[ax0n]

I couldn't agree more. This thing is a disaster.

A reasonable cyclocross bike with fenders, lights, a rack, some panniers or a trunk box/bag would be cheaper, more functional, 1/8 the weight and made of inexpensive and easily-sourced components. I don't get it.

My Trek 1200 is my main vehicle. It's a 4 year old entry-level road bike with a few hundred dollars of accessories added to it. I ride it 5,000 miles per year and never have any problems finding a place to put my jacket. It has twenty seven speeds, which might be far too many, but you could easily retrofit it with a Nexus 3 speed, Alfine 7/8 speed or some other high end gearbox like the NuVinci or Rohloff.

Many steel and aluminum bikes these days are also made (at least partly) from recycled materials. I really don't see much of a point.