Quella Varsity Cambridge is a handsome geared commuter bike that adds function to form – but will it work for your commute?

It's been a long time since I've had to commute regularly, and even now, it's not really my commute – it's my daughter's. She's eleven, and since starting high school, she's made riding a daily habit – so long as I do it with her.

It's a commitment I'm willing to make because, along with the feel-good factors of reducing car dependence and encouraging a happy lifelong relationship with cycling, I get to genuinely review some of the best commuter bikes. So, naturally, when the Quella Varsity Cambridge came up for review, I jumped at the chance.

Construction

If you're wondering why I was quick to get on the Quella, then you clearly don't know that I'm a sucker for good looks, and from my perspective, the Varsity Cambridge has them in spades.

But does function follow form?

The 4130 chromoly steel frameset uses a geometry that most closely resembles that of a track bike. It's not as basic as that kind of bike of course, with some welcome and sensible additions for enhanced comfort. For those familiar with the original Quella courier range, you'll be aware of its known aggressive riding style.

The Classic collection, however, aims to provide a more relaxed riding experience from a similar frame, and features what the brand states is a comfortable saddle, riser bars, and an adjustable Quella stem with a 90mm – 0 ° to 60° angle.

Of course making a track style frame more comfortable with riser bars, does not a relaxed position make. This is certainly not a commuter which could ever be confused with a Dutch-style commuter bike position, which is significantly more upright in design.

The exact geometry of the four sizes – 28.5″ (71 cm), 30″ (76 cm), 33″ (84 cm), and 34″ (87 cm) was requested but not available from the brand, so unfortunately, I don't have more concrete details.

However, what we can say and do know about track bike geometry, is that the relatively aggressive handling and fit of the frame, gets a little more accessible with these additions, and fitted me just fine. The benefit, if you could call it that, of track based geometry is pretty nifty handling, but if you're not used to it, it's going to feel pretty lively, and a world away from comparably priced, more traditional commuters.

As a result, when reaching for bikes to compare these lovely looking bikes to, there's nothing that quite fits into a similar category.

Many of the best single-speed bikes share a similar design philosophy, characterised by sharp and agile geometry. You could take a single speed version of this bike, and find plenty of comparisons.

That wouldn't be much use for commuting however, unless you were a tattoo'd despatch rider, with a power output that would make some Cat 1 riders blush.

Quella have thought of that, and hidden in the rear wheel is, in fact, a Shimano Nexus-driven seven-speed hub gear.

This gives the bike significantly more versatility for anyone riding anywhere that's less than pan flat, as the Quella is fitted with a 44t chainring, a 20t sprocket, and a hub with a spread of 244%.

It would take an entire feature to discuss precisely how the Nexus hub gear system works. Thankfully, we delve into them a little in our feature on how bike gears work, but in summary, you can expect seven gear changes, all contained in a sealed hub unit.

The number of gears isn't as important as the available ratios however. As such, there isn't really a granny gear available, and all options are pretty hard to turn over, compared to other commuter options. This does mean some pretty decent top speeds on the flat, but when the road points up, you're not going to have any 'get you out of trouble' gears, and you might prefer – or need – to walk.

Also hidden in the rear hub is a coaster brake. A coaster brake slows the bike when you apply backward pressure on the pedals, via a mini drum brake contained in the hub. Sounds neat, but you also have rim brakes on hand as well. It takes a little bit of getting used to, and you need to manage both the back pedalling action, but also the slowing of your legs during normal pedalling, as it's easy to apply a little brake without intending to do, with lazy legs. There is a level of concentration required to get the hang of it. More important discussion on that topic will follow later.

The bike rolls on Quella-branded, cream coloured, 40mm Deep V alloy wheels. The chrome and blue colourway is set-off by a tan finishing kit in the saddle and handlebars, which almost completes the retro-romantic aesthetics, if it weren't for the black injection-moulded plastic cable ties and pedals. The black injection moulded bits feel like a bit of a missed opportunity to spec some more appropriate metal parts to complete the look.

The ride

The bike was a total dream to build out of the box, and thankfully, all I needed to do was unpack, tighten a handful of nuts, screw on the pedals, and set the saddle height for the bike to be ready to roll.

There is something whimsically charming about hopping on board the Quella Classic Geared commuter bike. I felt I should have always worn a slightly worn tweed jacket and had precariously balanced library books piled on the rear pannier rack.

The reality, however, is that I live in a semi-rural location, on the edge of the Peak District in northern England. While both are situated in river valleys, one is flat, and the other is not.

Unfortunately for me and the Quella, I live in the one that is not. To give you an idea of the relief, even traversing the local canal requires boats to use a network of 16 relatively closely spaced lock gates. So, while I would love the casual look of a herringbone suit, I quickly realised that riding around here would require activewear with ample sweat-wicking capabilities on this bike.

A lot of sweat on the first ride came from my efforts to get to grips with the Classic Geared commuter bike's rear coaster brakes, which spiked my adrenaline more than once. I had no idea how much freedom of movement I have in a normal pedalling set up, until I wasn't unable to backpedal without applying a brake.

Trying to manage my legs in this unfamiliar way for corners, junctions, or even stop signs either had me lurching forward over the bars with the sudden and unexpected braking coming from the rear wheel, or required a toddler-like scoot start post-stopping, as apparently my normal cycling habits, have meant I am essentially programmed to be unable to start with my left foot forward.

This makes coaster brakes a curious combination with hills too. While I'm a fairly proficient rider, ex-pro in fact, and a seasoned tech writer I might add, even a slight kickback on the pedal was enough to engage the braking mechanisms. For a newbie, it's going to be very difficult indeed initially.

It took me around five miles of riding before I became confident enough to stand up for inclines. The same goes for filtering in traffic, where I was just as stop-start as the vehicles around me.

The bike's gearing is the other reason for requiring sweat-wicking sportswear. Whilst it's a long way from the frame's singlespeed roots, with all those gears on tap, it's the ratios that leave you wanting.

Where I live, even though it's an extreme example in terms of the terrain, the bike just wasn't low enough geared for my local terrain, and may not be for yours either, even if you don't live in the national park. The bike isn't light either, and I could have done with a smaller sprocket or chainring to help me haul myself and the 14kg/30lb bike around the neighbourhood.

However, I'm sure this would have been a much smoother experience if I were more adept at riding with coaster brakes and didn't live in the hilly north. It's also important to say, it's not beyond anyone to get used to the braking. Many bikes in the Netherlands (and Dutch commuter bikes in general) have these brake set-ups, mainly because they are designed for flat city landscapes. And as I said, my example is quite extreme, but needs consideration if you're going to buy one and get on with it in your local environment.

Determined to find a flat strip to enable the bike to shine, all I could find locally was a cinder-trail disused railway line. It's pretty filthy this time of year, and somewhat rough under the wheel, but as testament to the Quella, its fat Kenda 32mm puncture-resistant tyres handled the terrain well, as did the standard mudguards in protecting my clothes. Ideally, the bike would have a slightly longer front guard to preserve my footwear.

Here, the hefty weight of the bike and limitations on gear ratios was negligible, and the bike seemed to come into its own, as once up to speed, it ticks along so well that you can even click it down a gear and really get rolling.

It was also here that the advantage of the lack of maintenance of a hub gear and externally routed cabling became apparent. I could imagine that someone cycling daily to work who perhaps didn't have the luxury of an outdoor tap and cleaning facilities at home, would really appreciate the Quella's ability to just keep on trucking with its shifting parts all covered up.

The bike also gets a lot of admiring glances, even from non-cyclists. It harks back to a bygone era that the British love to sentimentalise about. I would imagine that if it were the season for alfresco cafe stops, I would have been the centre of attention with all passers by, eyeing my pretty little blue number.

Value and conclusion

The Quella Classic Geared commuter bike has a fairly niche market. It is a comfortable ride due to its steel frame, and its standard mudguards and rack mounts make it very practical as well.

But there is an 'aesthetic tax', and the $938 / £799 price tag reflects that. Bikes such as the Triban RC 120 flat bar bike are approximately £500/$TBC cheaper and come with disc brakes, an aluminium frame, and a carbon-aluminium fork. The Decathlon house brand also comes with the all-important double chain ring and 8-speed cassette, making it more versatile. Although you would need to invest in mudguards and a pannier rack with any of those options, you would also need to clean them a lot more, and they aren't nearly as handsome.

With looks genuinely unmatched at this price point, the Quella really is the ultimate statement bike for quick, flat-land hops.

Spec

• Frameset: Cro-mo 4130
• Stem: Adjustable Quella 90mm – 0-60° angle
• Drivetrain: Shimano Nexus 7-speed In-Hub, Quella VC 44t chainring, KMC Z410 chainset
• Handlebars: Quella Riser with rubber grips
• Brakes: Radius Dual Pivot caliper, Coaster
• Wheels: Quella 40mm Deep-V Alloy
• Tyres: Kenda 32mm
• Seatpost: Micro Adjust
• Saddle: Quella Comfy
• Stand over Height: 28.5″ (51cm), 30″ (54cm), 33″ (58cm), 34″ (61cm)
• Weight: 13.96kg/ 30.77lbs