not_hip

Well, I'm actually just looking for a frameset.

• Steel frame and fork.
• Minimum 700x45mm tire clearance with fenders.
• Sub 405 mm reach (I have a short torso, giant legs).
• Front rack eyelets.
• Disc brake ready.
• Near horizontal top tube (not the sloping kind).
• Big frame size available (~60 cm C-C seat tube). ~85 cm standover or above.
• Sub $1000.
• Quick release, not thru-axle (not a deal breaker).

Closest thing I've found is Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross, but no disc brakes. They've got a disc version coming out, but for that they're changing the geometry (sloping top tube). Soulcraft Dirtbomb is close (well, not the price), but no disc brakes. Surly Disc Trucker 62 cm frameset looks good too, but clearance is around 40mm with fenders...

Anything I've missed?

EDIT: oh, forgot adding one of the most important points: short reach. I have short torso and I prefer an upright position.

not_hip

Thanks. I'm only looking for a frameset. Also, I want something with more traditional looks (and steel, not aluminum).

ThermionicScott 

If it were me, I'd commit to disc or rim brakes, and embrace thru-axle if the former. It's much wiser for the front wheel.

Teamprovicycle

Giant tcx zero ??? It just diesnt have disc brakes on my model but the new ones do ??!!

stringsonbikes

veganbikes

Specialized Sequoia Pro Module would be a neat bike to build up. It ticks a few of your boxes but overall as a complete bike is an excellent ride. If I wasn't already working on so many projects and didn't have an excellent touring bike, I would probably build one up. Sure it may not be perfectly horizontal or quick release but meh on both of those for that kind of bike these days. You can get a 61 with carbon fork with mounts on it disc brakes and plenty of clearance. Plus it is well made and well reviewed.

The Soma Wolverine mentioned above me is another option but it lost me at no thru axles and non-tapered steerer and while I don't dislike sliding dropouts I don't know that I would want them on a build. I am not normally opposed to a non-tapered steerer but all the great new forks are tapered such as the Rodeo Labs Spork or the Ren Cycles fork with their Ti rando rack. It is an excellent bike for a more old school build but as I get older my tastes have changed in some forms and I want all that modern stuff on the bike (minus press fit and non-27.2 seatposts)

Abu Mahendra

What's wrong with non-27.2 seatposts?

Kedosto

veganbikes

They are all the wrong size.

ColonelSanders

not_hip

To be clear: I want disc brakes. It's a must. I just showed what kind of frameset I was after (because they ticked almost every other box.

not_hip

To make things even more complicated... I forgot to mention that I have very long inseam and short torso, so a short reach frameset is a must. I added that to my OP.

I wrote it off because of the rather long reach and sloping top tube. But, it's a beauty (and available as frameset)!

Quick release is fine, but bikes with a sloping top tube looks ridiculous with my 93 cm inseam. Seat post in the sky. Also, I prefer the steel fork look (Wolverine style).

Wolverine I've looked at. Wrote it off because of the long reach. But surprise, it looks like it's one of the few frames with 45 mm (with fenders!) clearance. Didn't notice that. The Disc Trucker has a 401 mm reach for the 62 cm model, that might be on the large side but will probably work. I'd be very happy to keep it at ~395. The Wolverine is 412 mm.

The Giramondo is sloping but looks excellent aside from that. Too bad I got stuck with that one. Found no reseller in Europe and not available as frameset.

General Geoff

Due to your particular geometry requirements, you'll probably want a smaller frame size but with higher ground clearance (so cyclocross would work well), to fit longer crank arms to take advantage of your long legs. Your unique body type is not readily served by an off-the-shelf geometry, so some tweaking will be required regardless of what frame you go with.

rgconner

This will bust your budget, but only a little.

https://www.oasiscustomcycles.com/

$1399, and you get *exactly* what you want!
Well, maybe. He does not specifically make CX bikes, but he does do tandems... and a tandem has wider tires and heftier tubes, so the translation might be possible. Have to call the guy and ask.

Believe me, a custom steel bike is a thing of wonder, especially if you have weird body types like we do. I am the opposite, 5' 11" and 29 inch inseam. Dropping top tubes are a MUST for me. Which is why I had a custom frame built 18 years ago, it has a slightly dropping top tube to make all the other geometry work.




BTW, QR and Disc have some issues. Because clearances are so precise on disc brakes the relative inaccuracy of a QR mount can be problematic. Thru Axle is there to do two things:

Add more rigidity to the fork.
Ensure consistent positioning of the wheel relative to the disc brake.

They are not mutually exclusive, but if you don't get that QR set just right, you will probably get dragging from the disc brake.

Leebo

As said, check out Soma. Kona, Waterford, Surly, Salsa would be good too.

Craptacular8

If you were flexible on the 700c part (it will take 700x42, but 650bx48 with fenders), the All City Gorilla Monsoon checks most of the boxes, particularly the reach in their 61cm size is 401, standover 87.

veganbikes

For some reason I thought you wanted a carbon fork! Then a non-tapered steerer makes sense for you. I know it is more but Co-Motion makes some excellent frames and would be a great choice. I am quite happy with my Cascadia but you would probably want something a touch different because of wider tire clearance but I believe the Deschutes is right up your alley or close to it.

not_hip

The Disc Trucker may not be the best choice then. Touring style ground clearance. It's the closest I've gotten to the geometry I'm after though. Short reach, super long seat post for the 62 cm version (they measure center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube/top tube junction, rather than traditional C-T).

Looks like a dream. But I'm in Sweden and after shipping, VAT and tolls it will be $1,950 according to Swedish Customs calculator.

I've checked out every bike and frame available by those companies. No finds.

It's a beauty, but I want 700c wheels and a minimum 45mm tires with fenders. The Monsoon is limited to 42mm. Without fenders, it seems. It's a no go.

not_hip

Thanks, had a look at their bikes. Deschutes only takes 40 mm tires with fenders, so it's a no go. The Cascadia is even more restrictive, 35 mm with fenders.

mstateglfr 

You are looking for custom in a generic world.


use cantis- they work fine.
or use a sloping top tube- it works fine.

lose the ideal perfect look and get the ideal perfect fit.

i have a black mountain canti frame- love it. The disc version will be harsher since the fork is overbuilt(i guess properly built) to handle the disc brake twisting, but i bet itll be great still.

Abu Mahendra

Velo Orange Piolet?

veganbikes

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Steel is on the low end? What bikes are you looking at other than Hi-ten crap at wally-mart. Jamis does a bunch of stuff in steel 631 and 853 Reynolds Tubing and their Renegade Escapade uses Ultegra (not low end for sure), Cinelli has the XCr and the Vigorelli (amongst others), Specialized does the AWOL and Sequoia, plus there is a ton of custom builders out there such as Chris Bishop, Independent Fabrications, Adam Sklar, Demon Frameworks (have you seen the lugs, hory shirt), Co-Motion...Plus there are some other decent options from the likes of Surly, All City and Soma which aren't high end but not low end either.

Steel is alive and well. Sure Carbon and Aluminum are bigger at this point but steel is, has been and always will be, REAL!

I have 38s on my Cascadia with fenders granted if I could go back in the past I probably would have gone Americano so I have more clearance with the fenders. Though I wouldn't suggest the Cascadia for your use, I just happen to own one and love it and love the brand over all.

bcpriess

The Giramondo is *very* nice. About 4k miles into one and no regrets. And by my measurements might be able to accept up to 2.5in of rubber....

dsaul

As a framebuilder, who just built a similar frame for a friend with the same long legs/short torso body, I will warn you about focusing too heavily on the short reach aspect of the frame. Shortening the reach on the frame also increases the toe overlap with the front wheel. In my friends case, we had to go with a short stem(50mm) to get the reach he wanted without his size 12 feet hitting the front tire. A short stem may not be aesthetically pleasing, but its not hard to get used to and I think its better for off road riding to have the front wheel pushed out a little more. I built my personal gravel bike(650b x 1.9" tires) with a 50mm stem and it handles great.

dksix

I know you're not looking for the whole bike but for the price I thought this might be a starting point but it's aluminum. I was thinking all of their bikes were steel but not this one but since I when through the finding the link I am still going to post it.

https://westridgeoutdoors.com/collec...=4577150631974

I was considering buying this one for a trail/gravel bike but ended up getting a Schwinn Vantage instead. I still like that AMOK, even just the 1x8.