cyccommute 

REIs have a bike shop in each store (at least in all the ones I’ve been into around the country). The shops usually do other work but they have competent bicycle mechanics on site.

grizzly59

Swiss Army Bicycle

Wilfred Laurier

Except that, besides not agreeing with Internet Cyclotourism Orthodoxy, I have seen no evidence that they do need to be changed. As many have claimed before, and both you and I disagreed, that aluminum bikes are somehow not adequate for one application or another, at some point we should be able to say, "hmm, Trek, largest and one of the most respected American bike companies thinks 28 spokes and an aluminum frame is sufficient, perhaps I can take their word for it".

Related, the 520 is less of a niche item, and it's getting crap for having an aluminum fork, which, again, disagrees with Internet Cyclotourism Orthodoxy, but nobody actually has any specific concerns other than 'steel is real'

base2 

Easy: A Rodriguez UTB.

I have a similar variant. A Rodriguez High Roller Disc. 29 pounds with racks, fenders, lights, bottle cages, & pedals. It has a Son28 dynamo, a Rollhoff hub with Gebla system, oversized ThermLX tubing from Vari-Wall that is usually reserved for tandems, S&S couplings, Aluminum tandem forks supporting all-round180mm discs on 26 inch wheels with clearance for 2 inch mountain knobbies...and custom geometry for my personal proportions & extended wheel base, by request.

Best "do-all" bike I've ever owned.

ndrose

the “6 cm mortar” would be handy for clearing away the cars parked in bike lanes.

cyccommute 

While there is wisdom in what you say, there is also experience. We...as a group... have loads of experience with aluminum frames and know how tough they are. We also have lots of experience with lower spoke count wheels and know how tough they aren’t. A 32 spoke wheel is vulnerable to spoke breakage on heavily loaded bikes and taking away 4 spokes isn’t going to make them any stronger. Even 36 spoke wheels aren’t in invulnerable to spoke breakage on touring bike. If the bike was designed for road racing use, I’d (probably) have no issue with 28 spoke wheels. But it isn’t designed for carrying a light road racing load. It’s supposed to be designed for heavy loads in a harsh environment.

capnjonny 

One of the nicest bikes I have rehabbed was a 1986 Miyata Trail Runner.

This bike would make a wonderful city bike . It would be equally great as a n Expedition Touring bike or just about any use you would put it to. Tripple butted ccomo tubing with forged dropouts with adjusters, and forged fork ends. I think I weighed it after the build and it came in at just 30 lbs.

tyrion

Good experience for me. They assemble it and you get a free tune up after you break in the bike.

Also, my new REI bike was properly put together EXCEPT it had a ever so slight "tick" in the crank on every revolution. I tried different pedals to make sure it wasn't my pedals, it wasn't, so I took it back and they fixed it in one day (free of course). The mechanics I dealt with seemed like good mechanics.

stevel610 

I bought a Novara Safari (2 actually) from REI. Steel frame & fork. Weighs just over 30 pounds stock. Durable touring wheels. Frame fits 2" tires with fenders. Has mounts for disc brakes.

stevel610 

If price wasn't an object it would be a Thorn Nomad MK2. Rohloff, Steel Frame, Tonka Yellow!

bwilli88 

The Shop guy walks back to the used rack and pulls down a used Centurion Pro-Tour from late 70s early 80s. Early models had stud mounted centerpulls and post 82 had cantilevers, came with 27" wheels but the swap to 700c is easy.
my 81 has 42mm Schwalbe marathon Plus tours and the 83 has 38mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus.
Great bikes with plenty of brazed on fittings, great chrome under the paint. this 83 will be for sale come Apr.



This one will be going back to the States for my use there

Russ Roth

I've not seen what I would consider a well thought out all rounder ready to go. Surly travellers check or frame like it would be a first choice. Though trek 520 frame would be fine along with the aluminum hubs. King classic hubs with steel drive hell first choice/I9/DT240 built 32h with wheelsmith HD spokes or similar and velocity aileron or dyad rims. King headset, king or Phil bb. Tiagra 10sp groupset is good enough will 48/32 chainrings and 11/34 cassette. Both cassette and chain should be XT level so less corrosion prone. Thompson stem and post, good mid-range aluminum handlebar.Weight will be in the 26lb range but overall build indestructible.

raceboy

I found a Novara Safari that was a few years old for $420, IIRC. I’ve stacked about 10k on it, including a tour
and some century days. In fact, I rode it on a 30 mile work commute today. I love that thing. It ain’t pretty, but it sure rolls nice.

cyccommute 

I think what everyone is missing in this discussion is that a bike doesn’t have to weigh like a Abrams tank to be durable. The frame and frame material won’t make much difference as they aren’t parts that fail that often. A frame is just something that you hang parts on. It’s the parts that make the bike durable and “indestructible”. And, even then, some parts are going to be more important than others. Seatpost, stems, handlebars and even the drivetrain aren’t all that susceptible failure and, in actuality, are about as indestructible as most frames.

Probably the most important component when it comes to a bicycle being durable is the wheels. Hubs are fairly durable. Boutique hubs with sealed cartridge bearings are more durable than loose bearing hubs but even loose bearing hubs are quite durable if they are maintained regularly. Rims are slightly less durable but still pretty tough. I’d say that the most important component in terms of durability is the humble spoke. They go through more in terms of stress than any other part of the bike. They are flexed side-to-side in cornering, they undergo regular, frequent, and repeated loading and unloading during rotation, and they undergo complicated twisting during braking. No other part on a bike does that. A rim can be damaged and replaced without much problem. A broken spoke can be an indicator of something seriously wrong. Two broken spokes is an indicator of something wrong.

The Trek 920 above would be nearly indestructible from the factory and it would do it without making a dent in space/time due to it’s gravitational pull. With stronger wheels with more spokes (or just stronger spokes on the low spoke count wheels), it would be indestructible enough for the cockroaches to ride after we are gone.

stevel610 

They do ride nicely. One reason I got it is I'm a big guy (240 or so) as wanted a strong bike that wouldn't flex when I hammered.

The 2nd one I bought was for my wife. She likes it as well.

dwsmartins

I’m sorry, but I must disagree. I’ve already managed to broke a behemoth of a steel frame just by stand on the pedal and stomping hard while on a really low gear. I’m quite heavy, by the way, and I was climbing a quite steep hill (about 20-25%). Frame material will be related to lightness, I guess, but frame build quality is a must for a really durable build.

cyccommute 

I’ve broken 4 frames...2 steel and 2 aluminum...out of 38 bikes. I’ve broken components including a crank and pedals. I’ve also broken lots and lots and lots of wheels. I’ve broken innumerable spokes as well as a large number of rims. While frame breakage is devastating, it’s a lot less frequent than wheel breakage and failure. Everything that a frame goes through, a wheel will see first.

By the way, you didn’t break the frame by simply stomping hard on the pedals in a low gear. The break started long before you got out of the saddle.