I've been looking for a stock, not custom, roadie style proportioned bike that will take 26" wheels and fat tires- if anyone has any ideas I'd really appreciate it. I've gotten too used to bombadiering about on 2 1/8" semislicks and want to get a road bike I can ride these tires with for commuting. Can't find a manufacturer putting out an agressive, rigid fork bike with drop bars and 26" wheels. Thanks.

What you really want to look at is something like a Surly Long Haul Trucker (which given frame size will take 26" or 700cc) or the CrossCheck which will go upwards of 700 x 45. You've got to build em up yourself but to me that's the fun of it.

Or you could find a decent MTB frame and convert it like I did for the FRT (Fat Tired Rider). I've got a Surly 1x1 frame that's destined for fixed gear-dom.

Like dobber, I also immediately thought about suggesting the Surly Cross-check (cyclocross/all purpose) or Surly Long Haul Trucker (touring). If building up a bike by yourself scares you, any good LBS will help you select the appropriate components and build it up for you.

The Rivendell Atlantis has 26" wheels on the 47-56cm models. Of course, that's an expensive bike. If you just want durable wheels with fat tires, try setting up an old 70's 27" wheel frame with 700c cyclocross wheels (beefy double-walled rims and mtb hubs). I fit 37mm tires with fenders on my commuter. It's cushy enough that I can ride it down stairs.

Dang, never though of that.

The Gunnar rocktour is made to take 26" wheels

There was also a review done on it in Bicycling a few months back, with drop bars and STI shifters.

https://gunnarbikes.com/rocktour.php

Or you could find a decent MTB frame and convert it like I did for the FRT (Fat Tired Rider).

Nice looking ride. I have something similar in mind for an old hardtail MTB frame I have lying around. I'd be very interested in seeing some more details on this build (component spec's etc).

The basics of the ride were already there when I got it off EBay. I swapped out the old wheels (six speed) for a more modern 8 speed setup.

A basic rundown:

SR Litage bonded aluminum frame
Suntour barend shifters in friction mode
Suntour rear derailleur
XT front derailleur
Salsa high rise stem
Phil Wood bottom bracket
Mavic crank (46-36-24)
Rhynolite rims on Deore LX hubs
Dia-Compe levers with Mafac canti's
IRC Metro tires (26 x 1.5)
Nice old Selle Turbo saddle

For the record, the website for Surly is https://www.surlybikes.com/index.html

I second this. My everyday commuter is an old 12-speed, which originally came with 27" wheels and now has 700s with 35 mm tires. I am also in the process of setting up another old 27"er with 26" 3-speed-type wheels, and it works fine. The trick is making sure you can get some brakes that reach your rims, but they're definitely out there: if high-end isn't important, the calipers that come on most Wal-Mart-type, generic, garbagey mountain bikes will reach just fine, and there should be plenty of those in the junk parts bin at your LBS.