Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
Origin-8 and Sun Bicycles
I am no detective, but figuring out this last one did require a bit of tenacity. I was joyfully plodding through my latest VeloNews when I came across an ad for Origin-8. The ad displayed a beautiful urban three-speed bike called the “Cykel 3-Spd”. I love urban bikes. Especially ones in the Belgian fashion. If I had a commute I would grab one of these. But since I work from home I will stay with shoes.
I jumped on the laptop and typed in www.origin-8.com. Nothing on the site has anything about the bike. Crazy. It has images of beautiful frames for everything but the urban dweller. Now I was engaged.
Off to google typing in, “Cykel 3-spd origin 8”. One item from a terrific blog I have visited in the past: BikesForTheRestOfUs. Bingo. But they call it the “Cyckel”. Looks like Sun Bicycles makes it. Special thanks to Fritz at CommuteByBike for the final leg of info and image.
Here are the 2008 specs:
Frame: Lugged steel (52, 54, 56)
Fork: Lugged steel
Brakes: Chang Start Alloy Lever w/ resin body
Handlebar: Classic Alloy Scorcher bar
Saddle: Classic with coil springs & brass rivets
Shifter: SRAM T-3
Hub (rear): SRAM T-3 internal gear hub, 36H
Rims: Weinmann ZAC-19 Alloy rim, 700C x 36H
Tires: Kenda K-198 Eurotour 700 x 35C
Matt Smart
outsideallday.com Contributor
on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 1:17 pm:
I took that photo. You’re free to use it, but I do ask attribution, please.
on Thursday, August 7th, 2008 at 9:29 pm:
I ordered the mens 52 cm, which is the smallest mens frame. With a standover height of just over 31 inches, it’s tall. I’m 5′8 and I wish it was smaller. The Color scheme is brilliant. It has a much livelier green than what is shown in the photo above. It’s zippy too; really quick when you need it to be.
The steel frame, for the most part is nice. It has that steel ride feel. However, I’ve noticed many inperfections in the shaping of some of the steel joints/ tubing. I expected more from Sun / origin-8. Good thing the frame has a lifetime warranty.
The components were just ok. I was pleased with the sram shifter and hub. The weinmann rims were what I expected too, but nothing to write home about. The saddle is wicked comfortable, but the seat post is junk. The crank was just ok, and I opted to upgrade to something that didn’t look like it came of of a cheap comfort bike. The handle bar, stem, and grips were satisfactory. The pedals were really low quality; they were the first thing to go and I had trouble giving them away. The brake set up is nice, but the pads don’t ride the rims very nicely. not very cooperative. I will have to ride them for a while and see what happens.
I do love this bike because it is really unique, but I wish I hadn’t paid 450$ for it. I think it should retail for about 125-150$ less. But because it is a low production bike, it’s not really a deal.
But if your willing to put some work, love and a few upgrades into it; it will be a great friend and work horse for a very long time.
on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 3:30 pm:
This is my Origin8 cykel
on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 3:31 pm:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/2906077410_4b40917d8f.jpg?v=0