Originally Posted by
Black wallnut
My advice is based on my experience. This year I've logged over 7,000 miles, last year over 5,000 miles.
holy crap...that's a lot of miles!
Originally Posted by
Black wallnut
Endurance geometry is generally longer head tubes allowing less saddle to bar drop, like Roubiax or Sectuer in the Specialized line. However it really does not matter too much as a good bike fitter can make a race bike fit a rider that needs an upright riding posture with a big stack and high rise stem. When you combine an endurance bike with wider tires, sometimes only as wide as 25mm, you get a bike that can absorb rough roads and keep you going. Move up or actually laterally to a CX bike with the ability to run 32mm or wider tires and the tires themselves will improve the ride on the rough stuff.
that's some good info. I was looking at what I would assume would be more...eh..."rugged"(?) bikes such as the Crossrip, AWOL, Vaya, etc...with wider tires to help more in the gravel and the dirt without killing my ability to go on the road. Plus I can't have the bike be too low to the ground, I do need some ground clearance to deal with obstacles which are inevitable in the paths that I ride (I think this is called "BB Drop?") If I understand things, the wider tires will also help reduce some of the road chatter as well?
Originally Posted by
Black wallnut
The sticky point for what you are after is the rack mounts....... To narrow it down if you need racks and panniers to commute buy a bike for that purpose. if you are loooking for a weekend long distance bike but are not touring with it find a dedicated road bike.
well I live in the PNW, and I want to commute during the week but then do weekend longer distance rides, which will include a good bit of gravel, hard pack, some looser dirt, etc. Basically, I ride about a dozen or 15 miles to get to some humvee trails in the military base's training areas, then spend an hour or three galloping through the trails (covered with gravel, some tore up a bit from the humvee tires and such, so some hard pack, some loose dirt, some pretty heavy gravel at times) then I'll ride another half dozen or so miles to get to some more humvee trails, etc etc.
that's the thing, I'm after a bike that is rugged enough to handle some gravel and torn up dirt roads but still comfortable enough that I can put 50+ miles on a weekend long ride, then have the ability to at least have some racks or fenders or whatever to keep me from being covered in dirt and slop after my 16-mile morning commute to work
Originally Posted by
Black wallnut
To convince the wife........ two options, first give her a cost/benefit analysis riding a bike vs suffering a heart attack or other expensive illness caused by inactivity, or secondly be bold and tell her you are doing it. FWIW My SO listens to the former and does not object to the latter. Cycling has saved my life health wise so I get lots of latitude and I use it for all it is worth. After all that there are options for racks on carbon bike or other bikes without eyelets for mounting. Also there are bikes in most categories that have eyelets. Picke a LBS first and buy what they have. Make sure to choose one that will meet your needs as a customer by accessorizing whatever bike you choose so that it fits your needs.
yep, i'm already using the health thing now. Convinced her that me getting a really nice full suspension (Spec Stumpjumper FSR Comp) is a proper Christmas/tax return gift. I'll be pounding that thing like mad, so it'll definitely be worth its' $$$. I think I can sell her on the next bike by telling her that I want to do the Seattle-to-Portland ride, which I do. I'd honestly just stick it out with my Trek 820, but the frame is a full size too small (hence why I switched LBS to the one that will actually fit me properly) and for obvious reasons, a Trek 820 isn't really designed to do a 200+ mile ride.
Originally Posted by
qualia8
check out a Kona Rove. I have the ti version and the frame is still over 4 lbs, even in that material. Amazingly strong and set up with HY-RD brakes and Whiskey fork, it stops with little effort on steep downhills. Clearance for 50 mm tires, but I usually ride 28s. Awesome bike for the bigger guy.
oh yeah? Interesting. Kona has a few bikes I'm interested in (Sutra and Jake the Snake as well) and i have a Kona dealer right down the street from me. I"ll have to give that a go, thanks!