Epicus07

I've been commuting 5 days a week (15 miles) on my steel specialized allez. It's a nice bike with a good ride but i'm craving something different. I already have an amazing steel italian racing bike and a carbon fiber distance bike so i'm feeling like i want something other than a racing geometry commuter. I'm kind of toying with the idea of a light tourer that i can throw knobby tires on and take off road if i want. I've noticed that the volpe seems to be nice without screaming steal me.

Am i being silly? I will probably only take it off road once a year and the rest of the time it will be on 28c road tires. I'm just craving some cantilever brakes and more relaxed geometry.

Is the volpe a true cyclocross bike or does it have a relaxed position and wheelbase like a touring bike?

ObjectAgnosia

I ride the San Jose which is based off of the Volpe geometry with track drop outs. It rides great on and off road. My commute takes me on dirt paths and it feels great on 28c tires. I'm looking for a little bit more cushion so I ordered a pair of 32c Marathons. I have ridden true road bikes before and after riding this I don't think I'll go back.

Sirrus Rider

Unfortunately, the San Jose is no longer in production..

arbysovenmitt

I bought a 2010 Volpe about 2 months ago now and am loving it. It's my first 'real' bike though, so I'm pretty sure I'd have loved anything I bought, but it's definitely a great commuter. Solid build, pretty light, handles dirt paths and torn up roads with ease but cruises on decent roads. Plus it's real comfy!

ObjectAgnosia

There's a seller on ebay still selling some left overs. I was fortunate enough to find one locally on craig's list.

phx1973

I love the Volpe and am considering that as well. I noticed nobody responded to your question of whether it is a cyclocross or considered a true touring geometry...Can anybody chime in who would know? I noticed it is roughly the same price as an LHT, another bike that I am very interested in.

BarracksSi

Here's my Valle-turned-Volpe. Basically the same thing as a Volpe since the drop bar conversion, plus the fenders and dynohub. I like it a lot:

tarwheel 

Also check out the new Salsa Casseroll. It is very similar to the Volpe except for the taller head tube. It has canti brakes and room for tires up to 38 mm, plus mounts for fenders and racks front and rear. I had thought about picking up a used Volpe, but the Casseroll geometry suits me better.

perspiration

check out the surly crosscheck, its verrry similar but a little more suited for touring, i think.

Epicus07

I found something similar at a local bike swap over the weekend.

Its a custom built steel frame cross bike. True Temper OX platinum tubing!

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...t-another-bike.

sygyzy

Great thread guys. Helping my friend find a road/commuter bike and I got some great ideas from here.

dan42

I have a Volpe and I love it,love it,love it! I have tried to ride others but they never seem to offer what my Volpe can. The Volpe is a cross between a touring bike and cross bike. I have taken it on some rough singletrack, and though it did not burst into flames, it was a rough ride. I do ride it on old fire/logging roads and it does just fine. I mainlly use it for commuting and am happy with it! Did I mention I love it?

advicepig

I love my 1998 Volpe. I wouldn't say it was a true touring geometry as it has rather short chainstays for a touring bike, so if I'm not careful about how I load my bike, I can get a little heel strike on my rear panniers.

It's my favorite of my many bikes.

gerv 

I have a 2006 green Volpe.



I use it a lot and like it a lot too.

Terry66

I was in the same situation in that I wasn't sure how "useful" a drop bar bike with fat tires would be. I ended up with the Salsa Vaya and I couldn't be happier. I am running WTB 700X37 All Terrain tires. In fact, I am guessing since I got the Vaya, I have put 400 miles on it. My carbon road bike has maybe 20-30 miles in that time! I find that the all terrain tires roll fairly well on paved roads and it does great on dirt/gravel so I find I ride the Vaya all the time.

When I was in the market, I also looked at the Pake C'Mute and also the Soma Saga....both seem to be reasonably priced...although I was looking at frames to do my own build.

hubcap

The Volpe is a fantastic "do-it-all" bike. I ride it all seasons long. Plus it is a Bianchi, how can you miss out on that?

Roll the Bianchi and love the praise you will get from riding the Volpe. A Crosscheck is nice, but come on, everyone has one of those, and everyone would like to have a Volpe.




disclaimer: I do not own a Volpe. I do own a San Jose, which is basically a Volpe with track ends instead of drop outs. It is the most comfortable bike to ride that I own, which includes a lot of bikes and a lot of miles.

sam83

I've run my 03 Volpe with and without racks and fenders and everything from 23s to the stock WTBs. I found the candy red paint job too pretty for a commuter. Currently it is set up with 28s and 2 x 10 Sram and I use it for weekend rides and centuries. Several bikes have come and gone, but this is one of my favorites.

I also have an 08 Casseroll that I ride fixed, and I liked it so much that I snatched up a second one (insane deal) that I set up with some fat 37s and 3 x 9 for commuting, exploring rough back roads and for treacherous winter riding conditions.

Both bikes can be set up to do almost anything, and mine are set up to do different things, so it's hard to draw any good conclusions but that I like them both.

Epicus07

How much did you get your second casseroll for ? I've been passionately in love with them since I test rode one last year. I've fantasized about getting a good deal on one.

daleb116

The Volpe is nice. I purchased mine in 1994, one of the black and forest green versions. It has handled dirt and gravel roads and smooth pavement very well. It is a nice all around bike. I have done some commuting on mine. It should do the job for you.

tarwheel 

I just bought one of the new Casserolls. It cost about $550 for the frame, fork, seat collar and front rack. I swapped parts from another bike, and the total build cost me about $800 including labor. I needed to buy new canti brakes, a head set and stem to complete the build.

Epicus07

Sexy bike!

I love every thing about the new casseroll except for the weird super tall head tube.

You should get one of their rando front racks

tarwheel 

They all come with front racks, but I left mine off because I want to keep the weight down as much as possible. The tall head tube is what I like about the frame, because -- as you see -- I like to run my handlebars about level with the saddle. The head tube looks longer than it is because they dropped down the top tube to get more standover clearance.

clasher

The nashbar cross and touring frames seem like cheaper options in some cases.I really like the pake c'mute myself, if I had to recommend to a friend that'd be #1 with a surly in #2 since they seem easier to find around here.

Donkey Hodie

Oh, man! The Salsa Vaya and Casseroll both look very nice! All of Salsa's bikes look really nice this year actually. If I were you, and could afford it, I would go with either the Vaya or the Casseroll (probably the vaya). If you really wanted to get crazy with fat wheels and drop bars, check out the Salsa Fargo.

ecovelo

The Volpe has a shorter wheelbase and chainstay than your classic touring rig - but longer than a "regular" road bike.

I've got an 06' Castro Valley - same geometry as the San Jose and the Volpe - 9spd with Dynamo hub as "BarricksSi" posted earlier. I am currently selling mine in favor of a Salsa Vaya I recently purchased. My decision to go with the Vaya was based entirely on fit - I needed a slightly different HT angle and ST angle and the Vaya resolved my fit/injury issues immediately. Otherwise, I absolutely loved everything about the Castro Valley (ie; Volpe).

As others mentioned, these are dubbed "great all-around bikes" - the Volpe, the Cross Check, the Vaya (a little bit funky geometry - more "upright" I think), the Casseroll, are all very similar. Another well made bike (IMHO) is the Soma Double Check which is very similar to the Cross Check. The Soma for 2011 is a flat Ivory off white with dark orangy-brown detailing. Looks classy to some and not so much so to others - but you can still find some older models around (not many) in their former color (black) and Midnight Silver for the frame that takes disc brakes. The cool thing about the Soma and the Surly (? correct me if I'm wrong? - and maybe still the Salsa Vaya?) is that you can buy the frame only, and build them up yourself. Salsa also made the Vaya in Titanium last year - don't know if they still do.

This is fun.... isn't it?