zbo2amt

Okay, here's what I'm considering. Remember the $600ish price, upright position, able to do regular road rides, commuting regularly (will work my way up to riding in the rain, aka- not at first; won't be using a rear rack immediately, but want the option, but not as important), STI, light off-road riding on the way to work, a one-bike silver bullet.

I will be able to put these together myself, but anything more than just basic assembly and tuning I will have to take to the LBS. Some of the bikes would include shipping.

Nashbar steel touring bike
https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...0052_522412_-1
pros- 105, wide gearing, rack included, triple crank
cons- triple crank, tires may need replacing, reviews say needs greasing at several points, light if any greasing on most of bike, pay for shipping

Nashbar steel cyclocross bike
https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...0052_526536_-1
pros- best looking IMO, 105, double crank, great reviews
cons- most expensive, narrow gearing, tires need replacing, shipping costs, not the best in mounting options, but do-able

BD Motobecane Fantom CX
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._cross_cx2.htm
pros- cheapest, compact double crank, full rack mounts, looks pretty good, sora/tiagra, price includes shipping
cons- concerned about riding position, components not as good as 105, a little too "branded"

BD Windsor Tourist
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/tourist.htm
pros- widest gearing, triple crank, good word-of-mouth, good price, includes shipping, tiagra/deore, rack included
cons- triple crank, a bit pedestrian looking, old guy-ish, "branded"

I know these comments are opinionated, but I'd like to get the BFs thoughts. It actually looks like the two Nashbar bikes and the Windsor might all have the same frame, or similar. The Motobecane seems to be the only different one, which looks a little too aggressive for the comfortable ride I'm looking for. Nashbar bikes have 105, which would be sweet at this price range. As for the pro and con of a triple, I mean the extra gearing is nice, but shifting I've heard can be a hassle (chain line, cross gearing, more complicated, etc.)

What are your thoughts, and does anyone have a coupon code for Nashbar I could use?

zbo2amt

* Silver

fietsbob

I recommend doing business with bike shops, myself.
hands on service after the sale.


I have been going to smaller wheels my self, they take up less room.
and Bike Friday is In State.

alan s 

Whichever one is silver.

Chris Chicago

you need a silver bullet to kill a werewolf.

"zbo2amt", what does that stand for? Honestly I dont think you can get a good answer to a question like this unless you find somebody who has ridden more than one of these bikes and can compare them. they will probably all be fine bikes.

LarDasse74

They all look like good bikes. Siince they are mail order you proabably will have to guess at a size. If you have a bike on which you are comfortable now, you need to take a few measurements to check which of your short list comes closest. Alternately, you could pay for a fitting at a reputable bike shop, then take their recommendations and see which bike comes closest, or which can be easily modified to come closest.

BTW, there are waaa-aaayy more places to ride with triple chainrings than with double chainrings.

RunningPirate

This ^^, more or less.

One thing I noted when I was looking at the CX bikes was that that it looked like if you fit them with rear racks (which I'll reckon you'll want to do after a while, unless you're really good with riding with a full backpack) you'll be dealing with heel strike against panniers.

As for triple cranks being a "con", I have three bikes with triples (MTB, touring, commuter) with triples and they work fine. The FD does need some adjustment at times, in order to get into the small ring, but it's nothing that makes me say "*&^% this! I'm going to a compact double!" Of course, I live on the side of a hill, so I might be biased.

Something else I'll put out there is the desire for STI. When I bought my road bike (Raleigh Record Ace) I wanted STI. Now that I have it, it's nice, but it's not the be-all end-all that I thought it would be. Of course, I don't race and I wonder if that's where the value lies. For that matter, on my commuter, I have trigger shifters, and I even wonder at the value of index shifting (or, could I have saved $$ and just gotten good, old-fashioned friction shifters and be no worse for the wear). The point of this is to not change your mind necessarily, but to encourage you to evaluate why you want certain specficiations...especially when they can have an effect on the cost of the bike.

Finally, I will echo the sentiment above about buying from an LBS, especially since you will not be doing any of the more technical work and will need the LBS to do that for you.

All that said, if you held a gun to my head and made me choose one of the above-listed bikes, I'd go for the Windsor Tourist...if you look at the "cons" that you listed, there really isn't anything that's truly awful about the bike.

LarDasse74

I just had a second look. The two nashbar bikes are a couple hundred more than the bikesdirect, but you get a lot for that money: Both the Nashbar bikes have 10 speed 105 shifters, and derailleurs. That is a significant step up from the Sora on the BD CX bike, and a smaller step up from the 9 speed Tiagra/Deore on the BD touring bike.

But none of that matters as much as the fit of the bike.

a1penguin

I disagree about the STI vs trigger shifters. I am still getting used to the trigger shifters on my FX. I much, much, much prefer the STI on my road bike. The natural riding positions on a road bike allow you to reach the shifters/brakes without any hand movement. The same is not true for the triggers on the flat bar. I find that I am stretching my thumbs back in the event that I might want to down shift. This often requires me to move my hands. I'm a fan of brifters. YMMV.

Spld cyclist

If you can increase your price limit, this one is silver (well, actually chrome, but really really shiny): https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...fantom_cxx.htm

It seems to meet your requirements other than price.

I have it in yellow. It isn't quite assembled yet, but everything looks good so far.

Jim

Chris Chicago

Jim, once you get that up and running please write a review of it. looks sweet

KrisPistofferson

I was always very pleased with a Surly LHT for a do-all bike, but that may be a bit heavier than you want. Of course if you're any more than 15 pounds overweight, coveting a light bike is a little silly in my opinion....

Puget Pounder

If I had to do this blindly without riding any of the bikes, I'd pick the nashbar cross bike. I never ride with a significant load, so I can't justify touring bikes. cross bikes are becoming increasingly versatile and are very versatile.

Mercian Rider

I have never ridden any of the bikes you list, so I can't comment specifically on their merits, but I may have some helpful insight.

I have ridden many different bikes for commuting: single speed, 3-speed. heavy old Schwinn middleweights, as well as both cyclocross and dedicated touring bikes. I favor the touring bikes for my own commute. The geometry and tubing of touring bikes is designed for load carrying, and I carry up to 30 pounds of stuff. Also, touring geometry--long chainstays and wheelbase, and lower bottom bracket--is generally more stable as opposed to quick handling. I prefer stable for my route. Some cross bikes have high bottom brackets, and I don't much like how they ride on pavement--feel like I'm on stilts.

I've owned and extensively used both STI and Ergo, and while they're nice, they're not a necessity by any stretch.

Triples are not difficult to work with. And while a triple might be overkill for your commute, it makes your bike more versitile.

A10K

I second what Running P says on the panniers; CX bikes have shorter wheelbases than tourers (for all their other similarities), and as a result most panniers don't work on my commuter bike, and the ones that do have to be set all the way to the back. This means that they're not properly supported against the rack stays, and on big bumps can flop around to the point of striking my rear spokes (solution: don't do singletrack with a laptop in your pannier). What this means is that you'll have to try any panniers before you buy them; I once kicked a grocery pannier off the back of my bike because I hadn't bothered to test it full/loaded before going shopping with it. Needless to say it was not a comfortable ride home.

The other side of the coin to what Running P said about triples is that doubles are not without their hassles; you have to be more careful about cross-chaining, and the larger differences between the rings mean that you run the risk of twisting your chain into the large ring when you are in the small ring (A 53 sticks out further against a 39 than a 52 does around a 42). I experienced these issues firsthand when I "upgraded" from a triple to a double on my road bike.

As for STI, its the bee's knees if you want a 3x9 or something similar, but since my commuter is a 1x8 I use a single friction bar-end shifter; I can't justify the price jump, but a properly adjusted set of STI shifters will allow you to be a lot more confident/quick at fast speeds, especially descents. Indexed bar-ends are pretty pricey, even on the secondary market, though still a lot cheaper than STI's.

Spld cyclist

I'm hoping by the end of the long weekend I'll finish it and get a chance to ride it (although snow could delay the test-ride part). Assembling these isn't too bad, but I just haven't had a lot of time to work on it.

Jim

AndreyT

Er... "Silver bullet" is not a metaphor for do-it-all solution. "Swiss army knife" is, for one example.

alan s 

A Google search on "silver bullet" came up with an interesting result. Not sure I'd want a bike that vibrates.

fietsbob

<< swiss army knife

Seattle Forrest

This is a pretty common sentiment in the commuting forum. But I don't think I've ever felt a need for panniers or a backpack to get to and from work. It isn't just that I don't feel a need, it's that they aren't useful in any way for this purpose.

Peoples' mileage will vary, but I don't think it's a given that a bike that can't haul luggage makes a bad commuter.

Spld cyclist

This can be a pitfall with cross bikes, but it can be managed with the right rack and pannier choices. You don't want a short rack, and you do want panniers with adjustable hooks so you can change the fore/aft position. There are plenty of people who tour on cross bikes with large rear panniers.

Jim

peterw_diy

Speaking of rack choices, you could use a rack like the Axiom Streamliner DLX Disc whose mount places it further back, effectively lengthening your chainstay. It's probably not as good for serious loaded touring, as the rear rack load will tend to be behind the rear axle instead of right on top, but for a commuter or grocery-getter, it could solve some problems.

I kinda wish I'd bought that model instead of the standard Streamliner DLX for my cross bike. My main commuting bag doesn't have heel clearance problems, but it's rather wide and touches the rear cantilever brake arms. It's not a problem, though I think it would be if I used a wide-profile brake back there like a Tektro CR720.

-Peter

amgarcia

I have a Surly Cross-Check. Panniers seem to work fine for the most part, but I do wish I had a touring triple.

LarDasse74

Most people, I would guess, need to carry something to work - lunch or a change of clothes or a computer. Something. It is very rare to find someone not carrying anything on his way to work. And if you regularily carry something, loading it on the bike (panniers, handlebar bag, baskets, etc) is preferable to most people over a backpack.

Seattle Forrest

I'm not sure that's really true. It seems like a lot of people in this forum ride in their work clothes, some of which are wool, and then take a "bird bath" on arrival. I know I do, and I keep a pair of non-bike shoes under my desk. Most people who work with computers, well, have a desktop machine at work that doesn't travel. I think the 50 gallons of cargo capacity is more of a commuter fashion thing than a necessity; people maybe feel comfortable carrying enough stuff around with them to survive a wholesale collapse of society on their way to work, but I'm not convinced that's a need for most folks.

Anyway, the real point here is that I wouldn't not get a perfectly good bike if I needed one for going to and from work, just because it won't carry everything you need to bike across America.