upright gravelish steel bike rec?
#26
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Steel Suggestio
Looking for advice on purchasing a bike (not sure if there is a preferred format for this or if this is wrong location?)
Looking for:
-Upright gravel/all-road/adventure bike.
- I'm 5'11, 165 lbs, aiming for Stack 632, Reach 383, happy to buy a different stem to make this work.
-max stand-over ~850mm
-Steel frame
-Mostly riding paved but would like option to hit gravel.
-mostly commuting & running errands & adventuring want to go back to not having a car! 2-25miles daily. no racing. possibility for light-touring would be nice.
-Prefer not to have any electronic shifters or other overly techie parts.
-Prefer to keep under $3K but really I don't have an upper end budget but I don't want a bike that I overly worry about getting stolen or scratched up.
-Would like something I can find/purchase now or in next few months as my current bike is terrible for me and the weather is getting nice!
Background: I've been cycling exclusively on a fixed road bike (wabi special) for last 8 years. Last year I moved to PNW and now my knees are hurting cuz I have patellar tendonitis and there are hills here. I was all set on a Salsa Vaya 59.5cm but haven't found one in 2 months & LBSs say "possibly in June?" to "unlikely this year", now I'm despairing / open to other options/ideas. A trusted friend in the industry says Salsa Vaya is awesome, wait for it, Random people on the internet say Vaya is outdated and overrated now and there are better options these days...
Test road a salsa Fargo, felt too slow and overkill for mostly pavement. Test road a kona rove and it felt clunky/meh. Test road an all-city straight bar bike and hated the handlebars and it felt meh. I'm thinking of riding mostly 35mm ish tires but am not opposed to owning two wheelsets for different terrain types.
There's a 2016 Salsa Vaya x9 in 57cm 125miles away from me on craigslist for 1200. I could maybe make this work with a long, angled stem? Seems pricey for a compromise esp considering the 125miles to check it out.
Looking for:
-Upright gravel/all-road/adventure bike.
- I'm 5'11, 165 lbs, aiming for Stack 632, Reach 383, happy to buy a different stem to make this work.
-max stand-over ~850mm
-Steel frame
-Mostly riding paved but would like option to hit gravel.
-mostly commuting & running errands & adventuring want to go back to not having a car! 2-25miles daily. no racing. possibility for light-touring would be nice.
-Prefer not to have any electronic shifters or other overly techie parts.
-Prefer to keep under $3K but really I don't have an upper end budget but I don't want a bike that I overly worry about getting stolen or scratched up.
-Would like something I can find/purchase now or in next few months as my current bike is terrible for me and the weather is getting nice!
Background: I've been cycling exclusively on a fixed road bike (wabi special) for last 8 years. Last year I moved to PNW and now my knees are hurting cuz I have patellar tendonitis and there are hills here. I was all set on a Salsa Vaya 59.5cm but haven't found one in 2 months & LBSs say "possibly in June?" to "unlikely this year", now I'm despairing / open to other options/ideas. A trusted friend in the industry says Salsa Vaya is awesome, wait for it, Random people on the internet say Vaya is outdated and overrated now and there are better options these days...
Test road a salsa Fargo, felt too slow and overkill for mostly pavement. Test road a kona rove and it felt clunky/meh. Test road an all-city straight bar bike and hated the handlebars and it felt meh. I'm thinking of riding mostly 35mm ish tires but am not opposed to owning two wheelsets for different terrain types.
There's a 2016 Salsa Vaya x9 in 57cm 125miles away from me on craigslist for 1200. I could maybe make this work with a long, angled stem? Seems pricey for a compromise esp considering the 125miles to check it out.
I'd suggest using Bike Insights to compare models to your desired Salsa Vaya. From personal experience, I would think the All-City Spacehorse, or Kona Sutra would be very similar. No idea on availability.
#27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Iride01 View Post
Modeling fit from just the bike geometry is tricky because most geometry specs don't give you all the information you need to show your contact points (butt, hands, and feet) with the bike.
Originally Posted by Iride01 View Post
Modeling fit from just the bike geometry is tricky because most geometry specs don't give you all the information you need to show your contact points (butt, hands, and feet) with the bike.
Of course there are more subtle things like weight distribution, chainstay length, head tube angle, fork rake etc.
Huh? I'm not understanding what you wrote there.
However, from the perspective of when stack and reach are discussed, as in this thread, most of us will assume it's frame stack and frame reach. If it's any other kind of stack or reach then that needs to be specified.
Last edited by Iride01; 05-23-22 at 10:10 AM.
#28
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The position of the saddle w.r.t. the bottom bracket can be adjusted by moving the seatpost in/out and moving the saddle forward/backward.
What is left is the position of the hands w.r.t. the bottom bracket, and that cat be modeled using frame stack and frame reach.
#29
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The position of the saddle w.r.t. the bottom bracket can be adjusted by moving the seatpost in/out and moving the saddle forward/backward.
What is left is the position of the hands w.r.t. the bottom bracket, and that cat be modeled using frame stack and frame reach.
And your stem and handle bar height will also depend on how long that steerer tube is sticking up out of the head tube. I've never seen that given in bike specs or geometry. Though most new bikes seem to come with about 30 mm of spacers under the stem.
Still, I think I'm missing what ever it is you are trying to convey. Maybe some future time in another thread all will become clear! <grin>
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Last edited by Rolla; 05-23-22 at 04:29 PM.
#31
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#32
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The main point still stands: adding L mm of spacers is equivalent to magically extending the head tube by L mm at the top. We can be purists and say that the stack/reach does not change, but the "effective" stack/reach changes. That was all I was trying to say: if the stack/reach is off, it may be corrected for by adding spacers (instead of changing the stem as the OP says).
Also, while spacers indeed establish an "effective" stack of a frame, they don't have any effect on the top tube slope, like a higher "actual" stack often does. That might be a consideration when considering standover height.
Cheers.
#33
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The old 60cm Norco Cabot is 380mm reach. 634mm stack. Standover 836mm.
Canti frame that also has disc mounts. Max tyre looks to be around 35mm?
Has a 450mm chainstay, so you might not find the ride peppy enough.
Canti frame that also has disc mounts. Max tyre looks to be around 35mm?
Has a 450mm chainstay, so you might not find the ride peppy enough.
#34
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OP, have you seen a PT to help with the tendonitis?
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Yeah, I am seeing a PT and things are improving. Meanwhile I'm thinking of getting a CoMotion but that'd take 5-9months. If I do, I may find something now at an LBS that will be rideable in the meantime unlike my fixed gear road bike. Maybe a A1 Renegade as rec'd above or a Marin nicasio/4corners / something that's cheaper and I'll hopefully be able to sell once I get the co-mo and only be out a few hundred which I'll think of as a rental??
#36
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Hi, have you considered an old, touring bike? Reynolds 351 tubing, 27 x 1 1/4 tyres, drop bars, costs you next to nothing while you wait for the ‘perfect’ bike. Raleigh, Peugeot, Dawes will all fit the bill.
#37
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Yeah, I am seeing a PT and things are improving. Meanwhile I'm thinking of getting a CoMotion but that'd take 5-9months. If I do, I may find something now at an LBS that will be rideable in the meantime unlike my fixed gear road bike. Maybe a A1 Renegade as rec'd above or a Marin nicasio/4corners / something that's cheaper and I'll hopefully be able to sell once I get the co-mo and only be out a few hundred which I'll think of as a rental??
I am not sure where you are in the PNW, but my Verve is up for sale for $600.00 without Rack And Panniers, $700 with rack and panniers.
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...colorCode=grey
Bontrager MIK Disk Rear Rack with large Commuter Paniers and MIL Rear Trunk
Bontrager DuoTrap S+ sensor and computer included
#38
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Thanks for the responses everyone. I purchased a cheapish gravel bike (KHS grit 55) at an LBS that will work with my desired fit. I will be riding it for next 7-9 months while I wait for my co-motion klatch.