CrMo Utility Frame good for commuting?
02-13-08, 12:38 PM
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CrMo Utility Frame good for commuting?
Cliffs - Read the Bold
Pretext: Last summer I decided to get out of my car and onto one of my bikes and started commuting on my track bike (steel), which was cheap enough where I don't worry about it being stolen, and the terrain flat enough where the single speed wouldn't be an issue. Neither of my two other bikes are "commutable", one being a single speed dirt jumper, the other a carbon road bike I would never leave locked up outside my classes. This summer i'll be working in San Francisco, which is far hillier than where im in school now, and next fall ill be in Santa Cruz, where the campus is also on a hill. I've been considering a kona Dr Dew (dont like the flat bar, disc brakes are nice but not needed, and the bike looks pretty nice overall, which worries me a little) or a Cannondale cyclocross bike (all aluminum, super stiff, but a really fast bike, no fender mounts)
Although both the Cannondale and the Dew are nice bikes, neither of them are really what I want, and than I stumbled upon a Kona Frame, the ***** Tonk. Personally I think it would be ideal for what i'm looking for, which is a road bike with rack mounts that I can lock up and not worry about.
Picture - https://www.konaworld.com/images/fram..._FRAME_med.jpg
Although I dont expect to find anyone on BF that has this frame, I would like opinions from people who commute on steel road bikes, of which im sure the majority will be touring frames.
Pretext: Last summer I decided to get out of my car and onto one of my bikes and started commuting on my track bike (steel), which was cheap enough where I don't worry about it being stolen, and the terrain flat enough where the single speed wouldn't be an issue. Neither of my two other bikes are "commutable", one being a single speed dirt jumper, the other a carbon road bike I would never leave locked up outside my classes. This summer i'll be working in San Francisco, which is far hillier than where im in school now, and next fall ill be in Santa Cruz, where the campus is also on a hill. I've been considering a kona Dr Dew (dont like the flat bar, disc brakes are nice but not needed, and the bike looks pretty nice overall, which worries me a little) or a Cannondale cyclocross bike (all aluminum, super stiff, but a really fast bike, no fender mounts)
Although both the Cannondale and the Dew are nice bikes, neither of them are really what I want, and than I stumbled upon a Kona Frame, the ***** Tonk. Personally I think it would be ideal for what i'm looking for, which is a road bike with rack mounts that I can lock up and not worry about.
Picture - https://www.konaworld.com/images/fram..._FRAME_med.jpg
Although I dont expect to find anyone on BF that has this frame, I would like opinions from people who commute on steel road bikes, of which im sure the majority will be touring frames.
02-13-08, 01:02 PM
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Sure, I've done a lot of riding on a steel touring frame. The question I'd have, though, is whether or not you think this bike will not attract thieves? Perhaps you should consider finding an older, more beat up road frame and using that as a platform instead.
02-14-08, 07:48 AM
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I suspect that most bicycles sold in America are not ridden very much, if at all, and there are probably plenty of good serviceable bikes ou there to be had cheaply if you have the time and inclination to look for them.
An older, beater-type bike that still fills the bill performance-wise, might be the best choice. I've been going 'round and 'round trying to decide how much to upgrade the old crappy bike that I ride every day. I've been looking for good quality components that have low bling-factor with the idea that the non-sexy bike frame itself will act somewhat as "urban camo" where thieves are concerned (for the most part) but still be satisfying to me from a performance POV. It's an interesting problem whose solution seems to be multiple moving targets, but it does keep me amused...
An older, beater-type bike that still fills the bill performance-wise, might be the best choice. I've been going 'round and 'round trying to decide how much to upgrade the old crappy bike that I ride every day. I've been looking for good quality components that have low bling-factor with the idea that the non-sexy bike frame itself will act somewhat as "urban camo" where thieves are concerned (for the most part) but still be satisfying to me from a performance POV. It's an interesting problem whose solution seems to be multiple moving targets, but it does keep me amused...
