badger1

I've read your posts carefully, and will chime in; for what it's worth, I would echo big john's comments in this thread: sounds like a modern 'gravel'-type bike -- flat bar -- would suit you very well. I'm 72, and various (health) issues have taken me away from mountain biking and 'road cycling' and more toward what you describe yourself as doing.

Frame material is, I think, a wash. A good crabon carbon frame would serve you very well; it does me, and is I think an option. I ride a purpose-designed carbon-framed, 1x, flat-bar bike that has clearance for up to 40mm tires. I use 32s, but that's because I find them more than adequate for my cycling. Bike is a Specialized Sirrus (pic below), but there are lots of other choices now. A good example would be Trek's new FX Sport range (https://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en_CA/fx-sport/).

I see no reason why a bike of this sort wouldn't last you for years; I certainly think mine will. And: no batteries required!

Bearonabike

My current Coda will likely take 35mm tires but wider is definitely out of the question based on the current 32mm tires on the bike. I very much enjoy my 2017 Coda and for an upright bike and road riding, I would highly recommend it. I'm looking for a bike that will allow me tires in the 2 inch width, plus or minus a small bit. It occurred to me that I haven't checked the "local" greenways for about 2 years and a review of the web this AM proves that gravel path still rules the day for anything in comfortably driveable distance.

The more I look into what I want, the more the Surly Ogre or Bridge Club check a lot of boxes. I have yet to go to my local coop and see of they have a mountain bike that may be able to fit my bill and I definitely want to do that.

I have paid a few "local" shops a visit. Inevitably, I get a 20-something sales person telling me I want a carbon frame with hydraulic disk brakes (this I will consider) and other "features" that I have read about and decided really aren't a make or break need. I'm a bit of a Luddite and the conversation often devolves into "you're talking to a man whose favorite bike is twice your age." Not against new, I think disk brakes are a great evolution and understand that their wet performance is good. Having to repack cup and cone bottom brackets is not something I miss AT ALL. That makes disk brakes and newer sealed bottom brackets desirable for me. Still, I hear so often that "steel frames are almost non-existent in new bikes" and think about Surly and Jamis and their credibility plummets. One of these people even worked in a shop that sold Surly!

Well, the search continues, but Surly is really starting to stand out in my mind. Still, I do want to try a Jamis Sequel https://www.jamisbikes.com/sequel/, they are steel frames with 47C tires making me wonder if they wouldn't accommodate a 2" tire, and the 1/3 less price tag has its attraction.

Question: Do bikes still come with Dork Discs? I've had more than one occasion in my life where I was glad I didn't remove the one I got with the bike.

Bearonabike

Thanks for that, I gave the FX a look. I owned one back in the early 2000s. It was a really good bike but the tires a narrower than I want. I do wish you much enjoyment with your beautiful ride.

ironwood

You're only 58, you might have another 25 years of biking (with luck). I'd go for a custom steel bike. Put your name on a list of a good builder. Another possibility is to put wide 650B wheels, and a taller stem and handlebars on your S-12s. You might be able to fit 42mm wide tires on it. Then you would have something comfortable and capable of handling dirt roads and some trails..

Bearonabike

Thew Fuji comes with 27" wheels a size which I am still running on the bike, and they are 1.25 inch tires (32mm). If I go to 650B, then I have a brake problem. I could convert to 700CX32 but there is no way that I can think of to get the brakes to work out, especially the rear center pull. The flare on the fork isn't that great either. Thanks for the suggestion and I am wondering of the Jamis Aurora I have may be a candidate for this. Would have to try a bike with 42mm wheels to see if that width will work for me.

Monoborracho

I am 71, own a Paramount, a Soma Saga touring bike, a BlueT-12 tri bike, and a 1990's Schwinn Mesa MTB (pretty much last of the real Schwinn's, Paramount's excepted) that was build up over the years to 9 speed XT. And my beauty is a custom Seven Axiom OO7 tandem with couplers with which my sweet stoker and I traveled all over the USA and much of the world.
My next and probably last bike will be a Ti gravel type with 2xsomething cable shifting and two sets of custom wheels, with eyelets for fenders and at least a rear rack, maybe a front too. I have a frame in mind. I wish I could still get top line 9 speed shifters. Bar ends don't scare me so maybe.

There, I've said it.

Joe F

I bought my last bike at 56. I just replaced it with a new one for my 66th. I now have my last bike.....until the next one!

70sSanO

Have you ridden any of the gravel, off road, trails in your area? If you are not going to ride on the roads and are limited to bike paths and gravel, you should probably find out if you can rent a flat bar gravel bike and take it for an afternoon.

Leaving cars and pedestrians with baby strollers behind can be incredibly freeing. Gravel can be all over the board and you will find out if you want to ride a rigid or need a bit of suspension.

John

bruce19

I've bought my last bike many times.

biker128pedal

That's why I'm going to abandon or well change my rim brake adventure touring project bike with the Trek 1000 frame to a standard road bike. Keep the Aeolus Pro 5 wheels on it. Then get a disc brake frame for the 3x setup. Both won’t be light. But oh well.




N+1

t2p

agree - gravel can be all over the board

I always recommend rigid and advise against suspension unless absolutely required - and/or not for the primary (only) bike

recommend wider / fat tires - and maybe Redshift stem (?) or similar

I have bikes with suspension - including a hybrid with headshok and a gravel bike with lefty suspension fork; we sometimes ride on some rough mups and gravel surfaces - so most times I will ride those bikes when we plan to ride on rough surfaces

some other riders in our small group will also ride a different bike (with suspension) when we ride on those rough surfaces

only issue is when you ride on those rough surfaces and some other riders in the group are struggling (due to lack of suspension or whatever)

roadfix

I’ve also bought my “last bike” many times.. lol
Last year, I bought a new Surly frame and built that up, thinking, at age 68, it’ll probably be my last bike. Then earlier this year, I picked up a new Ritchey frameset and built that up as a bikepacking rig. Then, just a few weeks ago, while bikepacking, I decided I needed an e-bike to help me up steep climbs with 30 lbs of camping gear. So now, I have an e-bike setup as a bikepacking rig. That was my last bike….

alcjphil

73 years old now. Last year I wanted to take a different direction so I started looking into gravel bikes. I had been a long time mountain biker, but also had been riding and racing on the road for many years. I wanted a bike that could handle unpaved roads easily, be able to handle uncomplicated single track and still not too sluggish on pavement. This is what I came up with:

It may not be what you are thinking about, but it has room for 2" wide tires

PeteHski

That bike ticks a lot of boxes for an all-rounder.

pbass

All I can suggest, is go with the biggest rubber you can, and tubeless. I'm 63, and ride two different steel gravel rigs. My ride with 650B x 48 tires is simply cushy. It's essentially like suspension. I can run insanely low PSI and never (knock on wood) flat. I ride the same rig on our rocky singletrack and the road and everything inbetween. I can't see going to skinnier rubber ever again(and if you follow the advice of folks like Grant Peterson and Jan Heine, bigger and more supple tires are not slower than skinny hard as rock tires). So personally I think you're on the right track with the Bridge Club and bikes of that ilk.

Pitts64

I noticed the customers that ride Marins always seem to keep riding. I bought a new Marin Citizen from a buddy for $300. He works on bikes and built mine for him. But his lugs gave out on him from drug use back in the 70s.
This bike is a dream to ride! I recently adjusted the seat and thought something went wrong with the pedals and crank because it was so easy to pump in high or next to hi gears.
Its has a;
- 15 frame
-Alex rims NinteenTA.
-Tevativ crank / VP pedals.
-Tektro Disc brakes.
-Shimano Altus 3 sprokets.
-Shimano Alivio Mega drive train 8 sprokets.

I dont know much about bikes. The last brand new bike I bought was a 1969 Huffy Stiletto CS-5 drag bike. I loved that bike!

ofajen

I like to say that riding 2” tires means never having to say you’re sorry.

Otto

Alan K

The brand of a bicycle you buy is a matter of personal choice but from the perspective of having back problems, you probably will be better off with something that allows you a more upright posture and a comfortable seat.
in my case, I modified two my bicycles, one was a road bicycle with fairly high end components (all DurAce) and the other was a steel frame touring bike. When I was done with my modifications, both had old-fashioned handle bars (Nitto, Japan) which made it simpler for me to sit up straight. The road bike used to weigh about 18lb and modifications did not change weight significantly because shifter/brakes were replaced by bar end shifters and simple brakes. The new leather seat added some weight. This bike could not accommodate wider than 25mm tires. The touring bicycle was heavier steel bike (about 28 lb), it could accommodate much thicker tires and I used 32mm tires on it. This bike seemed more comfortable and more stable. In the beginning, I mostly used this bicycle but after about 6-8 months when my back muscles became stronger, I was able to switch to the lighter bicycle.
But before I started using any bicycle during the paeriod of back pain, I had physical therapist help me on alternate days (2-3 times a week) and I performed recommended exercises at home daily to strengthen muscles around the spinal column. As these muscles grew stronger, they took some load off the vertebrae, reducing the pain. I would highly recommend this strategy.
I realize that you have “opted” for bicycling only but in my case, I swam a fair bit - swimming is an excellent way to exercise majority of you body muscles without putting too much load on your joints or vertebrae. I would strongly recommend combining swimming with bicycling.
Best wishes for your speedy recovery and good health!

ironwood

Some S12 Ss have been converted. Longer reach centerpulls like the Dia-Compe/Weinmann 750's or Mafac raids (if you can find some) should reach.. I think you could fit a 650Bx42 inthe frame. If you look at some 650B threads on the classic and Vintage forum, you should find an example.

Alan K

In last few years, I have toyed with the idea of getting a bicycle that suits my current needs - not going to label it as my last bicycle! 😉
I would like to have a touring/gravel (or whatever is current description) bicycle that can fulfill the following:
1. A more upright sitting position than typical road bikes,
2. Frame/fork geometry to allow stability (as in not too responsive/twitchy like some of my road bikes),
3. Able to accommodate tires up to 42 mm (I’ll probably use 32mm more often),
4. Belt driven (suggestions on belt versus chain),
5. internal gears hub [(Rohloff versus Shimano?) - I have never used a bicycle with hubs containing internal gears]!
6. Disk brakes (hydrolic versus mechanical)
7. Choice of frame material/supplier (I’m somewhat uncertain about carbon frames but feel more comfortable relying on various metal options).
8. I would prefer if the bike doesn’t weigh a ton (a ton in my bicycle world is about 30-32 lb).

Given the above list, I wish I could also say that cost is not an issue but to a degree, it will be. However, I do have several decent road bicycles that can be sold because some of them are barely getting used, the least used one is an old Waterford that was not inexpensive in its time (a couple of decades ago). I would probably save a couple and get rid of the rest.

I don’t see myself as trying to set any personal records of speed at this point. I’m more inclined to go relatively longer distances comfortably with as little worry about repairing a broken bicycle in the middle of towns that are miles away from me when it happens. Initially, I’ll limit the distance to under 70-80 miles per day for each of day trips. Once I’m feeling a little more adventurous, I’ll begin longer multiple days trips.

Suggestions?

PeteHski

Not really my thing, but there is a comprehensive list of suitable bikes on this website:-

https://www.cyclingabout.com/list-of...d-bikepacking/

Alan K

Thank you!

I’m hoping that someone with personal experience will share some thoughts.