Positron400

Hi,

I want to replace the commuter of my SO with something more modern (e.g. 1x10, STIs, etc..)
The current frame is on the really small (XS) side and I want something similar that ticks the following boxes:

• Rack and fender moutns
• Aluminium Frame (or something comparably lightweight in Steel)
• Cantilever brakes

Any frames that come to mind, that don't break the bank (~200 - 400 €?)
Only frame & fork for that price - components will be decided later on.

thanks!
BR
P!

squirtdad

Consider looking for a used mixte frame. some were quite nice

and I am thinking that as you appear to be in Europe there may be a large selection than in north america

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-throughs.html

PhilFo 

Pretty much any old mountain bike frame with a rigid fork would work. Early to mid-90s is a great era and these days they aren't all fetching insane prices like mid-80s mountain bikes.

Positron400

Any particular frame or model you would reccomend?

PhilFo 

Literally any of the big brands’ steel frame, rigid fork models. Make sure there is no deep rust.

icemilkcoffee 

I went through a similar exercise just now looking for a commute bike for our kid. For a commute bike , you should be using tubeless tires. In order to run tubeless tires you need tubeless wheels. You can find used tubeless wheelsets in the following configurations:
1. 700c/ 29' with 135mm hub spacing and disk brakes ('MTB')
2. 700c with 130mm hub spacing and rim brakes ('road')
3. 26" with 135mm hub spacing and disk brakes ('MTB')
4. 26" with 135mm spacing and rim brakes ('MTB', but very rare)

You want to find something that matches one of the above categories.
Some of the commute bikes you will find, will have 135mm hub spacing but rim brakes, making it hard or impossible for you to find compatible tubeless wheels. So you want to avoid those.
I ended up buying a Trek Navigator 200 with 26" wheels and rim brakes. I managed to find Mavic tubeless wheels for it, but like I said these are rare.

Positron400

Thanks for your suggestions! Why would I want to use tubeless tyres? In my experience they loose air much faster than a regular butyl tube and I don't really see them as necessary on a commuter/beater.

Leisesturm

Beat me to it. WTF? All the misery documented in these forums when tubeless goes wrong and someone recommends someone put their commute on the Roulette Wheel of Tubeless Success? But as long as I am here I might caution you to at least expect V-Brakes on the bikes you find for sale. Cantilevers started going away in the mid-80's. You want a bike from the early 90's onward. You want a bike you can make happy with 4/5/6 mm Allen wrenches and a Phillips Head screwdriver. 135mm OLD rear hub. V-brakes are almost a given at this price/age juxtaposition.

Positron400

I don't mind cantis, but appreciate the ease of use and stopping power of V-brakes. Only "issue" I've come across, are the godawful paint jobs those aluminium mountain bikes from the 90ties came with.. Jeebus - is there nothing subtle out there?

Iride01 

Hard to tell you what to look at when we don't know where you are. Trek has a line of bikes called Electra that might fit your bill. But they aren't available everywhere in Europe. They do sell them in the UK, Here is the UK site for the Electra Loft 7i. https://electra.trekbikes.com/gb/en_...ode=greenlight

If it doesn't recognize your actual location and change the country, then click the flag in the top right of the page and tell it where you are. The USA site has a lot more models, some with cargo racks on them already. But for more than you are wanting to spend.

Specialized has the Roll, but again, depending on where you are it might not be available. Here is the site in Spain... https://www.specialized.com/es/en/sh...es/roll/c/roll

At your budget, you'll probably have to add your own racks or basket unless you are looking for what others refer to a BSO that comes from a big box store. But if that's all you can do then BSO's are okay by me.

icemilkcoffee 

If you never get flats where you ride, then you are right- there is no point to tubeless. But if you regularly get punctures like we do here in Western US, then tubeless is definitely needed.

Leisesturm

It really doesn't work like that. It really doesn't. Flats happen. Pretty much anywhere. Very few places are totally flat free. BUT it was wrong. Criminally so, for tire manufacturers to bake in a fallacy among the faithful that the way to happiness was using goop inside of tires to seal flats! You prevent flats by making the tire robust enough that wires, glass, etc. does not penetrate the carcass!

Does this make the tire heavier? You betcha. And? And nothing. It's not a deal-breaker if a flat is. It slays me when someone calculates how much air is supposed to be in their tires to the single digit psi of accuracy and before they get 1/4 of the way to their destination their tire(s) is 10psi off of that carefully computed optimal pressure rating per their Silca Pressure Calculator. When, or if, tubeless tires are made in the sufficiently robust construction to resist the majority of road irritants like, say a Marathon Plus, they will be ready for prime time. That is what car and motorcycle tires are now. You don't put Stan's in a car tire because 1" of reinforced rubber, kevlar and steel belting and bias ply construction serve to make a pretty impervious barrier to all but major damage.

If your car or motorcycle tire is damaged on the road, you cannot fix the flat yourself. The tire is changed out and you ride on a spare until the tire can be repaired at a facility with the right tooling for the job. Roadside repair of tubeless tires is a kludge to bring a semblance of practicality to the answer to a question nobody asked. There is a special spot in Hell waiting for the miscreants that foisted this money grab on an unsuspecting bicycle community. The need to pretend bicycles are in need of automotive anything was a guaranteed hook. Works every time.

Positron400

thanks for the suggestions - I am, as you correctly inferred, in the EU.

DangerousDanR

First, let me point out a minor factual error: modern automobile tires are all radial ply tires.

The rest of this is opinion based on who knows what. Tubeless tires are superior in performance and reliability to a heavy tire like a Marathon.

I used to run Marathons on our tandem. I had plenty of flats. The true statement in the post I quoted is that things do happen, including flat tires on a bike.

Changing a tube on the road is not that big a deal, but it is more of a deal than not knowing that you had a puncture until you are checking your bike prior to riding the next day, which is how I have discovered most of the punctures I have had with tubeless tires.

The tandem is now running GP 5000 tubeless. The first set wore out after a few thousand miles with zero road side repairs. Once the cord was showing I ran a couple of backer board screws into them, pulled them out, and yes they still held 90 PSI.

I have had 15 mm cuts that made me replace a tire, but they sealed in the field. Just had to top up the pressure and ride home.

But the feature of self sealing punctures is not the best thing about tubeless tires. They just ride better and require less effort than tires like the marathon, along with being more reliable.

So keep on riding on garden hose tires, but be aware that they are inferior in performance. The only bike I still have tubes in has rims that don't support tubeless tires and it is a vintage bike which I keep mostly hanging on a hook in the garage.

Positron400

I love that this drifted off into a tangent about wether tubless is better than tubes, but kindly lets get back on topic

john m flores 

Perhaps a well-kitted folder? I've seen people hang nice components on a Tern, Dahon, Bike Friday, etc... and they look sharp. And the 20" wheels enable low standover height.
I run a Slime tube in the rear tire of my town bike - a Zizzo Liberte. Seems like a good compromise between tubes and tubeless.

Doug Fattic 

A couple of questions to help narrow down the search. How many kilometers is the commute? Is there a preference for drop or upright handlebars? For shorter distances, an internally geared hub is very convenient because it can be shifted while coasting or standing still.

squirtdad

as noted off topic of the frame choices ...which I still vote for looking for a nice mixte will most likely be lighter (and put dual pivot brakes on it for braking)

as to tubeless for commuting. I don't see the need. especially for road bikes (and I have commuted in san jose area for over 30 years), if you do get a flat with tubeless you are stuck with a difficult to remove tire that you may or may note be able to reseat in the wild and hope you brought a tube. yes there are fix kits etc which work to varying degrees and are getting better

of course the curmudgeon in me says for the hassle of tubeless you could got tubular and have a super quick flat fix carrying a spare...but that is just stirring the pot

Positron400

the commute would be about 5 km, but I would be mostly for grocery shopping, and running errands on the daily, hence why racks/fenders are a requirement.
Flat bars most likely, but not opposed to drops
Internally geared would not be something I will be looking at, since i don't wanna tinker with those if i can avoid it. A regular RD will do fine. 8-10 speed and likely a 1x setup.

Positron400

thanks, i was looking at that thread and it's a wonderful colection of seriously great looking mixties.What i took up as another requirement was, that the colour scheme should be 2 to 3 frame colours (preferably pink/blue/white.. i know, i know we are getting specific) and not one colour + decals.

john m flores 

My girlfriend has a Priority L-Train for her commuter. It's got an internal 8 speed rear hub and Gates belt drive. It's completely maintenance-free, which is great for an all-season commuter.

pink/blue/white sounds awesome! But you may need a custom paint job to pull that off.

Another idea for low standover - minivelo - Something like a Velo Orange Neutrino with custom paint, beefy tires for comfort, fenders and racks, and all that.




From: https://bikepacking.com/bikes/velo-o...utrino-review/

t2p

consider following options which might click most but not all boxes

Cannondale Quick

Specialized Sirrus

Specialized Vita (?)

Trek FX

Jamis Coda (and similar)

Kona Dew (?)

the old school 90’s mtbs can also be a great option as previously suggested - but would need to be the smallest sizes and / or with sloping top tube ; many if not most will have slightly higher bb height (so standover can be raised)

Trek FX was offered in a 13” size with a very low stand over - might have been the women’s specific models

t2p

Trek FX - 13”

t2p

Giant ATX - 13.5

t2p

Cannondale Quick - small (also offered in XS)