Drop-bar disc commuters

[KelOnWheels]

Surly Straggler or All-City Macho Man Disc?

[Drewdane]

I read somewhere recently that Surly is going to start putting disc mounts on the Cross Check. Makes me want to leave my current CC unlocked in downtown DC.

[mstone]

I’d personally lean toward aluminum rather than steel for a winter commuter. And if you want 45mm clearance you’re going to have a pretty short list; if you drop your requirement to 35 or 40 you’ll have a lot more choices and can still get studs & fenders.

[Drewdane]

Specialized makes nice bikes but the company is run by scumbags, if that matters to you.

Just the latest example in a looong line.

[ronwalf]

@mstone 71314 wrote:

I’d personally lean toward aluminum rather than steel for a winter commuter. And if you want 45mm clearance you’re going to have a pretty short list; if you drop your requirement to 35 or 40 you’ll have a lot more choices and can still get studs & fenders.

That’s why there’s the titanium one on the list 40 + fenders is fine. Usually they required 5-8mm of clearance, thus the 45mm total.

[mstone]

@ronwalf 71318 wrote:

That’s why there’s the titanium one on the list 40 + fenders is fine. Usually they required 5-8mm of clearance, thus the 45mm total.

Well, a gold plated bike would also be corrosion resistant, but given the parenthetical comment on the titanium one I left those options off.

[ronwalf]

@mstone 71320 wrote:

Well, a gold plated bike would also be corrosion resistant, but given the parenthetical comment on the titanium one I left those options off.

Many of the aluminum ones come with steel forks, so I’m not sure how much it buys me. The Kona Jake is all aluminum and doesn’t look like a bad choice, so I put it on the list. In practice (on my steel commuter), frame rust is just cosmetic. Everything else will die a thousand deaths in the rain before rust compromises the integrity of the frame.

[vvill]

What, no internal hub gear/belt drive requirement?

I used to think I wanted the ultimate commuter bike too, and I did get a drop bar disc brake bike that can handle rack/fenders (Kona Jake) but I commute on it less than I expected… winter conditions and road salt, urggghh. (But it does fine as a gravel grinder and okay as a CX rig too). I think now I would prefer something that just has very few moving parts, or even a cheap 26″ MTB beater bike (which I use for studded tire rides). I’ve also learned that gears aren’t actually necessary on my commute.

If it were me, I would probably go with a Salsa Fargo (I’ve always been intrigued by that bike), or the Macho Man Disc (love the paint scheme) but then my n+1 habits/preferences obviously depend on what bases I’ve already got covered. I liked that Redline a lot in the model year I was looking at too (12+ months ago), but no LBS had them ready to look at in stock. The paint scheme is more boring again now though imo. Jamis I dropped off my list because at the time their rear spacing was all 130mm instead of 135mm (and I was only looking at Al bikes).

Some other ideas here, maybe: http://www.joe-bike.com/bikes/commuter-bikes/
They also have a 56cm Spot Mod Disc SS for half price. If it were a size down I would’ve bought it!

[ronwalf]

@vvill 71326 wrote:

I used to think I wanted the ultimate commuter bike too, … but I commute on it less than I expected…
If it were me, I would probably go with a Salsa Fargo

I have space constraints, so this’ll be my only bike. I seem to be out in the muck regardless of how much my bike hates it, so I’m not too worried about how much I’ll ride it.

I have an inquiry in with this guy, so that Fargo may come to pass (or not – that ad is ancient).

[americancyclo]

I rode a trek Portland today that wasn’t half bad, but I think it is discontinued. Maybe cl or eBay?

[hozn]

So I would add the Van Dessel WTF to your list (Cullimerc, do you have yours yet??). In addition to supporting massive clearance it also allows for belt drive. Pretty much perfect spec-wise. But, yeah, it is steel.

As an owner of the Habanero ti frame, I think you could probably build it cheaper than $2700 if you were wiling to have some of the components be used (and sourced NOS stuff heavily otherwise).

I definitely like my frame and hope it lasts for many years, but if I were specing out the perfect frame,I would give weight to a tapered headtube for supporting newer forks (though Ritchey is going to make a full-carbon cx fork with straight 1 1/8 steerer — but no eyelets). I would also prefer rear caliper mounted to chainstay to minimize required fender stay creativity. Also not sure about tire clearance. I assume 700×42 would fit, less sure about 45 — but I haven’t gone above 34. I plan to go bigger for my next off-road tires.

But I support the concept of disc drop-bar commuter wholeheartedly. This would be my one bike if I could only keep one (shudder!).

[Greenbelt]

If you like the feel of steel, consider the Kona Rove?

[video=vimeo;54855823]https://vimeo.com/54855823[/video]

[Dirt]

Cannondale CAADX Disc. Depending on components, they cost $1000-2000.

@hozn 71352 wrote:

So I would add the Van Dessel WTF to your list (Cullimerc, do you have yours yet??). In addition to supporting massive clearance it also allows for belt drive. Pretty much perfect spec-wise. But, yeah, it is steel.

I loved my WTF! That bike was by far the most amazing do-anything bike I’ve ever had. I broke 2 frames in 10 months…. and that is being generous. The first frame started to crack after 5 weeks. I loved the bike so much that I nursed it along… hold it together with zip ties…. even after the frame completely broke. After 5 months I sent it back. I got a frame replacement. It lasted 3 weeks before it cracked again. I rode it for another 2 months with my ghetto ziptie mod before it broke. They sent me the Gin and Trombones as a replacement.

[hozn]

@Dirt 71372 wrote:

I loved my WTF! That bike was by far the most amazing do-anything bike I’ve ever had. I broke 2 frames in 10 months…. and that is being generous. The first frame started to crack after 5 weeks. I loved the bike so much that I nursed it along… hold it together with zip ties…. even after the frame completely broke. After 5 months I sent it back. I got a frame replacement. It lasted 3 weeks before it cracked again. I rode it for another 2 months with my ghetto ziptie mod before it broke. They sent me the Gin and Trombones as a replacement.

Wow, ok; I have officially removed that bike from my what-to-get-if-mine-breaks list! That’s too bad. On paper the bike sounds amazing, and the geometry looks perfect for me. But I would want it so that I could put big 2.1″ tires on it and slam it around on singletrack. Given that I [eventually] broke my Voodoo singlespeed it sounds like this would not go well for me with the WTF.

[Dirt]

@hozn 71376 wrote:

Wow, ok; I have officially removed that bike from my what-to-get-if-mine-breaks list! That’s too bad. On paper the bike sounds amazing, and the geometry looks perfect for me. But I would want it so that I could put big 2.1″ tires on it and slam it around on singletrack. Given that I [eventually] broke my Voodoo singlespeed it sounds like this would not go well for me with the WTF.

The bike was amazing. There are not many bikes that I love so much that I’d ride them with a broken frame.

I love my Gin and Trombones, but I would trade it in an instant for a WTF that held up.

[Author]

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