I realize that this in another, "which bike" thread. As I state on the bottom, I am strongly leaning toward the Kona Jake. However, I do not expect it to see much, or any, off-road use. So, I am asking in the road forum. I am interested in which bike you think would suit me best. I am looking for a bike to use for commuting and for weekend jaunts. My riding will be on roads; but, not necessarily good roads. I am 42 and am looking for a road bike that does not possess an overly aggressive geometry.

The bike I am seeking is to replace my 1984 Schwinn Le’Tour for these duties. I will keep the Le’Tour; but only for nostalgic reasons. The new bike will be inserted onto a fleet including a BikeE recumbent, a Specialized M2 comp hard tail Mountain bike and a Specialized FSRxc Full Suspension mountain Bike. I mention the other bikes in the fleet so you can see what duties the new bike does NOT need to preform. I have no need for another Mountain Bike, and the recumbent fills any gap for a cruiser or comfort bike.

I do want drop bars. I would like brakes on the flats, or the ability to add them later. I want the ability to install fenders and a rear rack. I currently have Wald folding baskets on both sides of the rear rack on my Le’Tour, along with Planet Bike fenders, and am happy with that arrangement.

I recently have looked at a few bikes in my price range. That range has a top of about $800(USD). I looked at the Giant Defy 3 size M. It rode nicely and fit well; but, I did not like the saddle (didn’t dislike it much, it just wasn’t great) and I did not like the groupset. It was equipped with Shimano 2300 and the shifters did not feel good to me. Further, I do not like the spring return lever as a trigger near the top, I like it behind the brake lever; where it is on higher level groupsets.

I also looked at the Specialized Roubaix. I like it. Without a doubt, I would like it to be my first choice; but, it is more than I want to spend. I can say the same about the Specialized Tri-Cross. I also looked at the Secteur; however, it also had the lower level, 2300, shifters that I did not like on the Giant.

I looked at the Windsor Tourist (ok, in truth, it was the Fuji tour; but, it’s the same bike). I was entirely put off by the weight. As stated, I want to be able to strip off the racks and use the bike for sporting rides on the weekends. In simple terms, the Tour didn’t do it for me.

I have also looked at the Kona Jake in Size 52. A nearby shop has one with triple chain rings (desirable, I live in the hills), brakes on the flats (desirable for commuting), Tiagra shifters (which I like), and it has two mount points on the rear dropout so that I can attach the rack and fenders to different points. I like this because that way I do not need to remove the fenders if I only want to remove the rack. This bike fits well and is priced at $799. Overall I like this bike; however, the brakes are not too good and it is not road focused. It also has a huge, steel, fork. Overall it does seem to ride well and I do like it.

While the Kona Jake is, solidly, at the top of my short list, I would like to know if there are any bikes in that I should consider. I am reasonably comfortable putting bikes together. I have taken the bikes I have down to the frame at various times, for servicing, and have a repair stand and a bike tool set. I say this to assure you that a bike in-a-box, such as BD, is not a concern to me. What do you recommend?