Originally Posted by
Korina
I remember the AWOL; it was pretty cool IMO. Shame they dropped it so quickly. How do you like yours? And yes, the OP's hack is quite nifty.
I like it a lot! I have about 10,000 miles on mine. It's my daily commuter, and I also just did RAGBRAI on it.
It has some downsides:
- It's rather heavy.
- I have some toe overlap on this bike (especially with fenders installed), but that's maybe unavoidable, being a shorter rider on a smaller-frame bike. Maybe I'd be better off with a bike with 650b wheels.
- I replaced the (in my experience) fiddly TRP HY/RD brakes with pure mechanical TRP Spyre disc brakes. Almost the same stopping power but much less fiddliness.
- Quick release and disc brakes is another fiddly combination; I'd much prefer through-axles with disc brakes, I think.
- Nice that it has a bottom bracket mount for a kickstand, but it took a ton of trial and error to find a two-legged one that doesn't interfere with either the chain or the rear tire. I'd prefer a mount point for a rear wheel kickstand, but this frame doesn't have one. (Though I suppose I could have someone weld one on, since it's steel...)
If I'm tempted to get a replacement for this as a touring bike, it'd probably be something like a Co-Motion with S&S couplers, belt-drive compatibility, and maybe 650b or even 26" wheels. But regardless, I plan to put many, many more miles on my AWOL. The frame is very robust, and the accessories that came with the AWOL Expert—particularly the front "pizza" rack and the fenders—are perfectly matched to the bike, not surprising since they're all from Specialized.