City Bike Review: Civia Loring

July 16, 2010 at 11:15 am | Bicycles | Tags: , ,

Time for another city bike review!  Last time, I looked at the Kona Ute, a long-tail cargo bike.  I liked it a lot.  This time out, and once again thanks to Trinity Bicycles, I’ll be showing you a new city bike from Minnesota – the Loring, from Civia Cycles.

The Loring is, according to Civia, for “tooling around town, cruising campus, or pedaling to the grocer.”  I have to say that, while all that is true, the Loring is no mere cruiser.  It’s a very practical, and incredibly beautiful, piece of bicycle design.

Basics first:  the Loring is a steel-frame city bike, available with either a 3-speed or 9-speed drivetrain.  In either case, it’s using an internally geared hub.  I like internal gearing a lot from a city use perspective – they’re incredibly easy to shift and use in general, and can be shifted either in motion or at a stop.  What’s more, the Loring comes with full front-and-rear disc brakes for impressive stopping power.

The Loring comes with a very impressive bit of kit.  It features front-and-rear cargo racks lined with bamboo, full fenders (also made of bamboo), a sprung Brooks saddle, classic city bike handlebars, a twist shifter, a chain guard, and a fantastic double-leg kickstand to keep the bike stable as you load cargo.

All of this is well and good, but when considering the Loring, one must also talk about it from a less objective point of view, because this thing is simply stunning to look at.  The Loring is bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful.  Available in black or green, the Loring’s elegant lines, bamboo trim, subtle shiny bits, and level of detailing make this one of the flat-out prettiest bicycles you’re going to find, especially in the United States.  It is one of a small number of American bikes I’d put on par with the simple elegance of classic European city bikes.  It’s really that good-looking.

There are so many tiny little details on this bike that add up to make it so unique – everything from the barely-perceptible branding (a lovely brushed metal head badge, small logos in the bamboo, and ghostly, just-barely-visible writing on the frame) to that beautiful bamboo to the little spring that connects the front wheel to the frame to keep it from turning while loading cargo.  It’s pure class, from stem to stern.

The better news is that the Loring rides every bit as good as it looks.  Here at Fort Worthology, we’re not of the speed-loving racer/touring sort of bike mindset – we like our bikes comfortable, practical, and utilitarian, and they don’t have to be quick.  The Loring can move when it needs to, but it’s at home smoothly and elegantly bombing around central city neighborhoods.  The steel frame makes it soak up bumps with ease, and it has a great, nearly-completely-upright riding position for comfort and visibility.  It handles well and even the three-speed drivetrain helps with hills.  (Yes, it’s steel.  Yes, it’s heavy.  Yes, it can still go up hills.  Just go slow!)

In fact, I’d say it rides fairly close to a classic European city bike, like a Dutch bike.  Not quite as smooth, but not too far off, either.  I’d genuinely put it in that league, though.  This is a lovely-riding bicycle.

My quibbles are few and far between.  The single biggest omission is the lack of a built-in lighting system – the Loring ships with no lights.  Of course, lights can be added – it’s easy to clip on some LED lights, and one could conceivably have a generator hub built up for the front end for battery-less lights – but I still really wish it came with a built-in integrated lighting system.

Also, if I’m being greedy, I’d say I’d like the chain guard to become a fully-enclosed chain case to reduce maintenance needs by keeping the chain fully protected and giving that much more of a barrier between your clothes and the chain  Just the fact that the Loring comes with a nice chain guard is a big bonus, though.  You can easily ride the Loring in regular street clothes, even a suit or a skirt, and not have to roll up a pant leg or do anything else of the sort.  That’s important in a classical city transportation bike.

Even better – the Loring is available in plenty of sizes, from Small to X-Large to fit most any size of rider.

All-in-all, the Loring is an outstanding city bike.  It’s full of small details that show a lot of thought and care was put into its design to help its intended use.  I’d never heard of Civia before reviewing the Loring, but they have created a gorgeous, practical example of central city transportation.  The Loring starts at $1095 for a three-speed model.  Many thanks again to Trinity Bicycles on South Main in the Near Southside for the chance to review the Loring – they’re selling them now, and have at least one on hand in the shop.

What’s more, my friend Dottie up in Chicago, one of the pair of ladies who runs the fantastic Let’s Go Ride a Bike blog, has coincidentally put up her very own review of the Loring today.  Go check it out, too!

Now, the photo gallery.  Click on a thumbnail to embiggen: