Banzai

I've been running a Nashbar "X" Frame for 10 years now as my all-purpose cross/gravel/commuter/utility bike. The gravel bike before there was such a thing as "gravel" bikes. Not bad for a $100 frame.

But now I'm thinking about replacing it with something prettier, and in steel.

My two top options are the Soma Doublecross Disc, and the Surly Straggler 650b. (Why 650b? Because they don't make 700c in my size. I'm small.)

Soma Doublecross advantages: Chainstay mounted disc caliper for easier fender/rack mounting. I can run both 700c and 650b wheels on it. I think it might be a little lighter, in Tange Prestige.

Surly Straggler advantages: Smaller frame overall, which I guess would make it lighter in the end. The funky dropouts would allow me to change up the drivetrain to single speed, a hub gear, etc if I wanted. Purpose built around smaller wheels.

But the advantages of the Straggler might be the disadvantages too. Purpose built around an orphan wheel-size, and the dropouts might be a faff to work with, plus those set-screws could get devastated by the winter.

Spoonrobot 

What sizes are you looking at?

I ride a Doublecross often and think it's a pretty great bike but the Straggler is probably better for the smaller sizes under 50cm.

ksryder

If I could buy a bike today I'd buy one that isn't out yet -- the Rodeo Labs Flaanimal 4.0. They say it'll be out soon.

The 3.0 had sliding dropouts, disc mounts, replaceable RD hanger, 3 bottle cages plus mid-fork eyelets on the carbon fork, and a split seat stay if you want to belt drive it. Pretty much checked every box on my personal wish list.

No idea how their smaller sizes work, although it's designed to run 650b or 700c wheels.

ETA: Oh yeah, clearance for 48s, through axle, and threaded BB. And a buncha other stuff.

Banzai

I ride 50cm in most bikes...but would probably be on 46 in the Double cross due to the length.

Banzai

I go through this every few years, and yet never find anything compelling enough to replace the Nashbar frame. It just keeps on going.

fietsbob

Many years ago 1990, I got an Italian made Pinarello Cross frame and fork, saw a lugged frame in the catalog,

but a TIG frame was what was shipped. fork, with a fork crown , old style, bosses off set to the inside ..


It replaced a very shiny all aluminum AlAn I sold , to a CX racer..

Now most of the common brands of steel frames are built by Maxway TW Ltd for various importers to their brand names
and with the variations they request in the contract and various CAD drawings sent.





.....

mack_turtle

I owned a Soma DCD. nice bike! sizing was tricky. I rode a 52cm but I probably should have bought the 54. I had 40mm tires in it at one time.

this might be worth considering too- Fisticuff Frame . It looks like you can get a Fisticuff frame, fork, and headset for under $550.

bcpriess

If you're okay with V-brakes, and since you're small, you could look at some of the better late 90s rigid MTB frames, which are almost certainly available in a size that works for you (and also dirt cheap). They can make a great canvas for a general purpose bike, and they should be able to run 650b tires with 40c rubber.

HTupolev

If the point of the 650b is to go smaller than 700c, it would probably be more convenient to stick with 26er on a bike that was made for 26er. Especially with cantilever or v-brakes, which can be problematic to adjust for different rim diameters.

79pmooney

I ordered a custom frame a million years ago as a steel all purpose bike. Basic design requirement - to be rideable in the lower 48 states 12 months to the years (to keep me sane during the crazy post-head injury years). To accomplish that goal, I went with a lugged 531 frame, "square", steep seat tube, long chainstays, same headtube angle as seat tube. Horizontal dropouts (so I could run fix gear), cantilever brakes for all-weather and touring and (eventually) LowRider mounts on the fork. Fender eyes. Clearance for 27" winter tires and fenders. (The cantis are set mid-way between 27" and 700c.) Highish bottom bracket - like my racing bike and pedal-able around corners with 175 cranks, an ingrained habit from racing my very high BB as a guy with no sprint at all. This come into play decades later - see below.

The bike has: weekend toured, done many centuries, climbed Mt Diablo in California a few times, ridden town line sprints, ridden in the hardest rain I have ever been in, ridden the gravel of the Oregon Coast range over to the coast (as a fix gear). It started as a 120 spaced 15-speed, then to 126 7-speed. It is currently 126 flip-flop fix-gear (both sides) with ~4mm of dish. Chainring is set up as a triple using fix gear 1/8" rings. With a 17-21 "dingle" on one side of the hub and a small cog on the other, I have appropriate gears to ride mountains fixed, a dream I have had forever but figured it was too crazy. Now I not only have a bike that can do it, it can do it with 35c tires and go anywhere there is a road, fixed. Pavement not required. Last summer this almost 40 year old all-arounder went fix gear over that coast range for an 80 mile day, 30+ of "gravel, mush of which was 1 1/2" stones, several thousand feet of each up and down, almost all gravel and some 18+%. I set it up with training tubulars. Went to clinchers. Last summer I put the new Vittoria Open Corsa G+ 28c's on. Sublime! And a 38c Pasela front, 35c Pasela rear for the wildest gravel ride I have ever done. Not sublime at all! but perfect for the ride. (That 35 rear was absolutely the biggest that fit in the chainstays built with no tweak or crimps.)

I'm not saying any of this helps you. But there are good reasons to build up all-arounders. Sometimes when we do, we find years later they can do something unique that makes them truly special bikes. (Mine was a very high quality bike that didn't do anything as well as the bikes I bought/built later for specific purposes so as I acquired bikes, it got ridden less and less. Now it is back as my #1 bike. Went out today to ride a solstice ride. Fix gear, 42-18. Just perfect for an easy reflective 40 mile ride. And that high bottom bracket? How nice fixed! The bike has absolutely found it's niche. (Though if I tour again, it all comes off, the triple and racks back on and it is back to a life it hasn't seen for three decades. And as a touring bike, it isn't half bad. Fun to ride into town on when the bags are off!)

Ben

shoota 

Word. I need to look up what new features the 4.0 is offering.

cobra_kai

They haven't announced the specs yet for 4.0, but if I had to speculate: Spork 1.2 with support for dynamo wiring, proper tubing butting to reduce weight 1-1.5 lbs, tweaked cable routing to fix an issue they had in the bottom bracket area, tweaked dropouts to accommodate mechanical disc brakes and rohloff hubs without swapping parts, and of course new paint schemes.

I bought a 3.0 frame which I am still building up but ticked off every box I was looking for. The 4.0 I'm sure will improve on things slightly, but with an expected frame price of $1400-$1500 it's a lot more expensive than the options the OP is looking at.

shoota 

I bet you're right. Across the board.

Edit: you forgot the integrated bottle opener lol

ksryder

Pretty much, yeah: Flaanimal 4 Preview - Rodeo Adventure Labs, LLCRodeo Adventure Labs, LLC

BikeLite

Flaanimal 4 - Rodeo Adventure Labs, LLCRodeo Adventure Labs, LLC

chas58

Yeah, ironically, 27.5 wheels are a lot closer in diameter to 26" wheels than 29" wheels (700c), go figure.

26" -> 27.5" is 25mm; 27.5" -> 29" is 38mm.

Gotta love the bike industry.

Facanh

I think 27.5 as an option is nice. Forcing it because it's the new hot thing is another story.

Currently running 622x37 tyres, I want to go down to 27.5x47. Bigger volume and the ability to run fenders. To run 47x622 tyres and fenders my frame would have to have a much longer chainstay.