Originally Posted by
MrCatbr3ad
My situation is this. I'm 6'4" and weigh about 170-180 Approximately a year ago I was given a year old (2008 I believe, not 100% tho) Trek 1.5 from my father.
This bike is wonderful, I ride it nearly every day to work, school, and when time allows the long haul of up to about a 50 mile ride through town and country. I live in Iowa City, IA and I never run out of places to ride to.
With my normal every day commute (come rain or shine!) I ride this thing, I'm just always worried I'm riding it too hard. Or that possibly the rain or other adverse conditions may take an extra toll on this bike. I'm also worried it may not fit me quite like a bike should, my father being about an inch shorter than me and slightly shorter legs.
So I'm look to put together a new one, with a more rigid build, a little better fit, and hopefully no worries come rain, snow, gravel, mud, curb, commute or just general work like groceries or carrying me to a friends. I'm thinking a flip flop SS/Fixed would be perfect. Decently low maintenance and straight forward.
I've been looking into Surly because of their versatility when it comes to accepting larger wheels (I plan on riding clear into winter) and their support from all LBS. The steamroller has peaked my interest mostly because of it's cost and simpleness. I'm looking to make an investment, I want this to be something I keep with me for years to come. Is that going to come from Surly? From the steamroller? Are there others more suiting?
Also, is it within my interest to skip the LBS and purchase parts individually online? Is purchasing the tools and learning the craft worth it? Or is the stock(stock being bought/assembled through LBS) good enough? Should I purchase stock and replace what I find to be inadequate?
My budget upfront is about $900. Going much higher than that is pushing it right now but I'm able to drop money into it over the course of a couple of paychecks if needed. I'm also willing to wait for a larger upfront but the season is upon us, so strike while the iron is hot I figure.
I'll be checking this thread frequently and posing many questions along the way I'm sure. Any tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated!
I'll chime in having owned a surly... I still have my cross check, I got it because of the reviews of the bike and a friend who had some friends of his go down to Argentina and race cyclocross on them... I took mine across the country, have crashed it quite a few times and its still kicking... Even after getting the seat post fused in and having to F-up parts of the frame its still kicking... That said, is surly the only game in town? No. Sadly they are no longer made here like most other bikes (unless you drop some coin) and thus you can get something equally as good for cheeper...
Personally I am of the mind to do my own bike work. Depending on what city your in you may find a co-op that has tools you can use or a LBS that has a set of tools for the more DIY oriented to use... I think in the long run if you have the time and money, the DIY route is the way to go... you learn a lot, you get to know your bike and you only have yourself to blame.
If you wanna get crazy DIY and have a super bomber comute bike, you can do what I do and take a decent 26" mountain bike and throw 700c wheels on it (GT outpost and my current redline monocog project). this will make for a super bomber 700c bike and leads to some fun parts and learning this also gives you options for winter tires of both the 26" and 700c variety. you can also run the monocog flip flop and not worry much about busting around town on it (yea im digging mine a whole lot)... Another route is to wait for the new scramblers to come in and get one of those... I have built/ridded one and they are lots of fun (even more so at $150 for frame and fork shipped)...
The steamroller is a nice ride. could you find something cheeper to meet your needs yes. a lot comes down to what you as a rider need/want. I would spend a bit of time on here reading some old posts similar to what you are aiming for then come back with some more follow up questions.
some things to consider are function verses style, how flashy do you want your bike (AKA if in the city a thief magnet) what are you willing to sacrifice in regards to function and or style. do you want to be worrying about the abuse this bike will take and that it will look warn. you want that "oh ****" moment if you crash and scratch your bike?
hope some of this helped and keep us posted on your progress...