Santaria

So I'm torn, I REALLY think I want to buy the SWOBO Del Norte, but it has a few things I'm not happy (totally) with.

1. I love the trekking bar, and don't see drops (especially ones with shiny tape) being a good option for a fixed wheel/SS commuter. Opinions?


2. While I like the fact that I can add fenders, I'd prefer to have the versatility found in the SURLY LHT frame (Fat tires, front and rear Pans/fenders). Can anybody recommend a bike WITH the mounts/clearance that is designed around FW/SS touring/commuting?

Surly LHT has really impressed me, but I don't think it's the bike for me simply because I don't want gears (otherwise its seriously the best option I know of).

My Safari is great, but I want to force myself some pain, and FW/SS seems like the best direction

Bonus: My wife said I could finally buy her a bike and that it must be SS/FW (I'm assuming she'll start out with the SS). Gogo my talking about bikes (FW/SS) so much that I think I infected her with the bug.

cooleric1234

I nearly bought a Redline 925 a few months ago. It doesn't fit very fat tires, but it comes stock with fenders and 700x28 mm tires and eyelets for a rack. It also uses bullhorn bars.



The other one I looked at that would definitely fit fat tires is the Motobecane Fantom Cross UNO.



It has drop bars, but you could easily replace that with bullhorn or moustache bars.

Ken Wind

The Marin Hamilton 29er is cheap, the rear wheel is fixed/free, and the frame should easily accept fenders and large tires. It is probably a fairly heavy bike.

DataJunkie

I love drops on my fixed\ss.
Mine is a salsa casserole. It is more of a road bike that can carry loads. Has fenders and a rack. Good frame.

chrism32205

I thought about getting a 925 also, but then since I already had a Mercier Kilo TT with bullhorn bars, I added fenders and a rack, now I have the same setup as the 925 would.

charles vail

Buy a Surly Crosscheck frame and make it a fg/ss or buy a Salsa Casserole frame and do the same. You want the dropouts to be horizonal for chain tensioning rather than vertical like the Trucker frame otherwise you will have to use an eccentric hub/bottom bracket or some sort of chain tension device.
Drop bars set at the proper height are very versatile and really are the best all around bars IMO. I do however like mustache bars in heavy traffic set higher than you normally see them on stock bikes.

JeffS

Salsa Casseroll

Ken Wind

I think it is worth noting that the Casseroll only has clearance for 700x32 tires with fenders on, and it uses caliper brakes, which make fitting fenders and removing wheels more of a hassle in my opinion. It is a very pretty bike though.

cyclefreaksix

I am soooooo luvin' that Redline!! I'm looking at getting a fairweather/roadbike/commuter and seriously considering a single ss/fg bike as a way to punish myself.

Santaria

Actually, that Motobecane Fantom Cross UNO in white, with a Nitto RB-021 Bullhorn Bar, Cane Creek 200TT Brake Levers and a nice set of 700c x 42c tires (the max size that will fit that cross frame).

So who makes a very bright colored 42c tire? Something as bedazzling as the Vredestein Fortezza SE Road Tire in GTFO of my way blue?

ban guzzi

Drops are very nice! I will admit that I am trying out some nitto mustache bars right now that are very comfy but I still have my drops on standby. Bull bars seem to be very limited and limiting. Just my opinion. At least with drops you can get out of the way of headwind a bit...

How about a Surly Steamroller? No braze ons so a bit limiting but you can always go the P-clip route for attachments.

And anywhere from 72 to 78 gear inches if you have mostly flat riding with a few little hills/rises in your commute...just my personal preference anyway.

DataJunkie

Removing the wheels is as easy as any other bike. I suppose flipping the quick release takes a half second.
Fitting the fenders takes a little more work since I had to attach the fenders to the caliper's mounting bracket on each brake. They do make bolts to make that easier but I was too lazy to order them.

Santaria

That Salsa is very nice, the mustard makes it look very classic.

I found this: https://www.torelli.com/tipouno.html

With $1k to spend it would be in my range, but I can't tell if it's fitted for a front and (or) rear rack, fenders, etc. The tires seem narrow on it too BUT IT IZ SO PRETTYZ!

arghh..

JeffS

It does have fender and rack mounts. The singlespeed bike is the same frame as the geared bike, in a different color. For some unknown reason, Salsa chose to put 37mm tires on the singlespeed, and remove the fenders.

I've had a singlespeed Casseroll on backorder for at least two months now. The plan is to convert it to a 1x9 setup with rack/fenders. Hopefully the store stands by my purchase price, as they're now asking $200 more than the sale price I purchased it for.

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Two others would be the Bianchi San Jose and the Raleigh One Way.

modernjess

It's obvious . A Surly Cross Check built up as a single speed/FG with drop bars.....

thank me later.

trombone

+1 for the casseroll.

I've been commuting SS on mine for about a year, and about a month ago switched to fixed, which really rocks.

On the frame it says 'ride and smile', and that is what I do!