Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
Consider Fairlight. ....
Very nice bikes, but at 2200 pounds for a 105 equipped bike, its a bit more than I am willing to spend.
Originally Posted by
seeker333
Have you considered the Surly Crosscheck? It's steel but otherwise meets your criteria. There's also a drop bar/disc brake version of Crosscheck called Straggler. Surly is sold in the EU shops but is perhaps not as popular as other brands.
https://surlybikes.com/bikes/straggler
Actually a colleague of mine had a Surley Crosscheck. Decent bike, but I am not really looking for a steel frame because of weight.
Thanks for the great suggestions. I cannot believe I had not come across those. Those bikes are actually an incredible value! They use the same fork and frame as the more expensive models, but if you are willing to go for Sora or Claris, they are very affordable.
In fact, i could buy the Specialized Diverge E5 with Claris components for €1049, buy an entire Shimano 105 R7000 groupset online for €486 and still be cheaper than some of the competition.. Cheaper than buying their Tiagra model even... I cant believe they go up to €1700 for Tiagra..
The downside to the Cannondale Topstone seems to be that it doesnt have mounts on the front fork for a rack.