some_guy282

I've been commuting by bike for two and a half years now, and the frame on the mountain bike that I've been riding for that time has cracked on me. Riding through NYC I probably never should have had a mountain bike in the first place, but it's what I was comfortable with from my childhood and with some slicks it served me well. My horizons have expanded since then thanks largely to BF, and I'm looking to get a cross frame to build up as my new commuter.

Right now I'm looking strongly at the Nashbar X frame and, of course, *drum roll* the Surly Crosscheck.

Coming off of a cracked frame I like the fact that the Cross check is steel, but I really wish it took disc brakes, which is why I'm also looking at the Nashbar frame. I've done searches and read all the disc brake threads, and yes, I'm aware they're not necessary. But I commute year round, and have found my Avid BB7's to be quite handy when I'm riding through winter muck and on rainy days. I've tried looking around a bit for a steel cross frame that takes disc brakes, but without luck. Are there any? And if I end up with disc brakes, are there any 700c disc ready wheels I could buy prebuilt, or would I have to get the components and put them together?

I'd like to migrate as many components from my current bike to the cross bike as possible (probably going to be the Cross Check). Here are the parts I'm wondering if I could use on the Cross Check.

Mountain V brake levers
Avid SD7 V brakes
SRAM X7 shifters/rear derailer
Road casette
Mountain crankset and pedals
26 inch wheels

Any compatibility issues there? I'm guessing there are with the wheels, but if I could use my old wheels for the winter to save for some nice 700c wheels it would save me a lot of trouble.

Any advice/input you all can provide would be appreciated...

isotopesope

i have velomax sagitta's that are 130 spaced disc compatible cross wheels. you can get them from colorado cyclist.

you would have brake issues trying to put v brakes on a cross frame running 26" wheels... not too mention how low your bottom bracket would become. you'd have to run those adjustable reach v brakes that paul makes... i think it's a really bad idea.

the surly is a decent frame but heavy! i just got my wife a soma double cross and was super impressed with it. it's still steel and inexpensive, but lighter than the crosscheck. i got it from www.bikemania.biz. 370 for the frame and fork. it's best deal i've found, other than possibly hounding all my friends that work at shops.

some_guy282

Thanks for those links, I'll check them out.

Would the v brakes be alright with standard 700c wheels?

isotopesope

definitely.

some_guy282

Those wheels you linked look pretty good, but the rear hub spacing on the Nashbar frame is 135mm. The wheels are 130mm.

isotopesope

well, if you're set on the 135 frame and those wheels... you might be able to get a longer axle and re-space the rear wheel... but i'm not sure about that one. that might screw up the disc brake alignment or give you shifting problems. all speculation though.

you could also check out spicercycles.com too. it doesn't show the spacing on this frame, but i would email gene and ask him. he's a great guy. he also sells this fork.

some_guy282

The whole disc thing is really seeming like it's more trouble than it's worth, which is why I'm leaning towards the Cross Check....

isotopesope

discs are sort of over-kill... and it's going to be more expensive to get started. a crosscheck or double cross, etc. would be sweet and you could use all the parts of your old mountain bike and get any road or cross wheelset.

my wife's soma:

some_guy282

Here's another question about potential funky franken Cross bike possibilities. Say I want to get road gearing up front later on as well, would it be possible for me to put some road cogs on my mountain crankset?

dwainedibbly

The Nashbar X frame, with 700x32s, is a really tight fit for fenders. I built one up as an ebike last winter and had to snip the fender off above the front derailleur and zip tie it to the seat tube. Also, it's made for 700c wheels. I don't know if the brake bosses would line up for 26" wheels. (I don't have any experiences with 26's.)

I'll post a photo of the fender "issue" in a minute....

dwainedibbly

Here are some pictures, attached...

Altinos

How do you like the Nashbar X frame? I've got some 700 wheels/135mm rear hub that I've been looking to put on a frame, and I keep looking at that one. I ride mostly flat streets in the general vicinity.