Originally Posted by
BengeBoy
BTW, "back in the day," there was a hole class of bikes called "sport tourers" that were basically road bikes with slightly relaxed geometry, eyelets on the front and rear, and slightly longer chainstays. Sporty enough to race, practical enough to commute on.
This ("sport touring") is not a popular marketing name for bikes these days -- generally this place in the market seems to be occupied by 'cross bikes, or a few niche specialty bikes, like bikes positioned for randonneurs. I see lots of cross bikes in Seattle outfitted for commuting that (I'm guessing) never see a 'cross track.
Exactly my point! For the want of two little eyelets you need to shop for a "specialty" bike. The sport touring is the model is whats missing on todays market. As someone who lives in Portland I am being forced into the cyclocross market. Which would be OK except most run a little heavy to take the abuse of a cyclocross race.