Cot Sisko:
Recent experience of both the Fuji Feather and the Genesis Flyer. I'm heavy and old, by the way.
Fuji Feather in matte black with dark green decals and traditional geometry (horizontal top tube) looked fantastic. However, it creaked like crazy when honking uphill and all the components whispered "economy".
It now enjoys an adventurous life around London being ridden by my (lightweight) son, who absolutely loves it.
Genesis Flyer, it's replacement, is much better quality and build. It doesn't look as good, but works beautifully without creaking. I've done many hundreds of miles on it, all fixed, and loved all of them.
Handlebars: I ride with drops with hands almost always on the hoods. Why not try them. It's easy and cheap to swap if they don't suit.
Gearing: I started off low, then got fed up with spinning out down the slightest of slopes so switched to 46 X 18 i.e. Around 70" and found, to my amazement that the hills were no harder than in a low gear.
Incidentally, bot bikes were bought on eBay from sellers who had bought them, given up very quickly then stored them in the garage for a few years before offering them for peanuts: I paid less than £150 for each and they were as good as new. Admittedly I did have to travel to collect them.
Interested to know how you've got on with this.
