I had been in the market for a new bike since the derailleur on my goto bike exploded. (It really exploded. It was ripped off the hanger by the spokes, and so the frame was ruined.) Since I now hated derailleurs, I went looking for a bicycle with an Internal Hub Gear (IHG). I already had a 3-speed and generally liked them.
In case you don't know what an IHG is: Your parents might have had a 3-speed Schwinn without a derailleur. The gears are hiding in the back hub. Nowadays, they have 7, 8, 11 and even 18 speed IGHs. I like that IHGs can be shifted at a stop, so you don't have to mash the pedals when the light turns green. Also, there's none of that chain grinding noises when you're shifting (although it still likes it if you back off the pressure when you shift.)
The L-Train has an additional advantage, found on few bikes: It has a Gates carbon belt drive. What I like about belt drives is: No grease on the chain (because there is no chain.) Also, it seems to be lighter? I haven't measured but everything is rubber or plastic, so maybe?
All this convenience comes at a cost: You need a special frame with "track bike" drop-outs, and, for the belt drive, you need a frame that breaks open. I don't know if you can see it but the belt circles the chain stay. To get one on and off, you have to break one of the stays (since the belt doesn't come apart.) It's hard to see in the above picture but there's a little part that splits the seat stay. (It's in the white "socks" section.)
The bottom line is: If you want an IHG with a belt drive, it's MUCH easier to just buy a bike that comes with one, rather than retrofitting. I looked around and, by far, the cheapest that I found was the L-Train. Example alternatives: Marin Muirwoods and Trek District 8.
The L-Train comes with a 7-speed IHG. This is ok for most uses, but I wouldn't get it if you live in a hilly area. The lowest "gear inches" is 41" (29" * .632 * 50/22teeth). My previous bike had 34.8" so I'm struggling a bit on hills with the new bike.
The L-Train really is good looking, even in person. Mine is a gorgeous blue and white. The paint is a matte finish. I would have preferred a glossy finish, with topcoat. If you put any pressure on this paint, you see it. For example, I have a little tool kit that grabs the seat tube and it leaves a mark. I don't like bikes built to be put in museums; they should built for riding.
Typical of the IHG/belt drive crowd, the bike has lots of grommets and attachment points for front and back racks.
The faux-leather of the grips and seat look nice against the blue, and the matching rims, while not the best rims in the world, look slick and shiny.
Speaking of the rims: They are cheap and the "seam" is significant. When you brake, the seams conspire to rip apart your brake pads. They also "grab" every revolution.
The rest of the build isn't great either. The welds are huge and bubbly. Don't expect nice Italian butts here; expect Walmart warts.
Surprisingly, one of the handlebar clamp bolt holes wasn't reamed out. I had to borrow a buddy's reaming tool-set to clean it up, just so I could secure the handlebar and ride it. If you have a bicycle shop set up your bike ($100), I assume that they'd do this for you. Nevertheless, it speaks to the cheap manufacturing that Brilliant uses.
The only other nitpick is that there's silicone grease at all the openings. If it were oil, I wouldn't care, but silicone greases never comes off.
Other than that, the delivery of the bike is very professional. The box and bike in it are very secure. The instructions are clear. It even comes with a 15mm wrench and (I think?) an Allen wrench. They certainly did not just throw a bike into a pack-and-pray.
My last complaint is the accuracy of their website. When you buy a bike remotely, the facts need to be correct, so that you know what you're getting.
1) The website claims that the medium (sized bicycle) requires a minimum inseam of 30.5". In fact, it measures at 30". This is Good.
2) The website claims, "Weight: Easy for a walkup at only 27lbs!" Bullshit. It's 30 pounds. Not 29.5 pounds. It's 30.0 according to my scale. This is Very Bad.
If the bicycle was some Walmart darling, and you were paying $200 or so, all these nits would not be worth talking about. But the price of the L-Train has crept from $600 to now $780. For that money, you're getting close to something from Trek or Marin. I would look there first for that price.
Skip the L-Train; take a taxi.
