MrCjolsen

I killed my Surly Crosscheck. It's now a bent frame and a box of parts. I don't want to spend too much (the accident was my fault and cost us some money, so my "accountant" has limited me to an amount equal my Christmas money)

If you had to choose one ...

Nashbar X
Pake C'mute
Motobecane Fantom CX

Pake: Steel, More pricey. Heaviest of the lot.
Nashbar: Has disc tabs. No fork. Least appealing to the eye (fat downtube bugs me)
Motobecane: Comes with a steel fork and headset. Nice color. Not sure if cable routing will work with barcons.

BTW, I plan on commuting and also racing cross (for fun and the beer mostly). Any ideas?

flargle

The Nashbar and Bikedirect.com are both kind of yuck. (IMHO, YMMV, yadda yadda.)

My wife bought a Kona Jake the Snake frameset from
https://www.bikeman.com/Kona_Cyclocross_Frame_Sets.html
and has been very happy with it. I think it has fender tabs both front and rear, pretty light but not stupid light, check it out.

moralleper

define xmas budget...

I would go used as you can get incredible value for your dollar.

the pope

I want to hear about the wreck.

Cynikal 

^So do I. What happened? Also, what size are you? Some folks are getting ready to sell off stuff since the season has ended. Since you are local and all.

MrCjolsen

About three weeks ago, I was heading home from work and and ran into a parked car. At first I thought I was looking down at something on my bike, but I've ridden by the spot since, and now believe that I was looking back to see if it was clear to move out into the lane when I hit the car. My depth perception might have been altered by the prescription bifocals I was wearing or they may have created a blind spot where I didn't see the car.

I think I was going 10-15 mph. I went over the bars and into the back window, shattering it with my head and landed along the car on the street side. I left the scene in an ambulance and spent the night at UCDMC. Nothing was broken and my helmet probably saved my life. I walked out of the hospital the next day with a total of 4 stitches, a broken helmet, and a cdrom with some really cool xrays. My face was pretty cut up and my legs were severely and deeply bruised, but I'm pretty much healed now. My homeowners insurance paid almost $4000 to fix the person's car.

My Surly frame was bent at the down tube where the cable guides are and also where the top and head tubes meet. My handlebars were just slightly bent, and one brake lever was twisted sideways. Other than that, there was no damage to bike. The front wheel stayed true and round, the tire did not flat, and I still haven't decided if the fork is bent at all. I didn't even damage my cyclocomputer.

Surly has offered to replace the frame for $290 plus shipping and tax. But I was thinking of going a different route even before the crash. Having a fixed gear option on my cross bike is no longer a necessity, and I was sort of thinking about eventually getting disc brakes. Since I commute in the rain, an aluminum frame would be one less headache in that regard.

As for size, the Surly was a 60, with a 60cm top tube. My famous rainbow fixed gear, is a 61 with a 59cm top tube. I also have a Miyata 110 with a 57cm top tube. The Surly always seem a little big. I could probably go with a 58 or so, but I like to have my bars about 1" below my saddle, so I tend to like bikes on the larger size.

So that's about it. Oh, here's a picture...

Cynikal 

Damn Chris! I'm glad you are ok.

martianone

IMHO- hard to beat a CrossCheck frame for $290.

Cynikal 

If you are looking for a frame to race next year and commute on, this is better than the nashbar one and lighter than a crosscheck and fantom. $229 for frame and for is hard to beat.

https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...00_20000_64503

MrCjolsen

Since I commute on 100+ psi tires on the road, I'm starting to think I may want to stick with a steel frame. I can get the C'mute for $224 from The Bicycle Business in Sacramento. I also found out that my Surly fork survived the crash with no damage - not even bent the slightest.

The C'mute geometry is nearly the same as the Surly, has the same tubing, and the same number of braze-ons. It has it's own rear brake cable hanger (not need to attach one to the seatpost coller)

But...

It's not a Surly, weighs a tad more, and I'm not real wild about the color - "Pave-Mint."

bugly64

Glad you are okay. You really put a hurtin' on that Honda. Will you be able to put fat tires on the Pake?

MrCjolsen

Probably fat enough. I don't own anything fatter than a 32. Or smaller than a 25. I normally use 28's on the road, 31 cross tires in the dirt.

MrCjolsen

I just ordered the Surly about an hour ago.

Cynikal 

Congrats.