I decided it was time for a new bike. An actual New Bike, something completely different for me. I wanted a light touring bike that wasn't a bear to lug around, would be fun to ride around the city (which is, after all 98% of my life), and would be comfortable to ride over longer distances on a gravel path carrying a weekend's worth of camping stuff. I wanted to pay $1200 or under (preferably under).
Essentially I wanted the Salsa Casseroll, but they had STOPPED MAKING IT and of course no shops (certainly no shops in my area) still had one in my size.
Enter the Raleigh Port Townsend. It seemed to fit the bill. Light touring/randonneuring bike. Cute matchy-matchy frame/fenders/stem. And the price was certainly right -- it was on sale at a local shop for $850. Enough for me to put money into accessories (if you can really call things like a rear rack and Brooks B17 "accessories") and still be under budget. I had read also that I might want to add a granny gear to this bike, but at $850 I could afford to do that if I ended up finding it necessary.
I went, I tried it out, I loved it, I bought it.
That was the background. Now for the review.
Pros:
- The bike is comfortable for everyday riding.
- It's fun to ride, even given that it's heavy compared to my city bike and my road bike.
- It came with a front rack, which (due in large part to its quirks, detailed below), encouraged me to embark on the project of making a rando bag, so that's kind of cool.
- Bar-end shifters.
- Braze-ons to suit your many needs.
- It has clearance for 32 mm tires (which is what I have), and it could probably take bigger if you're willing to sacrifice fenders.
- It's nice to look at.
Cons:
- The bike came with 28 mm tires, so I went up to 32s right away. $85
- It doesn't come with any way to easily adjust the brakes. What bike doesn't come with barrel adjusters?? $8
- Within about three months of purchase, one of my brake levers failed. By failed, I mean stiffened and froze and I became physically unable to squeeze it. I had been thinking about switching to short reach brake levers anyway, so instead of taking it to the shop I bought it from to make them fix it for me I bought the brake levers for small hands. $30
- The brakes SUCK. In Colin's word, "the brakes are astonishingly bad. The lack of adjustability in the brakes is also pretty appalling." The bike comes with some type of stupid proprietary cantilever brake (Shimano CX50) that is, first of all, a piece of shit, and second all, incompatible with Kool Stops and other brake pads that do stuff, like braking. I didn't ride the bike for most of the winter because I couldn't stop confidently. I finally gave in and bought some basic Tektro cantilever brakes and Kool Stop brake pads. I can, nine months after buying a NEW bike, finally stop my bike reliably and confidently. Brakes: $70 Pads: $24
- Remember the cute matchy-matchy stem I mentioned? Guess what: you cannot adjust its height. You cannot buy a stem extender and then attach it to it. I know because I tried. As I mentioned in the pros section, the bike is comfortable for everyday riding. However, I haven't yet found an adjustment that's comfortable for longer distance riding, which is after all, kind of the point of the bike. I will probably buy a new (taller) stem within the next 3 months. Of course, stem height is a matter of personal preference. That said, it it is absurd to me that the only way to personalize this preference is to buy a new stem. Stem: ~$40
- The gearing is fine for shorter rides, lighter loads, and slight to moderate hills. However, a notable flaw is the lack of a granny gear. You cannot spin the pedals. If you want to carry a heavier load up moderate hills, or ride steeper hills, you are going to want to buy a wider range cassette. ~$50
- The front rack is incompatible with standard rando bags. The bit of the rack that comes up in an upside-down U nearer the stem is wider than most front racks, which means that you won't be able to attach a rando bag you purchase without some serious modifications. And frankly, if you're going to spend $200 on a bag, I really think you shouldn't have to modify it to attach it to your bike.
Total cost spent (or likely to be spent within the next 3 months) to make the bike functional, reasonably comfortable, and usable for its intended purpose: $307. This takes my on-sale $850 bike up to $1157, pre-tax. Note that this does not include additional add-ons such as a Brooks saddle, rear rack, bottle cages, and kickstand.
In short, I cannot recommend this bike. It has so many proprietary quirks, so many inadequacies, and has had so many unacceptable failures in under a year, that you would be better off spending the extra money and buying a Surly Cross-Check or Long Haul Trucker.
