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09-24-08, 12:26 PM
EDIT: Moved from the Commuting Forum
Apologies in advance if this is posted in the wrong place. I want to build up a get-around-town bike for riding to school, grocery and errand runs, etc. I don't have a long commute to my office, but I ride across town to hang out with friends (approx 5 miles one way) on a daily basis. I've got everything I need, but the frameset, sitting in my parts box. My only real constraints are that it must be cheap (<= $300 for the frame and fork) and that it must be extremely non-bling so I won't be worried about locking it up for an hour or two at a time. Also, I'd prefer gears (planning on setting it up as a 1x9) but horizontal dropouts are OK too. My friends say go used, but I refuse to contribute to the growing perception on CraigsList that its OK to charge $300 for a barely functioning "vintage" (read:beater) bike.
I was all but set on the Rob Roy, but the framesets have disappeared from the iro website (anyone know whats up with that?). So now I'm considering the following:
Pake C'mute
Long-Haul Trucker (A new one is out of my budget, but there is a used one on Ebay currently)
Kona Honkey Tonk
I know the first thing that probably comes to everyone's mind is a cross-check. I already have one which I use as my road bike and my play-in-the-dirt bike. But its currently set up with way too much bling for me to stomach locking it up while I'm in a bar. I would love to find a cheap Karate Monkey, but they're so popular that finding one under 3 bills seems unlikely. I would also kill for a Volpe in the old "gang green" color, but thats like looking for a needle in a haystack.
So, anyone have experience with/opinions of the three I listed above? Have I overlooked anything obvious (or not-so-obvious)? Thanks in advance.
Apologies in advance if this is posted in the wrong place. I want to build up a get-around-town bike for riding to school, grocery and errand runs, etc. I don't have a long commute to my office, but I ride across town to hang out with friends (approx 5 miles one way) on a daily basis. I've got everything I need, but the frameset, sitting in my parts box. My only real constraints are that it must be cheap (<= $300 for the frame and fork) and that it must be extremely non-bling so I won't be worried about locking it up for an hour or two at a time. Also, I'd prefer gears (planning on setting it up as a 1x9) but horizontal dropouts are OK too. My friends say go used, but I refuse to contribute to the growing perception on CraigsList that its OK to charge $300 for a barely functioning "vintage" (read:beater) bike.
I was all but set on the Rob Roy, but the framesets have disappeared from the iro website (anyone know whats up with that?). So now I'm considering the following:
Pake C'mute
Long-Haul Trucker (A new one is out of my budget, but there is a used one on Ebay currently)
Kona Honkey Tonk
I know the first thing that probably comes to everyone's mind is a cross-check. I already have one which I use as my road bike and my play-in-the-dirt bike. But its currently set up with way too much bling for me to stomach locking it up while I'm in a bar. I would love to find a cheap Karate Monkey, but they're so popular that finding one under 3 bills seems unlikely. I would also kill for a Volpe in the old "gang green" color, but thats like looking for a needle in a haystack.
So, anyone have experience with/opinions of the three I listed above? Have I overlooked anything obvious (or not-so-obvious)? Thanks in advance.