Quella Varsity Imperial Classic Geared Commuter

The Quella Varsity Imperial Classic Geared Commuter is a sturdy and well-thought-out commuter machine that is great for flatter journeys, and comes complete with rack and mudguards. However, it is very heavy and the hub-geared drivetrain is a little unconventional, which can take a little getting used to.

> Buy now: Quella Varsity Imperial Classic Geared Commuter for £899 from Quella

Quella is a brand that has been around for a while and which became popular during the early 2010s when the single-speed market was at its height. Since then it has been a solid budget brand, creating good-looking bikes that require little maintenance. How do I know? I bought one of its single-speeds bikes around a decade ago, so I can safely say that it was reliable and I also think it’s a good-looking machine.

The Varsity Imperial Classic Geared Bicycle has a classic, old-school look, with both the frame and fork featuring a distinctive chrome finish. This is in contrast to the black components and black wheels, and I think the overall look is very attractive.

Quella Varsity Imperial Classic Geared Bicycle: Ride

I used this bike for leisure rides, popping to the shop and slow rides with my kids – and it worked very well for that kind of sedate riding or fairly flat surfaces.

Once things started to go uphill I was glad to have a few gears from the 7-speed Shimano hub to help me get up, but this wouldn’t be the bike I’d choose for Mont Ventoux.

I could easily use it in much of London, the areas where there are a few hills and where most of the riding would be pretty flat, and the likes of Oxford and Cambridge among other cities. But if you live somewhere much hillier such as Sheffield or Bristol, then this is probably not going to work so well for you.

The bike is responsive enough and while it doesn’t exactly ride on rails, I found the handling predictable and quick enough to avoid last-minute potholes and obstructions without too many problems.

Set up as it is out of the box, you ride in a slightly more stretched position than you would on a standard hybrid, which was fine for me as my usual riding is on gravel and road bikes.

However, Quella has specced an adjustable stem, which allows you to change to a more upright or stretched position depending on how you want to ride.

The bike has been created for commuting with minimal maintenance at its core. This means it has chunky 32mm tyres that are designed for maximum puncture resistance, but the trade-off is that they are slower and heavier than narrower, slicker tyres. The rims are also 40mm deep, which adds a little weight.

These inevitably add up to a bike that isn’t exactly nippy – but one that majors on solidity. That said, once you get it up to speed it does maintain its speed well.

The frame and fork are both 4130 chromoly steel, which might create a bike with a vintage look, but it does add weight. There is no doubt that a lot of this bike’s appeal is more about aesthetics and reduced maintenance, but this comes at the cost of speed and weight – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, of course.

I’ll discuss it later, but the hub gearing is a key part of the bike, not just that it reduces maintenance, but it also fundamentally changes how you ride.

That is because, while you can freewheel on the Quella, you can’t pedal backwards while you’re moving without it braking in the same way a fixie would. For the first couple of rides this does take a bit of getting used to, but it also means you can’t pedal backwards when you stop.

The result is that when you stop at a traffic light and your cranks are close to vertical, it’s much more difficult to get the bike going. And this gets surprisingly annoying when you’re stopped at the 5th set of traffic lights in a row – not unknown on urban commutes.

Quella Varsity Imperial Classic Geared Bicycle: Components

Most of the components are unbranded but are a decent enough quality for a bike costing under £1,000.

One area that is branded is the geared rear hub, which uses Shimano’s Nexus 7-speed hub and thumb shifter. These are all predictable and dependable, with shifts happening quickly and smoothly even when under load, as you would expect from a geared hub.

In a perfect world, there would perhaps have been a slightly lower ratio given the weight of the bike, but for commuting in flattish cities it is more than good enough.

I wouldn’t try this on anything particularly steep or long, but for the vast majority of commutes, it is more than adequate.

Brake levers are simple, metal, and unbranded, they seem to be the same as the ones I had on my old Quella that worked perfectly well for years, so I can vouch for their reliability. They aren’t going to rip any trees up for performance or power, but they do what they need to.

Alongside the levers, Quella has included calliper rim brakes. The braking performance is good enough for most commuting uses, though it isn’t at the level of disc brake, especially in the wet, but for gentle commuting they are functional. I wouldn’t want to do any real descending with them, though.

The wheels are Quella’s own. As with most of this bike’s elements, they look good and major on all-out toughness rather than low weight. They’re secured by track bolts rather than quick-release skewers. Wheel changes will be slower, but I think it’s a good choice for commuting, making the wheels much less appealing to thieves.

The Quella gel saddle is comfortable enough to use for the kind of commuter or casual riding that the bike is designed for. Being gel it is fairly squishy, which is good for those of us who don’t want to commute in bib shorts, but does mean you lose a bit in power transfer.

Quella Varsity Imperial Classic Geared Bicycle: Finishing kit

The bike comes with a plethora of useful commuting kit.

The rear rack feels sturdy and comes with mounts specifically for it on the frame, which keeps it in place well. You can easily attach panniers, and child seats, or just strap stuff to it.

The bike also comes with mudguards, which are small by design so they can fit underneath the rack at the back but they’re only supported beneath the callipers, removing the need for supports from the centre of the wheel. I only had a few wet days to test these, but while I wouldn’t want to have been riding behind me, they did a good job keeping the worst of the water off me.

The Quella’s adjustable stem allows you to change the position of the bar. This is a real positive, as it lets you effectively tweak the geometry to fit your needs. It may not be the most elegant component around, but I think it’s a worthwhile addition.

One element that does feel a bit cheap are the plastic cable ties used to secure the cables to the frame. First off, I don’t think they’re great-looking bits of kit, but they will also rub over time, especially if you’re using the bike over winter.

Value

The bike’s £899 RRP is quite a lot for a bike that weighs this much and still has some fairly basic tech, though the same model without the rack and guards is £100 cheaper. However, it is still well under a grand for a good-looking and practical bike, and I think in this day and age it’s not bad value.

Quella has saved on cost by using heavier components, though the resulting 13.75kg/30.3lb weight, with pedals, is a fair old chunk.

The Boardman HYB 8.8 is a little cheaper at £850, but you get more gears, disc brakes and about 2kg less weight – though the Boardman doesn’t have the same wow factor.

The Merida Crossway 300 costs £870, and also comes with disc brakes and a wider range of gears. But with pedals it’s actually fractionally heavier than the Quella, and also doesn’t have the looks.

For other options, check out our best commuter bikes and best hybrid bikes buyer’s guides.

Conclusion

This is a decent commuter bike with good looks, loads of practical features and requires very little maintenance. Compared with similarly priced bikes it doesn’t have the same level of components, but what it lacks in disc brakes and gear range, it makes up for with its finishing kit and impressive aesthetics.

Verdict

Good-looking practical commuter machine that does what it needs to well – though not the lightest or fastest

> Buy now: Quella Varsity Imperial Classic Geared Commuter for £899 from Quella

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