"My biggest concern about the Urbanite is that they do not seem to have a standard spec sheet."

I can see your concern. I can tell you though that they build them right. Be sure to tell the parts guys what you need, i.e. bombproof touring wheels. I think the sales staff can try to fit you to a bike, but once you say, "OK I want this bike" They will work to configure it how you want/need it. Just because they have some stuff on it, doesn't mean you have to buy that exact stuff.

"What I mean is that the store seems to put on whatever componentry they consider best at that particular point in time for a particular price point."

That is what everyone does. If you are a big manufacturer you have the problem of choosing from only component makers that can meet your price and volume needs. If you are a little company you get squeezed by other factors.

"Whereas with, let's say Trek, you know exactly what you're getting for that particular model year."

Sure, but that doesn't make it right either, particularly if you have an offbeat need like Rondo, and touring.

"Unfortunately, I don't know enough about componentry and gear ratios to even ask the relevant questions!"

That's a problem, affects you with whose ever stuff you buy. Most of the factory bikes do not get the gearing right; if you are short, you may have trouble getting cranks right. They rarely have good tires, and they rarely have good seats.

When I bought the Urbanite, I upgraded the brakes (with a few jackass choices of my own); I upgraded the seat to a B-17 I got a good swap-in deal, but buying it from Nash might have been cheaper; I specified crank length; I specified LX hubs, they suggested Alex DH22 rims, and so far I'm very happy; I upgraded to slick touring tires; Wide handle bars. The only place I felt a little let down was that in the time available they didn't have a wide enough range cassette, but that was my fault for leaving it till September. I got all those changes for regular price, simply by providing my own pedals (I need custom ones), and my own brakes, and accepting bar ends vs. brifters. I wanted the Bar ends, so dumping the brifters saved me some coin.

On the height thing, I found their frame tall also, I could have done with a fraction more length and a fraction less height. In your size you would get the 26" wheels on the LHT, I like that option. A high BB really isn't an advantage if you are shorter in stature, or tall for that mater. The Urbanite used to have a high BB, but I don't know if that holds for all the sizes, the specs aren't always accurate, and that goes for most manufacturers.

It takes great luck to get a perfect bike out of the stall. A lot of focus goes into the brand, but that is just the frame. Getting all the components right isn't that hard, within reason, I think we have a list around here of the bare minimum, not everyone agrees, but there is some consensus. But even with that you are probably going to have to work out the gear train you want for your kind of riding, all by yourself.

Go to Sheldon's site and learn how to use the gear calculator. work out a combination that is 19-20 inches low end, and work up form there.

For instance this is a 13-34 8 speed, with a 26,36,46 front. results are in gear inches, and you can see you are roughly between 20 and 100, which is a good range for touring. If you fear hills, try an 18 inch gear. Before you buy a particular drive train, enter the sproket sizes for the front, and the gear range in the back. You really don't want anything much higher than this at the low end. If you currently have a bike, run it's numbers, but remember that your intended use maters a lot.


54.3 75.2 96.1
47.1 65.2 83.3
41.6 57.5 73.5
37.2 51.5 65.8
33.6 46.6 59.5
30.7 42.5 54.3
27.2 37.6 48.1
20.8 28.8 36.8

http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/