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Old 05-20-19, 07:41 PM
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Andy_K 
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Hmmm, where to start?

"So I'm hoping for something that feels like a road bike but can handle a small amount of off-roading." The Cross Check seems like a decent platform for that. Many other bikes would work as well.

Are you really set on doing your own build? The components typically cost more that way. It's fun though.

My commute is just as you describe yours, mostly flat but one very steep hill right at the end. This makes for an unusual gearing need. Most of your ride will fit in a tight range, but you maybe want a gear or two that is off the chart lower than the rest. Since your thinking about 1xN you can solve this with a slight change -- 2xN but only use the small ring for the hill. Depending on your strength and how steep the hill is you can get this effect with something like a 46-34 or 46-30 crankset. I think 44-30 would be better, but it's more expensive to get there. FSA makes a nice 46-30 crankset (Omega). For 46-34 you can take any CX crankset (including the one that comes standard on the Cross Check) and swap out the small ring for a 34T, which can usually be found for under $20. Get a crank like that and then pick a cassette that you'd want for a 1xN build for the flat part of your commute if the single chainring were 46T. We all have different ideas of what flat looks like and how much range we'd want, so I'll leave that unspecified.

If your budget allows, I'd seriously consider hydraulic disc brakes. They're a major luxury item to be sure, but they're so nice. This would mean Straggler rather than Cross Check, or similar substitution. Drop bars on a Cross Check would probably have you looking at cantilever brakes which have a tendency to feel disappointing.

Tiagra is great for commuting. So is Sora. The "more than I need" part of component selection is tough this way because if you're honest with yourself nearly anything will do, but that's probably not what you actually want. I have Campagnolo components on most of my bikes and my commuter has Ultegra, so I might not be the right person to ask. Seriously though, I was using Tiagra on my commuter until I needed Ultegra for the hydraulic brakes. (There was a time when there were no Tiagra-level hydraulic levers and there still aren't any that aren't ugly.)

Save room in your budget for nice tires. No other component will make you as happy as nice tires.
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Last edited by Andy_K; 05-20-19 at 07:44 PM.
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