Originally Posted by
jeneralist
So now, dear friends, I turn to you... Can you point me towards a bike that
- Has at least 50 teeth on the top front ring.
- Has tires 700x25 or 28. (Translation: skinny, but not too skinny.)
- Has lots of spokes on the wheels (32 or 36).
- Has 8 or 9 gears on the rear, 8 preferred.
- Has at least two water-bottle mounts.
- Does not have a step-thru frame. Mixte OK.
- Does not have front suspension.
- Does not weigh 40 pounds!
- Costs under $1000
I really liked the Raleigh Clubman that was already suggested but I wanted disc brakes and slightly longer chainstays. It does cost about $1150.00 according to my LBS.
I also looked at the disc version of this bike but I believe the non-disc will be a pretty good fit for you. The rear cassette can easily be changed to an a cassette with a 11t cog I am sure.
Kona ***** Tonk
http://www.konaworld.com/road.cfm?content=*****_tonk#2
I believe that you will want the drop bars for extended riding. Do some research before settling for straight bars. I can't wait to get a drop bar bike and I am going for the Jamis Aurora Elite in Spring 2012.
Don't rush into making your decision and see if you can ride one before buying. The LBS that sells Jamis made sure I rode an Aurora (BTW a 5'8" female owned the bike and loved it) even though it was a little small for me. That settled my decision on buying the Aurora Elite. Unfortunately, the Aurora has the smaller cranks.