DX-MAN

Performance Bike has the Transit line of bikes, they have some likely candidates. Most expensive rolls at under $1K. SS, 3-spd, or 8-spd, all disc-equipped, IIRC.

CJ C

was rethinking the IGH deal, as its price, extra weight and extra hassle seem not ideal in my scenario. was thinking SS untill i battled 25mph wind gusts on my beach cruiser yesterday i swear i think for a block or to i was crying.

i am rethinking the studded tire, as i live in a major metro urban city and the streets are usually plowed. i am welcoming opinions on snow and tire options in cities?

cool option but would like the bike to be sub thirty if not mid 20's if possible/affordable.

and why is a topeak rack frowned upon?

CJ C

I had grip shifters on a GT mtn bike when i was in college and in the winter with gloves got irked with them swore them off since

small world I ride my bike to Tre Kronor or Smokey Bear BBQ for lunch right by you, i still havent tried that noodle place yet is it good?

CJ C

total newb question but what is rear spacing and how do i check it? would it be the cm between the drop outs?

the transit kenan is one dang ugly bike but kind of fits the bill but 2 gears short

PaulRivers

Sorry...LOL. :-D

Studded tires don't do anything for snow, just for for ice - which is huge. They turn solid ice - which is normally impossible to stay upright on - into a fairly grippy surface.

Whether you feel like you "need" to use studded tires or not depends on your tolerance for risk. I am not willing to take the risk of hitting an ice patch and falling over into moving traffic. The fact that the routes I ride are "usually plowed" is the only reason I ride in the winter at all - if they weren't plowed it would simply be impossible (right around 6 inches of unplowed and uncompressed snow is where it starts to become impossible to bike through faster than you could walk through, depending on the consistency of the snow).

Studs are for ice, which is exactly what you end up with on plowed streets.

This is sometimes a contentious topic as some people do ride without studs and they're like "it's fine". I can say that no matter how skilled they are, they always seem to hit some ice and fall over at least once every winter, more often 2-3 times. Now - following over into a snow bank isn't nearly as big of a deal as falling over into traffic or onto concrete as it's relatively soft and fluffly.

I don't know, I'm rambling. Let me put it this way - if you're into risk while riding your bike, let's say you're ok with doing crazy mountain biking jumps and just accept that eventually you'll probably break a bone (something you would have to accept if you do serious road racing as well), and you have serious bike handling skills then a lot of people who meet those criteria ride without studded tires.

But if you just want the bike to stay upright on ice and not have to constantly be on the watch for it, or if you want to eliminate as much serious risk as possible, then studded tires are definitely the way to go. I personally will not ride in the winter without studded tires at all. I remember after college I moved back home and went on a bike club ride in the fall and was complaining about the end of the riding season. Several people in the club said "Oh, you can ride in the winter to!". Having seen these discussions before (this was before studded tires were widely available and known about) I casually asked "so, have any of you gotten injured or broken any bones or anything?". And every single one of them had broken a bone at some point winter riding when they hit an invisible or unexpected ice patch.

MichaelW

Hub width is the Over Locknut Distance/Dimension OLD

CJ C

Paul,

thank you very much for your well thought-out post, which now has me dead set on studded tires, thank you

CJ C

is there anything about bikes not on that sheldon site?

no1mad 

Disc brake tabs on the seat stays make it harder to mount a rack- not impossible, just more difficult. Chain stay brake tabs are a lot easier to work with. Surly is up front about it and tells you that a rack on a Karate Monkey is not kosher.

CJ C

just checked their site it says;

"One more thing: Surly does not recommend the use of racks and disc brakes at the same time on the Karate Monkey. A rack will not clear the disc caliper without jury-rigging the leg outboard, and this will put stress on the mount, potentially breaking it. If you take nothing else from reading this, remember: No rack and disc brakes simultaneously on this frame. Get it? Got it? Good."

irclean

A rack will work... you just have to find one designed to work with disc brakes and thereby avoid jury-rigging. Axiom makes a rack that attaches to the brake caliper itself, and the aforementioned Topeak rack has "feet" on the ends of the struts and longer bolts to reach the eyelets:

tjspiel

I think it's the topeak style mounting that they're worried about. The feet act like levers and put additional twisting force on the mounts. I'm sure it's all a matter of how much weight you put on the rack and what kind of terrain you're riding on. Surly doesn't seem to have much faith that their mounts would hold up. I could see how putting 50 lbs. of books on there and riding off a curb might do some damage.

For that matter, I don't know that putting another 30 lbs of weight on the caliper tabs while expecting them to hold up to the forces involved in braking is a good idea either.

irclean

No problems so far with my mounts holding up. As you can see in the above pic my pannier gets stuffed - what you can't see is the 15" laptop, papers, files, textbooks, spare clothes, and a myriad of other things filling it up. The "feet" sit flat against the dropouts on my bike, and the longer bolts sit well within recessed holes on each "foot". It's pretty solid, and while I don't go looking for curbs to drop off of, I'm not afraid to do so.

I respect Surly's point of view, but IMHO the Topeak system works well. Surly's disclaimer warns against "jury-rigging", but the Topeak rack is hardly that; it is a well thought-out piece of equipment. That said, I wouldn't expect Surly to warranty a broken mount that was caused by a rack.

newkie

Eh? By who?

blakcloud

You obviously missed message #60, four above yours. The link for that statement can be found in the last paragraph on this page.

tcs

The available XRK5(W) hub has a native 135mm OLD.