Disc-ready frameset with loads of tyre clearance
Discussion
Currently (still) having a bit of a dilemma about what to buy to replace my commuting bike.
I definitely want disc brakes to save on wheel wear and brake cleaning &adjustment but am considering two types of bike:
i) A hybrid-type thing, maybe with 26" wheels and hub gears, like the Cube Hyde Race or Editor.
ii) A cyclocross-based bike, probably ali-carbon framed.
Obviously a 'cross-type bike would be lighter and faster but I don't want one off the shelf as I want straight bars, triple chainset and will probably run an 8-speed or 9-speed transmission for durability, hence I need a frameset for a custom build.
Any suggestions or experience?
Cheers,
Ben
I definitely want disc brakes to save on wheel wear and brake cleaning &adjustment but am considering two types of bike:
i) A hybrid-type thing, maybe with 26" wheels and hub gears, like the Cube Hyde Race or Editor.
ii) A cyclocross-based bike, probably ali-carbon framed.
Obviously a 'cross-type bike would be lighter and faster but I don't want one off the shelf as I want straight bars, triple chainset and will probably run an 8-speed or 9-speed transmission for durability, hence I need a frameset for a custom build.
Any suggestions or experience?
Cheers,
Ben
Genesis Croix de Fer? Steel as opposed to alloy but you can get it as a frameset, and my local bike shop builds up loads of them into all kinds of strange specs, often with MTB drivetrains and flat bars.
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adventure/fram...
Alternatively there's the Tour de Fer which is cheaper (steel fork not carbon) and is similar, but with a longer wheelbase.
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adventure/fram...
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adventure/fram...
Alternatively there's the Tour de Fer which is cheaper (steel fork not carbon) and is similar, but with a longer wheelbase.
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adventure/fram...
Budget? The Croix de Fer is solid, but both is and feels heavy IME. Kinesis Crosslight or Decade Tripster ATR maybe. Or Planet-X XLS/Dirty Disco. Or get a used Specialized Sirrus Pro - I have one (from 2006): alloy frame with carbon seatstays and fork, Zertz inserts, carbon post, carbon flat bar, 3x9, hydraulic discs - what's not to like? I used it for commuting before I became a full-on road bike junkie, and still use it tool around at our holiday place. Massive tyre clearance, too.
BGarside said:
Looks nice, also available in my size (I need at least 60cm).
Could be a good basis for a commuter build, though I guess there'll be a weight penalty vs. an ali-carbon frameset. Will keep it in mind though.
Any other suggestions guys?
The weight penalty isn't going to be much more than one kilo over something with similar clearances - you aren't looking at 1kg carbon frames here and most ally ones will be over 2kg. I think steel would suit that type of bike better as a material, unless you're chasing lightness it's hard to beat for the price in terms of ride quality for normal use.Could be a good basis for a commuter build, though I guess there'll be a weight penalty vs. an ali-carbon frameset. Will keep it in mind though.
Any other suggestions guys?
964Cup said:
Budget? The Croix de Fer is solid, but both is and feels heavy IME. Kinesis Crosslight or Decade Tripster ATR maybe. Or Planet-X XLS/Dirty Disco. Or get a used Specialized Sirrus Pro - I have one (from 2006): alloy frame with carbon seatstays and fork, Zertz inserts, carbon post, carbon flat bar, 3x9, hydraulic discs - what's not to like? I used it for commuting before I became a full-on road bike junkie, and still use it tool around at our holiday place. Massive tyre clearance, too.
Maybe £1000-1300. Have looked at Kinesis before but I think they lack the tyre clearance I need (32-35mm, plus 'guards), plus possibly have toe overlap issues.Will check out the Decade Tripster and Planet X options as I was not aware of them - thanks.
Nothing against steel frames - most of the bike I've ever owned have been steel - I just thought an ali bike might be a tad lighter and livelier to ride, given I probably cover at least half my annual mileage on my commuting bike.
Cotic Escapade? You can run 700x46 apparently, proper 9mm bolt through fork as well. £1k gets you a 18sp Sora equipped bike from Cotic but if you get the frame and shop around a bit there is no reason why you couldnt get the frameset, a 105 groupset and wheels, some nice finishing kit and still be in budget. Its steel but Cotic do steel very well....
BGarside said:
Nothing against steel frames - most of the bike I've ever owned have been steel - I just thought an ali bike might be a tad lighter and livelier to ride, given I probably cover at least half my annual mileage on my commuting bike.
I have one steel bike, one ali and one carbon. The steel one is by far the heaviest which does blunt the performance (hub gears don't help either) but I really don't think they feel less lively to ride than the others. Carbon will be stiffer for sure, but for the budget I don't think you'll be getting 'good' carbon so there's less in it at the lower end of the quality scale. The Planet-X XLS doesn't have guard mounts so you'd have to get creative with P-clips. When I looked there didn't seem to be many Carbon CX bikes at all with guard mounts. I went for an ali Specialized Diverge, partly because the geometry was better (for me) than a CX bike with the usual short top tube. After swapping and selling the groupset I ended up with a 10spd Ultegra set up for £1K.
Edited by benny.c on Tuesday 3rd February 16:12
As you're after a flat bar with discs, I wouldn't go the route of building a frame from the ground up.
Why? Because there is such a colossal amount of value in these bikes as ready made builds at the moment, particularly with 24/27 speeds.
Look at the hybrid range from Evans. Narrowing your search to hybrid - rigid - hydraulic discs brings up a number of really interesting possibilities.
Slap on mudguards and a pair of Ergo grips and you're golden.
Why? Because there is such a colossal amount of value in these bikes as ready made builds at the moment, particularly with 24/27 speeds.
Look at the hybrid range from Evans. Narrowing your search to hybrid - rigid - hydraulic discs brings up a number of really interesting possibilities.
Slap on mudguards and a pair of Ergo grips and you're golden.
pablo said:
Cotic Escapade? You can run 700x46 apparently, proper 9mm bolt through fork as well. £1k gets you a 18sp Sora equipped bike from Cotic but if you get the frame and shop around a bit there is no reason why you couldnt get the frameset, a 105 groupset and wheels, some nice finishing kit and still be in budget. Its steel but Cotic do steel very well....
Cheers, but biggest frame size is 54cm C-T, but I'd need at least 60cm.Barchettaman said:
As you're after a flat bar with discs, I wouldn't go the route of building a frame from the ground up.
Why? Because there is such a colossal amount of value in these bikes as ready made builds at the moment, particularly with 24/27 speeds.
Look at the hybrid range from Evans. Narrowing your search to hybrid - rigid - hydraulic discs brings up a number of really interesting possibilities.
Slap on mudguards and a pair of Ergo grips and you're golden.
I know what you mean - building from a frameset isn't cheap. I went that route with my current commuter and it came in at around £950 14 years ago, and based on a cheap sale frame that only cost about £150 at the time...Why? Because there is such a colossal amount of value in these bikes as ready made builds at the moment, particularly with 24/27 speeds.
Look at the hybrid range from Evans. Narrowing your search to hybrid - rigid - hydraulic discs brings up a number of really interesting possibilities.
Slap on mudguards and a pair of Ergo grips and you're golden.
Might be more economic to look at adapting a complete bike to my required spec.,and selling the unwanted stuff (drop bars, STIs, 10- or 11-speed equipment) unused to cover some of the costs.
Will take a look at Evans - cheers.
BGarside said:
I know what you mean - building from a frameset isn't cheap. I went that route with my current commuter and it came in at around £950 14 years ago, and based on a cheap sale frame that only cost about £150 at the time...
Might be more economic to look at adapting a complete bike to my required spec.,and selling the unwanted stuff (drop bars, STIs, 10- or 11-speed equipment) unused to cover some of the costs.
Will take a look at Evans - cheers.
As you're looking for flat bar and (presumably hydraulic, for ease of maintenance) disc brakes, you may very well end up out of pocket.Might be more economic to look at adapting a complete bike to my required spec.,and selling the unwanted stuff (drop bars, STIs, 10- or 11-speed equipment) unused to cover some of the costs.
Will take a look at Evans - cheers.
Bear in mind that mech discs like the Avid BB7 is different in road and flat bar applications.
Don't overthink this one, I'm normally the world's biggest fan for building from the ground up, but I reckon you'd be better off with a prebuilt bike. The things are just so damn cheap as flatbat hybrids.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=1...
I thought I might build up a flat-bar bike with this frame and some other components this seller has on Ebay, including their CF wheels and seat post. I'd add an On One Og bar, a decent 1x10 drive train and a load of red anodised ali components.
Reckon it'd cost around 1300 quid but should be pretty decent.
I thought I might build up a flat-bar bike with this frame and some other components this seller has on Ebay, including their CF wheels and seat post. I'd add an On One Og bar, a decent 1x10 drive train and a load of red anodised ali components.
Reckon it'd cost around 1300 quid but should be pretty decent.
I'm a bit confused about your 8-9 speed for durability comment??
You will not suffer any issues running 10-11 speed and in fact it will make your ride nicer having the extra gearing plus the fact that getting parts for 8-9 speed is quickly becoming harder as they are now considered antiques.
You will not suffer any issues running 10-11 speed and in fact it will make your ride nicer having the extra gearing plus the fact that getting parts for 8-9 speed is quickly becoming harder as they are now considered antiques.
ecsrobin said:
...the fact that getting parts for 8-9 speed is quickly becoming harder as they are now considered antiques.
This is incorrect. Shimano have just launched a new 8-speed groupset, Claris, and a new 7-speed groupset (Tourney) for the budget market.7/8/9 speed will be available until the end of time. Your local LBS may not have the exact cassette you require on hand but someone online will.
I would take issue, however, with the assumption that 8/9 speed drivetrains wear slower than their 10 speed equivalents. Tests on MTB drivetrains have shown that the best 10-speed chains actually wear slower than their 9-speed equivalents. Apparently this is because, in making them thinner, they make the chains a lot stronger.
As I have previously mentioned I upgraded my steel commuter from an 8-speed Shimano mashup drivertrain to 10-speed Tiagra. There has been no accellerated wear that I can perceive after approx. 2500km.
By far the overriding factor in how fast - or slowly! - a drivetrain wears is the care you take in ensuring it is free from contamination. That heady mix of road dust, mud and chain oil makes a lovely grinding paste that will destroy chains and cassettes in no time at all. Getting rid of is absolutely key.
Barchettaman said:
This is incorrect. Shimano have just launched a new 8-speed groupset, Claris, and a new 7-speed groupset (Tourney) for the budget market.
7/8/9 speed will be available until the end of time. Your local LBS may not have the exact cassette you require on hand but someone online will.
I would take issue, however, with the assumption that 8/9 speed drivetrains wear slower than their 10 speed equivalents. Tests on MTB drivetrains have shown that the best 10-speed chains actually wear slower than their 9-speed equivalents. Apparently this is because, in making them thinner, they make the chains a lot stronger.
As I have previously mentioned I upgraded my steel commuter from an 8-speed Shimano mashup drivertrain to 10-speed Tiagra. There has been no accellerated wear that I can perceive after approx. 2500km.
By far the overriding factor in how fast - or slowly! - a drivetrain wears is the care you take in ensuring it is free from contamination. That heady mix of road dust, mud and chain oil makes a lovely grinding paste that will destroy chains and cassettes in no time at all. Getting rid of is absolutely key.
I'd prefer a 7- or 8-speed set-up because I don't require or use more than 7 sprockets on the back of any of my bikes. I find a close-ratio cassette a waste of time as it's just more shifting for the ame amount of forward progress. I use a 7-speed 12-28T on all my bikes and just vary the chainring sizes to alter the gearing depending on the type of bike.7/8/9 speed will be available until the end of time. Your local LBS may not have the exact cassette you require on hand but someone online will.
I would take issue, however, with the assumption that 8/9 speed drivetrains wear slower than their 10 speed equivalents. Tests on MTB drivetrains have shown that the best 10-speed chains actually wear slower than their 9-speed equivalents. Apparently this is because, in making them thinner, they make the chains a lot stronger.
As I have previously mentioned I upgraded my steel commuter from an 8-speed Shimano mashup drivertrain to 10-speed Tiagra. There has been no accellerated wear that I can perceive after approx. 2500km.
By far the overriding factor in how fast - or slowly! - a drivetrain wears is the care you take in ensuring it is free from contamination. That heady mix of road dust, mud and chain oil makes a lovely grinding paste that will destroy chains and cassettes in no time at all. Getting rid of is absolutely key.
I'd also prefer a 7- or 8-speed setup for ease of adjustment of indexing, plus cheap replacement cassettes, chains, etc.
My current commuter runs a 9-speed set-up and by using three chains in rotation I expect to get at least 10k miles from the chainrinng and cassette.
I spend a lot of time cleaning the transmission
, but it's a royal PITA at this time of year and I did consider getting a hub-geared bike and running a 1/8" chain and chainring to try to reduce the maintenance requirements. But then again, the hub will still need maintenance eventually and fixing punctures would also be more of a pain...my thoughts on the requirement: if you are building a bike from the frame it is clearly going to cost, but i am going to assume that is not a problem. whilst i don't agree with a lot of your requirements (you simply don't need them as a stock bike in my option will do) i acknowledge everyone is different in their wants. therefore my suggestions are:
get yourself a kinesis tripster atr frame. it is a titanium frame which is wonderfully light and absorbs lots of road bumps. there is masses of clearance for tyres unto 40mm. i run the bike as my commute and have just put on for the last couple of days some 700x35 studded tyres for the snow and ice. normally i run schwalbe marathon plus at size 38mm with mudguards in the winter. in the summer i run continental gatorskin 700x25 and remove the mudguards.
if you are looking at hub gears, you want tyres that aren't going to get flats as replacing tyres with hubs is a pain as you rightly point out. to this end the schwalbe marathon pluses are the only option. i covered over 8000 commuting miles with not one flat. i would advise shimano alpine 8 speed hub which i have on another bike and it works brilliantly. i can't remember the ratios but with the 8 gears i can climb 10 - 15% gradients and cruise very comfortably at 20+ mph on the flats.
some pics of my current commuter just cos i love it so much, together with a picture of the studded tyres which are amazing in the ice...
get yourself a kinesis tripster atr frame. it is a titanium frame which is wonderfully light and absorbs lots of road bumps. there is masses of clearance for tyres unto 40mm. i run the bike as my commute and have just put on for the last couple of days some 700x35 studded tyres for the snow and ice. normally i run schwalbe marathon plus at size 38mm with mudguards in the winter. in the summer i run continental gatorskin 700x25 and remove the mudguards.
if you are looking at hub gears, you want tyres that aren't going to get flats as replacing tyres with hubs is a pain as you rightly point out. to this end the schwalbe marathon pluses are the only option. i covered over 8000 commuting miles with not one flat. i would advise shimano alpine 8 speed hub which i have on another bike and it works brilliantly. i can't remember the ratios but with the 8 gears i can climb 10 - 15% gradients and cruise very comfortably at 20+ mph on the flats.
some pics of my current commuter just cos i love it so much, together with a picture of the studded tyres which are amazing in the ice...
Edited by Rob_T on Wednesday 4th February 12:28
Edited by Rob_T on Wednesday 4th February 12:28
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