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Schoolbus, Truck – No, Not Vehicles, It’s the new 2014 Lineup from Virtue Bike

Written by Zach Overholt
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2014 Virtue Truck Atlantis Green

Based out of San Diego California, Virtue Bike is all about useful, purpose built bikes that will fit into just about anyone’s day to day. Whether you’re carrying yourself, your groceries, or your kids, Virtue has a bike the fits the bill without carrying a huge bill. We got a preview of the new line up back in November, but now the entire 2014 line up is ready for prime time. Bikes like the Virtue Truck above highlight the versatility of the line and will certainly help you get more things done car free…

2014 Virtue Truck Gloss Black

Descriptions from Virtue Bike Press Release:

Virtue Truck

The 2014 Virtue Truck is the ultimate workhorse cargo bike — perfect for hauling, delivery and running errands. Rock solid and easy to ride, the Truck begs riders to ditch the car and truck altogether, with full features and performance, including a Shimano 7 speed drivetrain with thumbshifters, Tektro front and rear V-brakes, Kenda K-Rad tires (20” front and 26” rear), Wellgo platform pedals, Velo suspension comfort saddle, Porteur alloy handlebars, Velo stitch grips, and welded steel heavy duty front and rear flat crate racks (20×14.5 front and 14.5×20. Truck’s carrying capacity is 55 lbs. per rack or 110 lbs. total. Extras include a kickstand, chain guard and bell. The Truck is available in flat black and green. MSRP is $599.00.

 

2014 VirtueOneFlatBlack

Virtue One

Virtue Bike’s Virtue One is the finest in cycling simplicity in both performance and design — ideal for recreational cycling or commuting to work in the busy city. The Virtue One features a chromoly diamond frame and fork, single speed drivetrain, KT coaster brake rear hub, riveted leatherette saddle, stitched grips, Wellgo road pedals and Kenda Kwest 700×32 cream tires. Extras include a kickstand, and bell. Virtue One is available in gloss black, Atlantis Green and flat black in size 52, 56 and 60. The MSRP is $299.00.

2014 Valor

Virtue Valor

This stealthy black matte beauty is a fast high performance fixie bicycle, featuring Virtue Bullhorn handlebars, Interrupter brake levers with dual pivot front and rear caliper brakes, a Virtue road saddle, Wellgo road pedals and Kenda 700×28 Kwest black tires. Virtue Valor is available in size 52, 56 and 59. MSRP is $349.00.

Virtue Curve 7 Atlantis Green2

Virtue Seven & Virtue Curve 7

Virtue Bike’s handsome Virtue Seven (diamond frame) and Curve 7 (step-through) are ideal bicycles for commuting to work in style, taking a quick ride across town or running that errand after work. The Virtue Seven features a chromoly frame and fork, seven-speed Shimano drivetrain, Tektro front and rear brakes, Wellgo road pedals, Kenda Kwest cream tires, fashionable riveted leatherette saddle, stitched grips and shiny bell. Extras include a kickstand, chain guard, chain deflector and fenders. Virtue Seven and Curve 7 are available in gloss black in size 52, 56 and 60. The MSRP is $399.00

2014 Virtue Encore5M

Virtue Encore 5

Borrowing quintessential stylish lines, the classic Encore 5 bicycle employs time proven upright geometry with modern twists like a Sturmey Archer five-speed internally geared hub. Made for everyday recreational cycling, the Encore 5 (available in diamond frame and step-through) models features a five-gear Sturmey Archer X-FD internal geared hub with drum brake, and SLS50-T5 thumb shifters, Kenda Kwest cream tires, Wellgo pedals and extras like a chain guard, fenders, kickstand, bell and stitched leatherette seat and grips. Encore 5 is available in size 54cm for diamond frame and 49cm in step through frame, in gloss black. MSRP is $599.00.

2014 Virtue School Bus+

2014 Virtue SchoolBusControls 2014 Virtue School Bus+drivetrain

Virtue School Bus, School Bus+

The School Bus’ front compartment has removable bench seats perfect for two kids. Remove the bench seats, and there’s lots of room for dogs, grocery bags, bags of mulch from the home store — the load capacity is about 300 pounds. The bike comes with a Shimano drivetrain, Sturmey Archer front drum brake, and Promax rear V-brake and levers, Shimano thumb shifter, and Kenda K-Rad tires. The bike has been carefully designed to fit most door widths in American homes for easy storage and features a unique self-balancing mechanism when turning. The bike itself weighs about 145 pounds for the electric and 126.5 pounds for the non-electric, has a capacity of 110 lbs. — 300 lbs. total with rider and box, and is available with an 250W electric motor as the School Bus+ ($1,499) or without for $999. Available in gloss black.

2014 Virtue Gondoliere+

2014 Virtue Gondoliere Seating

Virtue Gondoliere, Gondoliere+

Spending quality time cycling together as a family is paramount with the Gondoliere and Gondoliere+ — featuring a wooden seating area located in front of the driver, perfect for keeping an eye on those kids! The bike comes with Shimano seven-speed drivetrain, Joytech front internal brake hub and a Promax rear V brake, and Kenda K-Rad tires. The bike has a capacity of 286 lbs, and is also available with a 250W eclectic motor as the Gondoliere+ ($1,399) or without for $949. Available in gloss black.
Zach Overholt
5,722 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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Ron G.
Ron G.
10 years ago

Not vehicles? Oh, that’s right, bicycles are just children’s toys; vehicles are for grown-ups. Carry on.

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Tyrone Chicane
Tyrone Chicane
10 years ago

These just look like cheap rip offs of other bikes already on the market.

“Shimano 7 speed drivetrain with thumbshifters, Tektro front and rear V-brakes”

Translation- We have cut as many corners as possible to get these things to market.

If you want a decent cargo bike you need to spend a bit of money on one that won’t be spending most of its life in a workshop waiting for repair as I fear these will.

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jimmythefly
jimmythefly
10 years ago

Damn, that is inexpensive for a cycletruck. I was gonna blast them for not at least having disc tabs on the frame/fork for future upgrades, but at that price complete it’s hard to argue.

I guess if you really want discs, you’d be looking at new wheels anyhows, and so better to just start with a Soma Tradesman from the get-go.

Can you get them to tell you the front-end geometry of that bike (the truck)? I emailed them a while ago and never got a response. Curious what HTA and fork offset they are using.

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Jack
Jack
10 years ago

@Ron G. Legally (in most states) bicycles aren’t vehicles, they are machines for recreation and transport.

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Ron G.
Ron G.
10 years ago

@Jack–Nope, in all 50 states bicycle are included in the vehicle code, categorized very specifically as vehicles, with most of the same rights and responsibilities. This is from the National Highway Safety Transportation: “Bicycles on the roadway are, by law, vehicles with the same rights, and responsibilities as motorized vehicles.”

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ve
ve
10 years ago

+1 Ron

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fred
fred
10 years ago

+2 Ron

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S. Molnar
S. Molnar
10 years ago

I’m as dubious as Tyrone, but I’m inclined to think, based on admittedly limited experience, that the Shimano drivetrain and Tektro brakes are probably OK. I doubt that I could tolerate the saddle, but that’s a matter of, er, taste, and I expect to replace the saddle on any inexpensive bike. The frame? Hard to believe it’s well built at that price, but that’s just speculation. A limit of 55 lbs per rack seems a bit low for a tank – is that real, or just to cover their butts in case of trouble?

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brett
brett
10 years ago

I agree that these seem a little “cheap”, but seeing as that most of the cargo bikes on the market are ridiculously expensive, I see it as a positive that they are offering a lower cost option. I could totally use a bike like the truck for running errands around town, but its not something I really need enough to drop 2 or 3 grand for a hand built or Euro version. For 600 bucks though, might be kind of cool

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Tom N
Tom N
10 years ago

Virtue Truck

Got Virtue Truck last ThanksGiving; it’s been my main transport to campus since then; approx 2 months now; M-F approx 7 miles/day, put +- 25lbs of backpack in the back rack & Mochi, my poodle, in the front. Seems pretty solid bike to me.

It’s funny some people told me to get Soma instead; it’s like telling me to sell my honda & get benz. Of course benz is better, but not everybody’s rich.
The comparison is valid only if honda costs as much as benz.
Anyway, i’m alright with my honda for the weekend & v truck for campus 🙂

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Psi Squared
Psi Squared
10 years ago

Cargo bikes at much lower prices? That’s a good thing, especially if we want more folks doing more on bicycles and if we want bikes to be accepted by the rest of the public as something other than toys.

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P. Bos
P. Bos
10 years ago

Here you can find a write-up from an American bike mechanic living in the Netherlands about why cheaper cargo bikes are not necessarily a good thing:
http://www.bakfiets-en-meer.nl/2009/04/29/the-fake-bakfiets-cargobikes-keep-on-coming/

But that said, it is good thing that virtue went with the shorter box version; smaller loads, smaller span, less likely to bend / break. And above all, they left out the stupid weak folding bike hinge that many of these chinese bakfiets copies have.

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MikeC
MikeC
10 years ago

Not sure what the Valor is doing in that line up… Otherwise, it’s great seeing reasonably priced utility bikes.

People who are cargo-bike-curious might take the plunge on one of these less expensive models — if it works for them, they upgrade and pass it along used to perhaps a new convert; if it doesn’t work for them, it gets passed along to another user anyway… who may like cargo bikes, upgrade, and pass it along again.

I don’t see cheap utility bikes as at all a bad thing.

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nanci djreaux
nanci djreaux
10 years ago

WHY would you put a 20″ front wheel on a bike that is designed to carry 55lbs over that wheel??? Every bump and notch in the road is going to be jarring.

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Slow Joe Crow
Slow Joe Crow
10 years ago

@nanci djreaux cargo bikes typically use a small diameter front wheel to get the center of gravity lower for stability. The lower center of gravity and lower load height are considered an acceptable tradeoff for a less comfortable ride.

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Pave
Pave
10 years ago

@nanci djreaux – The 20″ front wheel is key in creating the space to carry load up front. With a taller wheel the load would interfere with the handlebar. With a conventional basket (connected to fork), that amount of weight would be very hard to control. It’s a necessary compromise to use that space for that amount of load.

The bumps will be a little more jarring but it’s not a very fast bike and the fatter front tire should mitigate that somewhat.

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ranggapanji
ranggapanji
10 years ago

about smaller front wheel, they’re stood up better to loads and abuse, IMHO. I used 36-spoked BMX front wheel on my homemade cargo bike. fat tire and lower tire pressure compromise the reduced comfort.

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Tanya Perez
Tanya Perez
10 years ago

I am considering buying my neighbor’s Virtue Curve. It looks nice. I have not tried it out yet, but her backyard picture actually looks better than the web pictures. @Tom N. Isn’t it funny how people get kinda snobby about bikes. If it works well why waste the money? I loved my Honda too. The thing I did not like about it is I don’t think the Japanese really understood the geometry of the American body. This Cali company should do a better job.

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