Dekra D-Drive Urban Voyager Men's Comfort Bike (26-Inch Wheels)

Dekra D-Drive Urban Voyager Men's Comfort Bike (26-Inch Wheels) Whether you're commuting to work, touring the town, or just out for some exercise, you'll do it in style on a Dekra Urban Voyager men's comfort bike. Made especially for suburban and city riding, the Dekra Urban Voyager combines great design with outstanding safety and comfort features. The bike is distinguished by such details as a lightweight aluminum alloy frame, a seven-speed Shimano Revoshifter, a suede-covered comfort saddle, and even a rear alloy rack complete with a Dekra signature carrying bag. It's perfect for a quick jaunt to the store, a ride with the kids, or a weekend road trip.

Dekra D-Drive Chain-Free Technology
The Urban Voyager employs a D-Drive chainless operating system that's designed to provide you with a quiet, efficient ride. Using a Shimano seven-speed Nexus gear hub and Revoshift system, the D-Drive is contained within a sealed rank, shaft rod, and gear housing. What does this mean to the rider? It means you'll never have to deal with stained clothing or greasy hands because of a chain.

Designed for Your Safety
Riding in the city and suburbs can be challenging. Navigating auto traffic, bumpy roads, pedestrians, and anything else that comes along is just part of the ride. The Dekra Urban Voyager overcomes these challenges by offering a variety of important safety features, including RST Capa T8 suspension forks, front and rear alloy V-brakes, double-wall alloy wheel rims, a front headlight, and front and rear reflectors. When it comes to your riding safety, the Dekra Urban Voyager is totally first-class.

Available in mint green metallic paint with brushed aluminum and black accents, the Dekra Urban Voyager is, top to bottom, a classic comfort bike--from its thickly padded seat down to its wide tires. Other details include an integrated speedometer, water bottle mounts, and 26-by-1.75-inch city tread tires.

Specifications:

The Urban Voyager's D-Drive technology eliminates the messy chain.

The bike includes an integrated speedometer attached to the handlebars.

• Color: Mint green with brushed aluminum and black accents
• Frame: Lightweight aluminum alloy with water bottle mounts
• Wheel size: 26 inches
• Saddle: Dekra signature comfort with sueded fabric cover
• Handlebars: Alloy with adjustable stem
• Fork: RST Capa T8 suspension with 80mm of travel
• Front hub: Shimano Dynamo (6V, 2.4w) with Shimano front headlight and speedometer
• Rear hub: Shimano Nexus Inter 7, 7-speed sealed gear
• Shifters: Shimano Nexus Revoshift 7-speed
• Brakes: Front and rear alloy V-brakes with alloy hand pull levers
• Chain: D-Drive chainless operating system
• Rims: 26-by-1.5-inch double-wall alloy
• Seat post: Alloy with quick-release lever adjustment
• Rack: Rear carrier with Dekra signature storage bag
• Tires: 26-by-1.75-inch city tread tires and tubes
• Pedals: Plastic platform, 9/16 inches, with CPSC reflectors
• Hand grips: Comfort gel
• Kickstand: Steel
• Reflectors: Front and rear
• Frame size: 18.5 inches
• Standover height: 32 inches
• Weight: Approximately 40 pounds
• Warranties: Lifetime on the frame, fork, and D-Drive system; 2 years on all other components

Amazon.com Bicycle Buying Guide

Finding the Right Bike
To really enjoy cycling, it's important to find a bicycle that works for you. Here are some things to keep in mind when you're in the market for a new bike:

The Right Ride
In general, bikes are broken down into three major categories:

• Road and Racing Bikes--As a general rule, road and racing are built for speed and longer distances on paved surfaces. Thinner tires, lightweight 29-inch (700c) wheels, and drop bars that allow for a more aerodynamic position are the norm. Most road bikes, regardless of price, offer many gears for tackling both hilly and flat terrain.
• Mountain Bikes--With their larger tires, hill-friendly gearing, and upright position, mountain bikes are very popular for all types of riding, both on pavement and off. Mountain bikes that are designed specifically for rugged trail use typically feature a suspension fork. Some may have rear suspension, as well. A quick change of the tires on any mountain bike--even one that you use regularly on trails--adds to its versatility and makes it a worthy street machine.
• Comfort/Cruiser Bikes--For tooling around on bike paths, light trails, or for cruising a quiet beach-side lane, comfort/cruiser bikes are the ticket. With a super-relaxed riding position, padded seats, and limited or no gearing, these bikes are made for enjoying the scenery and having fun with the family.

The Right Price
A bike's price boils down to three essentials: frame materials, bike weight, and component quality and durability.

• Entry-level--You'll find a wide range of comfort and cruiser bikes in this category, as well as some lower-end mountain bikes and road bikes. Most will have steel frames and components that are designed to last for several years with frequent use.
• Mid-range--Bikes in this range may feature a lighter aluminum frame with mid-range components that keep performing after miles of use. If you're looking for a quality bike that is relatively lightweight and will stand up to abuse, this is the "sweet spot." Most serious commuter and touring bikes fall into this category, as do mid-range mountain bikes with a decent front suspension.
• High-end--Racers and serious enthusiasts who expect lightweight, high-performance components will want to stick to this category. For road bikes, exotic frame materials (carbon fiber, titanium) and ultralightweight components can add thousands to the price tag. Mountain bikes in this class often feature advanced front and rear suspension technology, as well as components designed to handle lots of rugged trail action.

The Right Size
Fit is crucial for comfort, control, and proper power and endurance on a bike. Here are some basic bike fit tips:

• Stand-over Height--To find out if a bike's overall height fits your body, measure your inseam. Next, determine how much clearance you'll need between your crotch and the top tube of the bike. For a mountain bike, you'll want three to five inches of clearance. A road bike should offer between one and two inches of clearance, while a commuter bike should have two to four inches. Compare the stand-over height for a given bike to your measurements (inseam + clearance) to determine the right bike height.
• Top Tube Length--You can measure your torso to get a good estimate of proper top tube length. First, make a fist and extend your arm. Measure from the center of your fist to the end of your collarbone (the part that intersects your shoulder). Next, measure your torso by placing a book against your crotch with the spine facing up. Measure from the spine to the bottom of your throat (the spot between your collarbones). Finally, add the two measurements (arm length + torso length), divide the number in half, and subtract six inches. This is your approximate top tube length. Compare this number to a bike's posted top tube length. You can allow for about two inches longer or shorter, as most bikes can be adjusted via stem length/height and saddle fore/aft position to make fine adjustments to the fit.
• Bikes for Women--Proportionally, women tend to have a shorter torso and longer legs than men. Bike makers design women's bikes that offer a shorter top tube and many comfort/cruiser bikes built for women may also provide more stand-over clearance.

The Right Accessories
When you make a bike purchase, don't forget these crucial add-ons:

• Helmet (this is a must!)
• Seat pack
• Lock
• Hydration pack, or water bottle and bottle cage
• Spare tubes
• Portable bike pump
• Gloves

Customer Review: Chainless Bike Provides Smooth Performance
I read everything I could find about this bike before I purchased it. As is the general case, you need to be careful about what people say about things as they tend to be opinion based rather than factual. I have now put 60 plus miles on my new bike and I really enjoy it. The seat was not comfortable to me so I replaced it with a $20 seat from Walmart. I did not downrate the bike for this as it did not surprise me. I have found the seven gears to be more than adequate and spend most of my riding time in gears 1 through 4. I am 63 years old and find that this bike meets my needs without having 21 gears to go through.

I read a lot of information about chainless bikes where they were being knocked because the bevel gears were not as efficient as a chain. I am a mechanical engineer and I found those statements to be misleading at best. A chain has so many links where efficiency can be lost not to mention the fact that the two sprockets rarely line up which must cause some binding as well. I find my chainless bike to be very efficient, smooth and easy to pedal.

I also read concerns about removing the rear tire on a chainless bike. Nothing could be further from the truth! I over inflated my rear tire and blew the inner tube so I got a quick look at this process. I would estimate that it requires about 1 to 2 minutes to remove the rear tire to replace the inner tube. The first time should take you longer as you will want to read the instructions. This process is no big deal and I did not get greasy from a chain in the process!

If you want to find a downside with this bike, it would be with the instruction material. The quality of some of the pictures is not as good as it could be and the written words make you want to rely on the pictures!