mk9

Hi All,

I'm new here so please be gentle.
My commute:
1: 20 miles round trip
2: One good hill about 1 mile long and couple little ones
3: I'm a fair weather commuter no rain or freezing cold but it goes get to 100-110 of dry heat during the summer. A 100oz camelbak and sweatproof sunblock will take care of that.
4: I feel better with chromo frames (Ogre, CX UNO etc) but will consider an alum frame if someone can convince me that it can take
it. I'm about 230 lbs and will hop on and off curbs occasionally through the commute.
5: No SS. I have one that I ride about 9 miles at lunch an that's about the limit for me.
6: What will be the ride difference between the Ogre and CX UNO's frames.
7: around $1000

My main issues are, in this order: durability; comfort; speed.
Also, I know I stated my price but at what price are the returns dimenished?

Thank you in advance

1nterceptor

If you want to jump curbs at 230lbs.,
I would suggest wheels with 32/36 count spokes
laced to a stout rim(Velocity Chukker, etc.).

modernjess

Steel is real look no further - But those are 2 really different bikes. Have you ridden either of them? Have you ridden either of them 20 miles?

If it were me - riding 20m a day (I ride 15 at least) and I weighed 230lbs (which I do too) I'd go for the CX bike (which I did, Cross-Check in my case). Dont get me wrong I love the Ogre, I'd buy it for mountain biking or a winter bike for sure. But I wouldn't use it as a fair weather 20 mile commuter. Flat bars, wide tires, the geometry, great for curb jumping, but none of which are conducive to comfortable speed.

The Masi frame looks great. But with durability being one of your main issues, I'm not wild about the parts selection. In order to get it at that price point some corners were cut. The frame is worthy of upgrades as parts wear out and if you are a 230 lb "curb jumper" you are going to wear some stuff out.

Have you thought about getting a CX frame and building up a drop bar 1 x 9 ? With some legwork you could probably keep within your budget and have super sturdy, comfy, and fast commuter.

bored117 

Welcome to the forum mk9

Seems like you have done your homework. Let me add few things in since I do commute with similar type of temp you are talking about (I am assuming dry heat though).

This could be an issue. Anything on your back at that temp becomes major heat retainer. You are going to be wet AND hot on that config. I suggest nothing on your back for anything above 90f. As you move, natural air movement on back evaporates your sweat on back and it does make your core temp much more manageable. (Now if the camel back is filled with ice cold drink... maybe...)
I personally would go for CX Uno just because it sounds like you are commuting on completely paved road. Now if you are going to use bike to go trail riding... well... you decide. One thing for sure... durability is fine for either, comfort depends on you, speed would be in favor of Uno if you ever have any kind of wind.
But than, I am just a guy who commutes 30+ mile a day with 2000ft climb in a day, in low desert heat/cold, going materialistic on "aggressive" road bike... I just enjoy it more on road bike...

fietsbob

have you gained the skills to do that curb hopping and land lightly?

If not Stop and do the drop/ lift gently. the wheels will need repair less often.

Confederate

Between those two options, I like the Ogre better. BB7 brakes and 32 spoke wheels are good for your needs. The Deore groupset is a probably the best dollar-for-dollar value out there. Within a $1k budget, I can't think of a better bike off the top of my head. (But I'm not a bike shop geek who can instantly call to mind every model on the current market.) I don't think you would save any appreciable amount of money by building up a 1x9, and you may occasionally really enjoy having those other two chainrings.

As Interceptor said, wheels will be key. 32 or 36 holes is what you want. My opinion is that 32 holes is enough. You could go as high as 40, but that would arguably be overkill. And it is rare that you find 36 hole wheels as standard; you will almost never find 40 hole wheels standard (unless you are looking at tandems). Chuckers or Dyads would make great rims to build from. But building up a selected wheelset will add to the bottom line and probably push you over your budget. And you don't see a lot of bikes with Chuckers or Dyads as standard. So you'll probably have to just accept the runner-up on wheels. If you ever destroy a rim, you can upgrade at that point. (And you don't have to replace both wheels at once. If you destroy your front wheel, you could then build up just a really bomb-proof front wheel.)

Since you are new and you mention a Camelbak, I'll also add that you should try plain old water bottles. You could also mount a bladder system to the bike. But in 100+ degree heat, you will sweat like a pig under that Camelbak (or any other backpack).

Good luck on finding the perfect rig.

ks1g

Figure on being out there about an hour each way, depending on how fast you ride. I do 20-24 miles round trip, but no signficant climbs (just sumemr mid-atlantic humidity and the traffic always makes it entertaining and exciting). I can carry 4 bottles (or 3 + coffee thermos) using frame triangle and 2 behind-seat bottle holders. The large insulated bottles do a mediocre job of keeping cold stuff cold - partial freezing or lots of ice cubes may be the answer. For my 11-12 miles type 1-way, I am usually in-motion 35-45 minutes each way (depending on how hard I go) and add another 10 miutes for traffic (several major intersections & lights). 2 bottles (48 oz) is plenty for me on even the worst days, but I'm also not riding in +100deg conditions and have many places to stop to cool off/replenish water if I needed it.

If you are contemplating using a rack and panniers, consider that most CX bikes have shorter chainstays so heel strike could be a problem. Shifting rack and panniers as far aft as you can, using 2 smaller panniers instead of one big one may solve it. My commuter is a CX (Bianchi San Jose/Castro Valley frame) style, heavier and not as fast as my road bike, but has fenders (we get rain here), rack mounts, and can take skinny tires up to 35mm studded for winter. It could handle non-technical trails (maybe more if I had the skills). I try to avoid jumping curbs, however, and I'm much lighter.

To build up to doing the distance daily, maybe split the ride (drive partway, park, ride rest) or drive in AM, ride home, ride to work, drive home. Good luck!

cyccommute 

That would depend, largely, on how you ride the bike. If you sit in the saddle like a sack of potatoes, even someone who is around half that weight would be hard on wheels (and the rims would only take a small part of the punishment).

If, on the other hand, you are an active rider who takes the impact with your legs and arms and lifts the wheels, you could ride race wheels without problems and still go on and off curbs. I do it all the time and I'm too damned close to mk9's weight for comfort. I haven't used anything like the Velocity Chukker in 25 years and the only times I've broken wheels is when I've worn them out or when they had a defect.

Andy_K 

For me, I start disliking flat bar bikes for any ride over 5 miles. You may feel differently. The choice between flat bars and drops will eliminate either the Ogre or the CX Uno whichever you prefer. I find a flat bar to be more comfortable for the first mile or so, but eventually my wrists start to ache and sometime after that my butt complains too. (Some of that can be mitigated with bars ends and setup adjustments.) With drop bars, I can ride for hours.

If I were going with a Masi, I'd definitely step up to the CX over the CX Uno. I agree with Confederate that Deore is an excellent component level for MTB parts. The road bike equivalent is Tiagra, which I think is an excellent group. The Masi CX has Tiagra. Another option is the Kona Jake, which adds a triple crankset that will help flatten your hill and a 105 rear derailleur. Of course with any CX bike you'll want slick tires right away.

The Kona Jake is aluminum, but let me say that's not a concern. Any well-made bike will take your weight and all the curb hopping you want to do. As other have said, the wheels are the key factor there. I weigh about 200 pounds, and I've got a 2008 Kona Jake with the same wheels the current model uses. I've put about 8000 miles on it, including about two dozen cyclocross races (which punish the bike a lot harder than curb hopping) and it's still going strong.

You've probably also read that aluminum has a harsh ride and possibly also that that's a myth. It depends on how the bikes are built. I've also got a CroMo Surly Cross Check and I can tell you that it's no smoother than my Jake. Tire choice makes a lot of difference in the smoothness of the ride.

As for the point of diminishing returns, I think bikes with Tiagra, Deore or SRAM Apex components are a big step up from anything less expensive. I'd probably target whatever bike has those. Having said that, I think it's important to recognize that component choices should rank well below fit and feel. If you ride a bike with 2300-level components and it feels great, you'll enjoy that much more than a bike with even top-of-the-line stuff like Dura-Ace that has a "meh" feel to it or, worse, doesn't fit. Go do some test rides.

globie

I have a similar commute, but one of the hills is substantial. I wanted light weight, good strength and durability, and gears. I also wanted something of a beater because of rough pavement, salt, weather and lockup conditions. I found a well preserved 12-speed sport touring bike that does the trick and makes the ride a pleasure. It has Weinmann alloy wheels that are quite rugged and take 1-1/4 tires.
I second the panniers recommendation after wearing a backpack for a year.
Total investment about $350, including new pedals, fenders, rack and quality panniers (which cost more than the bike).

mk9

My current commuter is a 1999 or 2000 Specialized Rockhopper Pro with Specialized 26X1.5 Armadillo Nimbus tires, a Surly 1X1 Chromo fork, SKS fenders, bar ends and chromo petals. Other than that that's how it came off the boat.

It's seem its share of curb drops. Not the most graceful but not harsh. Overall, it's been a solid bike. It's just not that comfortable.

I've made the commute many times on it but I want something better suited to do the commute at least 3 times a week.

Here's a pic of it on flickr.

no1mad 

If you're used to flat bar, I'd see if you could rent a drop bar and spend some time on it before dropping coin on a new bike. A lot of people make the transition to drops, but there are a few of us who just don't get along with them- all arguments about proper set up be damned.

Bar ends will give you a change of hand positions. Cane Creek ergos would simulate the hoods of a drop bar, albeit a bit wider and couldn't use a bar end mirror. And then there are alternative bars to consider to get multiple hand positions and would still use the lower priced mtn controls.