Originally Posted by
bikerjp
I've kind of been all over in what I've looked (gunnar, surly, salsa, soma) but in general I'm focused on a steel frame road bike that can be a fast commuter and maybe handle light touring duty but that's not a priority. It will be used for mostly commuting, but I'll also use it for long (100mi) road trips in the mountain passes of CO so I don't want an overly heavy or flexy bike.
I had more or less settled on a Soma ES but then I looked at the double cross. The differences in all these bikes (surly, salsa and gunnar too) are very subtle. The DC has a disc brake option which has merit, but because I want more of a road bike that can carry a load for commuting rather than a commuter that can be a road bike I'm mostly interested in regular caliper or canti brakes. Prices are similar, weights are similar, geometries are similar, colors are not my first choice on any but the ES and disc DC are okay.
In the absence of compelling information I'll probably just get the ES but I'm wondering if there is anything I'm overlooking or a reason to help me make the decision. It doesn't help that I don't have much money and a wrong decision will be more painful. It's also my first attempt to build my own bike. I've thought about a complete bike but don't like the options on the ones I've looked at and I have a handful of parts already as a start.
Thanks for any possible insight or just tell me to htfu and make a decision already.
Hey there BikerJP!
First of all, 100 miles is really NOT considered as a tour. It's typically called a "century" by most experienced road bikers. Road bikers do centuries all the time. There's all types of touring. However, most touring requires riders to sleep at some place other than home. Centuries don't require that riders spend the night away from home. Therefore, you won't be carrying cooking utensiles, tents, blankets, or a change of clothes.
I think you should concentrate on a bike with the most versatility since I really do believe that deep down inside, you're really a touring cyclist at heart. Eventually, you're most probably going to venture further out and perhaps to credit card touring, if nothing else.
In that case, I think it would be a mistake to purchase any other frame than a Surly LHT. When you purchase the Surly LHT from Universal Cycles, you're getting both the fork and the frame as a frameset for $470.
Trust me, you will be happy with the LHT doing both centuries and credit card touring. Many world tourers swear by the LHT!
Good Luck!
- Slim
PS.
Check out the Surly LHT here at Universal Cycles:
www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=35739&category=2595/