mello velo

Hello folks,

I'm thinking of commuting 7 miles to work, in Memphis, TN, USA. It's hilly but not extremely so. I want to also use the bike for exercise, and maybe light touring. I will want full fenders and a rear rack for panniers. My budget is $1200 or so, but I'm fairly frugal. I'm 6'-3" with about a 36" standover height with shoes, so I need a tall frame.

I have a hybrid bike right now that's really too small for me. I did a little bit of touring in Europe many moons ago, and imagine that I would like to do some more, so I've mostly been looking at touring bikes. I do landscape painting, so may take a painting trip, strapping on an easel.

Here are bikes I've been considering:

Raleigh Sojourn- I've test ridden one, it seems stable, maybe a little sluggish, but has nice saddle, fully equipped, just needs some lights.
Surly Cross-Check and LHT..... leaning toward the Cross-Check for versatility. I rode a one yesterday, liked it pretty well. Needs racks etc.

There's many others that I haven't tried, no one has them in stock though locally:
Novara Safari (from REI)- REI store is 3.5 hrs from here- looks like a good bike
Fuji touring
Windsor Touring (bikesdirect.com)- LBS said not recommended
Trek 520
Masi bikes, etc.

And a few used bikes: Right now on ebay these two:

An old Trek elance with steel frame:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/60cm-1987-Tr...item415caf1a3c

Old Peugeot:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/360388382516...84.m1426.l2649

I've checked craigslist, mostly racing bikes.

Can you comment on the used bikes in particular? Should I go with a new bike if I can afford it?

Thanks for any input.

fietsbob

You dialed in on your best frame size, from experience?

wild guess 60 cm, but go to a bike shop and stand over one to make sure.

mello velo

No, Just based on what the local bike shops have recommended based on standover height. they've recommended 60cm to 62cm. The Raleigh I tried was 57cm, I found it too small. I tried a 62cm Trek racing bike, seemed ok fit. I don't have much experience really with frame sizes.

skilsaw

What the book says is your frame size is just a best guess.
You need to ride the bike to make sure it fits.
There are too many subtle frame geometry facets to boil the whole science of bike fit down to one number like Standover height.

dcrowell

I'm not going to recommend a bike. Most any touring bike will work well for commuting. Eventually, you'll want a simpler commuting bike.

N+1 always wins.

mello velo

What do you mean by a simpler commuter bike, can you give an example?

mello velo

Thanks- so I will avoid used bikes online for sure. A local Schwinn shop is getting a few used taller frame bikes for me to try out from their warehouse.

I owned a Peugeot racing bike once when I was in High School in Europe. My parents worked there in France. The French are generally speaking shorter than americans, and they didn't have anything my size in a shop, so they did a custom order, took all sorts of measurements, the bike fit me great..... I sold it though due to shipping costs when I came back to the U.S.

fietsbob

Internal gear hub rather than a triple crank and 9 or 10 speed cassette.

desertdork

As for the used bikes you linked, I won't suggest you buy a bike that you can't see in person...unless you're absolutely sure you know what you're getting. If you're patient, something may eventually pop up on c-list. Never seems to be the case for me, though.

The problem with buying new is that relatively few shops keep touring bikes in stock. I see that Midtown Bike Co is a KHS dealer; you might ask about the KHS TR-101 or CX100. Also, Jamis shows the Hub City Bike in Jackson as a dealer; the Jamis Aurora is in your budget, is perfectly suitable for your needs, and is popular enough to possibly be in stock. As for REI/Novara, the Verita looks promising and should be a good bit livelier to ride than the Safari. The 520 is over your budget but worth checking out.

You could also do your commuting, etc, with a better fitting hybrid. Hybrids get a fair bit of floor space in most shops, and they're a bit less expensive.

Whatever you get, you'll want something that fits nicely. Trying to make an ill-fitting bike work because you found it secondhand at a good price doesn't always play out well. Buying new comes at a price, but it's sometimes the only way to get what you really want. Also, buying from a local dealer has advantages in regards to service and warranty issues.

CCrew

A cross bike would fill all your requirements if you make sure it has provisions for racks, and would be sportier and faster than a touring specific one.

dcrowell

My touring bike (a Surly Long Haul Trucker) is heavy, had front and rear racks, wide tires. I love the bike, but I bought an old road bike converted to single-speed. It's a great commuter. It won't haul as much as a touring bike, but it doesn't need to.

If you live somewhere too hilly for a single-speed you can always go internal gear hub or 1x7/8/9 for a simpler drivetrain. You don't need a 19 gear-inch low gear on a commuter.

mello velo

Thanks for the good research desertdork. Midtown Bike doesn't have the KHS bikes you mentioned in stock. But they have the best deal in town on Surly bikes. The Jamis Aurora and the REI Verita looks about same price as Surly Cross Check- $1100 or so. Therefore, I'll go by Midtown Bikes tomorrow and get measured for size on the Cross Check.......

mello velo

Thanks everyone for your input. I may try a simpler bike at some point. I had a "Dutch" bike a long time ago with simple gears, but it was a pain on big hills. I am very much the novice here, so am going to rely on the local bike shop to steer me right.

bbunk

I bought the Jamis Aurora for the same reason, I wanted a commuter I could tour on someday. I haven't toured on it yet but I really like it for the commutes. I am hoping to do some short weekend tours here soon but I am sure it will work good for what I am doing.
I do like the looks of the Cross Checks also. I should do what you are looking for with no problems.

Medic Zero

I'm getting to where he is talking about. I don't need a front rack for my daily commuter and might be able to run a slightly lighter rear rack for commuting. Also, I liked running the really small Conti Gatorskins (1 1/8") but those aren't suited for touring and so are off from May through the end of October. With working seven days a row, in a hospital, on night shift, on my feet, and going to school at the same time - things that make my commute less energy intensive are good.

In addition, I'm probably going to need to tweak my tourers transmission for better hill climbing while my bike that I am using for both right now has closer to road bike gearing (53-42-32 by 11-32) for my moderately loaded ride into work. The bike I acquired as a back-up in case something happens to my do-it-all bike I am now eyeing towards setting up as my commuter with the tourer set up with lower gearing. I never quite seem to use all of the upper gears while loaded and have to deal with a lot of hills in these parts, even touring (bike-camping really, 2-5 day jaunts mostly). I like the high end in town though, as I have several long, shallow, descents where even in 53-11 I'm running out of resistance.

My girlfriend picked up a Safari a couple of months ago. The only thing she doesn't like about it are the trekking bars. Her background is mountain biking and so she doesn't like to be hunched over and the lower height of the handlebars is giving her wrists trouble. She's also not keen on the grip shifters. Once I get new handlebars and shifters for her (during the next month) I think it'll be just fine. It came with good tires and a good rear rack, and she is liking the saddle so far, in fact, it is going back and forth between her Safari and her mountain bike on weekends. All the braze-ons you could ask for, but be aware that in your size it comes with 700cc wheels. Since she is at the cusp of the Small/Medium choices they offer the smaller bike in 26" wheels, but the larger ones run road wheels, which wouldn't be to my taste. Also, this years model comes in baby-***** brown. :/

For some reason Fuji doesn't get much love, but I don't think that is for any good reason. Give it a fair looking over, IIRC they are reasonably priced.

Everyone loves the Long Haul Trucker, but I love stiff, stiff, steel (favorite ride is a '88 GT Timberline) and I have heard at least one person comment that the LHT is a little "noodley" or something similar.

Personally if I didn't already own a 20 year old mountain bike that is what I'd be in the market for this niche as I like to do a little trail riding while out touring/bike-camping and the geometry is very similar in most respects. If that wasn't in the cards I think I'd be looking at either the Nashbar touring frame and build it up to my specs, or more likely looking for 80's steel touring bikes.

mello velo

I found an older used Trek 620 at a bike shop here in Memphis. It had a tall frame, with the top bar about an inch clear below my crotch. Wheels are true. I took it out for 15 minute ride, don't see any real issues except these:
Handlebars are a little narrow for me, they are drop bars, they look original. Could I switch these out easily to wider bars?.
There doesn't appear to be room enough for full fenders. For commuting and light touring, this is an issue. I looked around online, there are some that could work.
The store wants $350 for it. I don't know the year, I would need model # I guess? Not sure if this is a good deal. I'm not experienced enough to know if the components are good. The derailleur said Shimano 105, as did the brakes I think.

Otherwise, I'm probably going to spring for a new Surly cross check.

Any suggestions?

LeeG

Cross-Check would be a fine choice. You should eventually know your seat to bb. distance and prefered seat tube to handlebar distance & drop. There are lots of 32mm tires for your purposes.

Cyclomania

Controversial bike: 65 centimeters of might and pleasure and you could afford two!! One for pleasure and one for commuting!
High ratings on amazon and available in extra large sizing.

Someone reviewing this bike stated that it rode just like their old peugeot. So, you might consider it! I prefer the 65cm frame color scheme, black and silver (sweet!)

https://www.amazon.com/GMC-Denali-Lar...pr_product_top
Ongoing review here on Bike Forums:https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...nali+road+bike


$159.54 !!!

fietsbob

Yea, get one.. if you can ride it daily for a few weeks,all day.
it's a touring bike.

Bring some stuff..

wahoonc

Of the bikes you listed I would go with the Cross Check as being the most useful and versatile. I would carefully check the dimensions then decide on whether to get a 60cm or the 62cm (I am betting on the 60cm). I am about 1/2" shorter than you with long arms and legs and typically ride a 60-62cm frame. Everyone I have talked to that has the Cross Check loves it as a general purpose bike. No it doesn't have the load capacity of the LHT, but it still can be used to haul reasonable sized loads using racks, and it is sporty enough to ride on longer distant rides.

Aaron

mello velo

Get which one, you don't mean the Denali do you?

bradtx

Tell the shop you'll pay the $350 if they put on a set of free fenders. If they can't, then buy the Cross Check.

Brad

njkayaker

fietsbob's replys are zen "sound of one hand clapping" sorts of things (some times). Maybe his internet access (smoke signals?) encourages extreme terseness.

tarwheel 

Take a look at the Salsa Casseroll. I got one for commuting in April and love it. I had been commuting for 2 years on a touring bike but it was heavy, slow and stiff riding. The Casseroll is better in every respect for commuting and light touring. Get a touring frame if you really intend to do loaded touring. Otherwise a sport touring frame will be much faster and more fun to ride on a daily basis.

mello velo

That's pretty funny rjkayaker, I'll meditate on this..... Is there a book out "The Zen and the art of bicycle maintenance" yet? Surly there has to be.