I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I'm coming back from a knee injury and looking at what I want my new commuter to be. I want something capable of keeping up on the weekend rides. Yet something that can take a rack, panniers, and at least 28 tires for commuting.

I'm pretty much settled on the Giant Defy line up. I'd stick with Aluminum, although you can get a carbon model in that price range. (I don't think the carbon models are rack/fender ready) The Aluminum frame has rack mounts, and I know they have Defy specific fenders from Giant, http://www2.giant-bicycles.com/en-pa...ies/338/28915/

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/_gener...FY_1_BLACK.jpg

-Giant's Aluxx SL is probably some of the best aluminum in the business. The Defy rides like a dream, and is more than light enough.
-Shimano 105, nuff said
-rack + Fenders
-looks sexy

Thanks for the excellent suggestion. Definitely a good "do anything" bike that even has rack/fender mounts (unexpected given aluminum + carbon fork). That being said, I'm leaning towards the single purpose road machines at the moment rather than a do-anything-bike. I'll keep the current beast-of-burden for commuting, and have an unencumbered bike for joyful riding - and for days when it is dry and I don't need to carry much to work.


Love the orange color (leftover nostalgia from Breaking Away?). Why doesn't Masi (brand from the movie) have any nice orange models right now? Their current Gran Criterium steel bike is a boring black. The 2013 is more stylish - and pretty sweet. But maybe I'm reverting to a retrogrouch again and favoring the 22 lb machine over similarly priced aluminum/carbon machines that weigh 4 lbs less - and probably ride just as well - and cost the same or less. Still, that 2013 Gran Criterium from Masi is very compelling...

http://c417289.r89.cf1.rackcdn.com/2...rium-Green.jpg

Thanks. I would take the Masi over that bike anyday, but based on my original criteria it would be an excellent pick.



Thanks for the suggestions folks! Keep them coming! I'm still moving towards separate bikes for separate duties, rather than the do-it-all bike (which is basically what I have now).

Suggestions for lightweight road bikes that bring joy to the hearts of horizontal-top-tubing loving retrogrouches - yet use modern materials? Compact frames with steeply sloping top tubes just look less beautiful in my eyes.

Maybe aluminum, but with horizontal top tube, is where I should go. I doubt that anyone does aluminum better than Cannondale. Supposedly they have come along way from the bone-shaker frames of yesteryear.

CAAD10 with Shimano 105. Aluminum frame. Carbon fork. No sloping top tubes (per my irrational aesthetic preference). Less gobbed up in logos than many bikes (though still fewer/smaller logos would be even better).

http://media.cannondale.com/media/ca...X5C_rep_27.png

sorry to "butt in", but those last two bikes are hideous.

I find a lot of bikes hideous that others find alluring. And vice versa. So I'm not surprised. Though I would have thought that the Masi, assuming a color scheme that was to your preference, would not be considered "hideous" - given your previous replies in this thread.

It's not easy being green :innocent:

af7 has such taste in paint colors on his BSO choice, I note:

few cars on NASCAR tracks are green ..
US auto racing has a old phobia about green cars

that Masi is hot as hell. the cannondale is not. i don't see rack mounts on that giant - unless you're referring to what looks like a built on p-clamp at the bottom of the seatpost.

i'm getting a cross-check soon for a do everything bike. might be a little heavier than you want. but with your budget i would suggest All-City Spacehorse and call it a day. sold.

I don't know but the last two bikes really scream Nascar to me :(

I do like colour, and a lot of it, but I always don't like it interrupted by text ... perhaps it's my time in Scandiland ... no text where one expects it ... text where one doesn't expect it ...

for example, i'm in the process of setting up my office space at the uni in a similar manner to this ... and the "facilities" guys are not excited at all about hanging the individual shelving spaces ... :lol: ... in this case I want the absence of colour as I don't want to be artificially influenced when working. on my bike, i like lots of colours ... but solid and reasonable. the two above bikes really look like a NASCAR car.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=351868

What about a Specialized Tricross? http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bik...oss-elite-disc :-P

Pedalforce Cyclocross frame
http://pedalforce.com/online/product...ducts_id=21005

Build up with the groupset of your choice. May wind up being a little pricey, but you get a full carbon frame that will accept wide tires, places to mount a rack, etc. I'd build with good dual pivot brakes for better braking. It would restrict tire sizing to 28mm or less, but as a primary road bike that's not an issue.

Honestly, the bike you're asking for is basically a cycling no man's land. If you want a frame with eyelets, you primarily going to be in the mid-tier Al frames, (<$1500).
Moving up would get you a lighter frame and components but you'll lose the ability to mount a rack.

My advice, decide what you want the bike to be. An everyday commuter bike with rack, lights, etc. Or a weekend fun ride that you want to keep as stripped down as possible. You could always get a mid-tier Al frame and then put a nice groupset on, then add a rack later if needed.

Yes, the Masi is a beauty. Anything out there that is both beautiful and falls into the "thoroughly modern" category? While I think acidfast7 is over the top in his critique, I agree that it is almost impossible to find a nicely painted bike that isn't plastered in logos. There is a reason why I started at the Mr. Pink. Just a single, tastefully done logo and a simple, classy paint job.

My wife justifiably says I'm a retrogrouch. Surely other folks have a taste for "go fast" bikes with simple, classy paint jobs and without oversized logos, but it must be a vanishingly small portion of the market based on what ends up in bike shops these days. Don't get me wrong, a lot of older bikes are similarly gaudy, but I feel like there was a more balanced distribution.


Mr. Pink
http://www.pedalroom.com/p/all-city-mr-pink-10049_2.jpg

no i'm with you. i hate the logo blasted paint jobs these days. the new Giants are hideous especially how they say GIANT up and down, twice, instead of having a nice headbadge. like I KNOW ITS A ****ING GIANT.

I love the All Citys for that reason as well. simple yet a paint style that pops.

does the Mr. Pink have rack mounts though? Space Horse has braze ons for rear rack.

To be fair to my critique, the CAAD does provide "10" at least 10 times in huge text on the bike ... which is actually more than a NASCAR car.

I would definitely ask what position you were in if you rolled by :)

I definitely laughed out loud when I read this. Thanks for that!

So where's the non-NASCAR version of the modern bike? Maybe it only exists as a custom-painted bike with titanium or Reynolds 853? Specially made for retrogrouches who can appreciate the value of such a thing ($3-$4k). If that is the case, I'll crawl back into my retrogrouch cave and take one of those off-the-shelf, taiwan-mass-produced, 4130-steel bikes with me. Maybe an All-City of some variety. And declare that steel really *is* real, even the lower-end versions of it. And that no "modern wonder bike" can match it - even if material science proves otherwise. And that, science be darned, I like the paint job on that one!

It would be kind of like the Dr. Seuss story of Green Eggs and Ham, but for someone who didn't get the point of the story. Like a certain filibustering US politician. [But let's not devolve into politics here - just bikes.]

I just think the high-quality bikes over here are more subdued ... which I like:

http://www.en.tout-terrain.de/bicycles/

http://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/kata...tegory&path=13

http://www.koga.com/koga_uk

edit: also, i think your slightly over-hyping the minimal difference between 853 and 4130.

not what you're precisely looking for ... but this leans more in my direction

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=352011

Surly Pacer

http://surlybikes.com//uploads/bikes...sv_930x390.jpg


Soma Smoothie/Stanyan frame, LBS mid-level (105) build:
http://www.somafab.com/wp-content/up...e_ss_1_700.jpg
http://www.somafab.com/wp-content/up...00-370x300.jpg
http://www.somafab.com/wp-content/up..._white2010.jpg


Guunar frame, local build:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7227/7...561bd51e_z.jpg

http://gunnarbikes.com/site/wp-conte...1-1024x632.jpg

Despite their marketing posturing, the Surly graphic design is not that obnoxious; in particular my dark blue cross check with black decals is positively muted. You can also always buy a Nashbar frame, those are completely unbranded -- and just one color.

I really like the matching/parallel chrome seat/headtubes on that Masi, but I agree it would look better if the decal scheme were rolled back a bit to be less busy.

Somewhere on the forums recently I ran across a small brand that had some really nice looking graphic design, their logo was not just a word applied on a tube in the direction the tube happened to be going, but an oversize brand name that was placed at an oblique angle and spilled I think from the downtube to the headtube. Or maybe top&head. It looked pretty cool; eye-catching, but confident rather than frantic or busy. Unfortunately I can't remember the brand in question!! Maybe this rings some bells with somebody else?

Hey look, fenders! Or one fender anyways. Or maybe 0.1 fenders...

why waste plastic ... it doesn't grow on trees!

i did find that midget fender "cute" tho

You can mount fenders and a rack on most road bikes via the axle (and stays). Almost all leisure level (e.g. <$3000) road/cx bikes slod now have the clearance for 28c and a fender.

in fact, just the other day i saw a specialized s-works tarmac with rack and full coverage split fenders. hilarious.

Whatever you get - consider shopping year end or last years - closeout models. I got my $2500+ Giant TCR C1 w/ full Ultegra, out the door, including tax for $1500. This was because I bought a 2012 model, well after the 2013's were available.

So if you're patient, you can literally get your dream bike, and all the bells and whistles, well within your budget.

I was originally looking at a CAAD10 w/ 105 for $1300-1500ish. But sometimes, the closeout prices are amazing. I got way more than I thought was in my budget. Be patient, deals are out there.

I actually called around to the nearest Cannondale dealers in the area seeing what they had for previous year's models. This seems like the best deal of the bunch and has a shockingly simple paint job. Apparently 2012 was a year of restraint for Cannondale. At least for this one model. Ultegra drivetrain and brakes (but not the the crank). About $1900. I guess they just can't sell a bike with a simple paint scheme, even after 2 years, when even the 2013's are all cleared out. I find that pretty amusing. :-)

http://media.cannondale.com/media/ca...ax3c_wht_9.png

Or , people just dont buy race bikes at that price level, or just were needing another size.
dont read too much into other's choices.

Out here Elk Hunters Buy Mountain bikes . LBS stocks handle-bar mounts for Bow and Rifle.




summer is Busy with Cycletourists from across the country and other lands.

I agree with you about giant's decal stuff being atrocious. If the tcx slr 2 had a less racy scheme I'd be all over it.

Horizontal top tube, plenty of clearance, rack mounts, full 105, decent mechanical disk brakes, aluxx slr aluminum with carbon fork/post. These bikes are fun as hell.
http://cdn.media.cyclingnews.com/201..._slr_2_670.jpg