bikes to the biking area. Perhaps thier neighborhood is a boring biking area.
Imagine a rental kiosk adjacent a community rec trail promoting the companies bikes. The consumer just drives up and moments later rides off with a smile. I'd do it.
Thank you...
I spent a little over an hour on the Coasting bike today, and still enjoy it. I'm having a little trouble getting used to the automatic shifting on hills. (Although when I say hill, this is Central Florida, so I should say slight grades.)
It seems to stick in third when I start up a hill. I know this bike is supposed to be a "no brainer", but am I doing something wrong?
I tried to look it up in my manual, but the manual that came with the bike is pretty generic. Maybe a simple, model specific manual or supplement would be in order.
Shifting observations: Since we're lab rats I'll share what I know: Adjust the shifting tuner to minimum. When you start the hill, stop pedaling and slow down somewhat. Then resume pedaling, but only slowly. The bike is eager to upshift. You'll have to ease up the hill at a slow rate or it will upshift and slow you down.
The owner's manual is useless.
I think the eprom should be re-programmed to allow fun biking. Who wants to compete all the time?
Hi I wa on the lookout for a beach cruiser and found this instead. Unfortunatly I live in Seattle so there are a lot of hills and I'm very hesitant about buying a bike with only three gears and pedal brakes. The Raleigh 7 speed cruisers just don't look as pretty though and I like the look of this one so much better. What do you think. Would it be stupid to buy this bike if most of my riding won't be on flat ground?
It has been a little over six months with the Coasting bike now, and I have to say that if I had it to do over, I would never have purchased the Coasting technology. It shifts in an unpredictable pattern, and usually into the totally opposite gear that I want. I have tried all types of peddling tricks, including force and velocity changes, and I still hate the way the bike shifts.
I'm taking it back to the dealer again tomorrow and hope to have it adjusted again. If that doesn't work then I'll either trade it for another bike or pay the dealer to rip all this coasting crap off the bike and install more conventional gears and shifters. Anything has to be better than this.
Any help to the above dilemma would be appreciated.
I have a Raleigh Coasting bike and have really enjoyed it but now I am having a problem. The gears aren’t shifting. Why is that?
Lane
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