errantlinguist

Yes, I know the "help me find a bike fitting this description" threads are probably a bit old, but I'm getting tired of constantly repairing old bikes, so I've finally started to look seriously at new(ish) bikes. However, despite enjoying cycling on the open road the most, I actually want to use my bike in real life, where on the road there might be e.g. rain, ice, cracks, cobblestones, broken bottles, dog crap or pedestrians who think the bike lane is for pushing strollers along in. For this reason, I'm somewhat adverse to having a "no-tread" racing bike, but I also don't like the upright style and wide tires of hybrid/trekking bikes. To cut the story short, are there any new(ish) road bikes for sale with:

• Drop handlebars which nevertheless have accommodations for upright riding-- what brake extension levers used to accomplish
• Thin wheels with all-weather tread (but not as thin as racing wheels)
• Fenders
• Bicycle rack/mounts for panniers
• Dynamo lights
• A more "all-terrain" gear ratio, e.g. wider than a on a pure racing bike but nowhere near as wide as that on a mountain bike. Nevertheless, I don't need a bajillion gears anyway...
• Multiple mounting points for locks, bottles, etc.

Most of the bike shops I've visited only have "Tour de France" bikes, "city" bikes or modern "trekking" bikes-- all of which are already very expensive, and so modifying one to meet the above requirements seems like a less-than-stellar idea; I'd prefer to have most of this stuff "built-in" because I'm sick and tired of wasting time trying to find things which are worth the money and yet still fit on my bike.

Thanks for the advice you can give, if any.

tntmoriv

Hi, it sounds like you are in the hunt for a loaded touring setup. Plenty of rack and light mounts, fender mounts, and water bottle mounts, and a more upright position. Some manufacturers include fenders and racks and some don't. I had a Soma Saga built with Junebug off road drop bars that flare out, and plenty of rise in the stem. Modern reliable bike with a classic old steel feel, but you could get there with the Trek 520, Surly LHT, Or even the Raleigh touring bike. I bunny hop my tourer off city curbs, bumps and potholes are no problem, and upright bars would be a natural. And it tracks like it is on rails and longer wheelbase makes it very comfortable. Not the lightest setup but with good wheels it rolls well. Good luck!

bikemig 

Get a Steel cross frame from surly or soma. I love this for the kind of riding you are talking about. This is mine:

coupster

tntmoriv - you hit the nail squarely on the head. A full blown touring rig is called for. This might help.

Touring Bike Buyer's Guide | Adventure Cyclist | Adventure Cycling Association

Homebrew01

You could try the BF Touring forum too.

RoadTire 

I think tntmoriv pretty much answered your requirements. Can you check the dealers for Surly or Soma to see if they can build one up for you? Won't be the least expensive route but probably the easiest. Look for wider than normal rims and put the tires you want, but for sure you will have to have studs if you are looking at ice, so that's either n+1 wheelsets or change tires frequently during the ice-on, ice-off seasons.

Too bad you are tired of working on the bikes and just want a pre-build, but I do understand, sometimes it's nice to "just get the job done." Still, I would love the opportunity to build a dream bike, working through all the configurations w/o serious cost constraint frustrating the process.


addendum: well, now that I've finished the post, looks pretty redundant. LOL.

WestPablo

Checkout Raleigh: The Tamland 1- The Tamland 2- The Sojourn - The Roper - The Townsend - The Tripper

Checkout Specialized: The AWOL - The AWOL Comp

Checkout Jamis: The Aurora - The Aurora Elite- The Bosanova

Also Checkout Surly, SOMA, and Salsa...

hairnet

A good medium between light roadie and heavy touring bike. Plus, it can take 40+mm tires



Touring bikes suck unless you're actually doing some loaded touring. Heavy and slow

errantlinguist

This.

I Googled the specific Raleigh models you guys mentioned and was surprised to find that you can still get beautiful road bikes from Raleigh-- in the US: Look at the difference between the US website and the German one. People say there is no biking culture in the US, but somehow it still seems easier to actually get a decent bike there. Seriously, hybrid bikes are to cycling what Crocs are to footwear.

MRT2

I would suggest something along the lines of the All City Space Horse, Surly Pacer, Salsa Vaya, Jamis Bossanova, Specialized Tri Cross, Giant Any Road, or Trek Cross Rip.

fstshrk

Jamis Aurora or Aurora Elite fits the bill.

rpenmanparker 

OP, just be aware that on bicycle tires, selecting the right width and weight for your intended use is important, but tread not so much. Tread as shallow as what is possible on even a wider road-specific tire doesn't really do much with regard to traction. On big, heavy MTB knobbies it could be a different story, but on road tires it doesn't make much sense to be concerned about the tread.

Long Tom

Here's one from left field. Novara Strada from REI. Alu frame with carbon fork; eyelets for racks and fenders; a ton of frame clearance- almost as much as a 'cross bike- and Shimano long-reach brakes, which allow for some fat tires; sturdy rims with a high spoke count, and 105 drivetrain. All for $879 if you get in before their sale is over.

I bought one a few months ago to do my beer rep routes on. I load it down with beer samples. It has 35mm tires on it right now. Here is what it looked like before the rack and big tires:



With the 35's, rack, and panniers:

gsa103

No bike is going to come with a stock dynamo wheelset.
So you automatically need custom wheels. Start with a nice wide (23-25mm) rim profile, you'll have no trouble fitting 23-28mm tires.

Gear ratios:
I think you're confusing wide gear ratio and lowest gear. A modern bike with a compact double (50/34) and wide cassette (11-28) will have gearing comparable to the triple setups from 10-15 years ago. A compact crank with 11-28 cassette is probably standard configuration for the "Tour de France" bikes you've looked at.
You need to decide what you want for high and low gear ratios, then see what combination of crank/cassette is required to achieve that.
For example:
A compact crank (50-34) with an 11-28 or 12-30 cassette is a common climbing setup for road bikes.
Going to a smaller front crank like a 44-30 MTB crank, would get you more low range at the expense of top end.
If you need a wider range than you can get with a comapct double, you'll need a triple, and shifters to match.
SRAM components allow you to mix & match MTB cassettes and RD with road bike shifters easily if you need very low gearing.

Brakes:
Do you mean interrupter levers? Modern integrated brake/shifters have much better ergonomics for braking from the hoods. You can basically get full braking power from the hoods. You may want to look into disc brakes for better all weather performance. There's a ton of new bike frames with disc mounts, so it hardly restricts your choices.

The Novarra bike linked above is an excellent starting point. Assuming the gearing and brakes work for you, all you'd need is a new wheelset for the dynamo.

bbattle

Rivendell
Velo-Orange
Rene Herse

If you want something really nice that suits your needs/wants perfectly


head down to the Goodwill store and grab a Schwinn Varsity before some hipster turns it into a fixie. Built like a tank, rides like one, cheap to maintain.

joeyduck

I love my Surly LHT. I can go nearly as fast unloaded with racers. But I can haul tons. I can also beat roadies uphill loaded. Actually the only guy I am regularly passed by is a guy on a Disk Trucker. But he is not carrying a kid. About two roadies a month pass, so not too worried about speed. I still pass more than pass me.

It is not about a heavy and slow bike. It is about how you ride. So do not let those people sway you. It also depends on what you want. Carrying 75 pounds of stuff? A touring set-up is great. Single pannier with a change of clothes and lunch? You may not need a touring bike.

I have fenders and 32's. My brother-in-law's LHT has 40s (I think) with fenders.

I cannot recall my front rings specs. But my rear is a 9 speed 11-34, though I may replace it with a 11-32 and use my middle ring more. Also I nearly never use my small ring, so I have a lot to grow from range use.

I have STI and with my bars I can brake in a couple of positions. I think interrupter brakes would be another thing to fix and maintain, plus I feel less stable with my hands in that position.

kleng

I think your looking for the Specialized Globe Awol Deluxe as complete bike

https://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bik...ol/awol-deluxe


otherwise a "cyclocross" bike and then add the panniers, cyclocross brake levers etc.

Crockett - Trek Bicycle

Topeak® Cycling Accessories ? Products - Racks > BeamRack RX

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=c...w=1366&bih=566

KonaRider125

Sounds like what you want is a touring/heavy duty cyclocross style bike. Look at the Specialized Tricross, Kona Rove, and Trek Crossrip those are a few that would suit your needs.

Lastly you could check out the Nashbar Touring bike, looks like a very good value for what you get.

Nashbar TR1 Touring Bike - Hybrid/Commuters/CruisersNashbar TR1 Touring Bike - Hybrid/Commuters/Cruisers

EdgewaterDude

My experience is the exact opposite of yours. My '73 World Voyageur touring bike weighs 28 lbs stock, 34 lbs with aluminum fenders and rack. While I think it's very dependable, it climbs like a sack of rocks and takes a good deal of effort to keep rolling at higher speeds on the flats. My new Domane is about 23 lbs with clip on fenders and a lightweight road rack, and has a much better road feel and is much more sprightly in climbs and maintaining speed on flats. To me at least, the 11 lbs made a pretty big difference.

While it's true that it's the engine and not the bike, riding a tank doesn't help things at all. I think the suggestions to look at a cyclocross bike (I actually test rode a Trek CrossRip and thought it to be pretty cool) are spot on. I agree that unless you're doing loaded touring, touring bikes are heavy and slow. And while I think that the Surly LHT is excellent as a touring bike (huge, oversized tubing is bombproof) it's not much fun to ride out and about, in my opinion.

knobster

If you have an REI nearby, I'd see if they have this one: Novara Verita Novara Verita Bike - 2014 at REI.com or maybe the Novara Randonee

Cyril 

Randonneurs often want the same qualities in a bike.
Look at sport touring bikes.

Carbonfiberboy 

I built up a $125 Bike Nashbar aluminum Framé many years ago. Great bike. Looks like nothing, goes good, can't hurt it. I see Nashbar has complete Al bikes on sale for $600 now. Might be just the thing. Or build up their frame to your specs like I did.

errantlinguist

I just informed myself about cyclocross (had heard the word before but never cared to look into it) and I instantly thought: "Gee, this is basically what I do every day but in the sticks rather than in the city"; Is there urban cyclocross?-- I think I might be able to quit my day job...

elcruxio

Oh gods. Is this what we are doing now? putting these weird squiggly things above letters to make it seem more french and therefore more cýcling? Like Dérailléûr and Grüppó and... I can't...! There are english words for these people!

Naah, just playing around man. I'm sure it was a typo. It was a typo wasn't it? Tell me it was a typo!

elcruxio

The problem with cyclocross bikes is that they rarely have eyelets for racks or fenders so you need to DIY those somehow. The steel frames shown here have better eyelet options but do of course weigh more if that is an issue.
Now if we now check out the Surly Cross Check for example it does have eyelets for everything but a front rack. And it does have a bit more of a sporty geometry. And most of the weight on you bike does not in fact come from the frame (even though it does contribute a lot) but from all the other components like the wheels, bars, pedals and groupset. The steel should not be a bad ride either.

If we consider a lightweight carbon bike and a cross check with the same components the weight difference is probably going to be 2-3 pounds. (I'm mentioning same components because the cross check is usually sold as a frame for building up). That 2-3 pounds is going to slow you down... Well it's not going to is it? On really long climb maybe a tiny bit. Maybe a minute at 40km if it's 100% climb but I mean come on! On a flat you're not going to even notice. And probably not even on a climb.