Suggest a good off-the-shelf rain bike.
 

I would like a road bike that has clearance for fenders. I would leave them on permanently. The following have been suggested to me:

Trek Portland (relatively heavy for the road bike category)

Salsa Casseroll (I might go with the frame, but a steel fork and standard components make this kind of heavy also)

Specialized Tricross (not truly a road bike, but it would pass for my type of riding.)

Are there any road bikes out there that are designed to take full fenders and still have caliper brakes?

I currently have a touring bike with full fenders that does just fine in the rain. However, it is a little heavy for me to try and keep up on a club ride. I know that working on the "engine" would be helpful... it's just that I'm not getting any younger. Just being able to "maintain" is an accomplishment - actual "improvement" may not be possible (not true, I could lose some weight... I'd just rather do it on a lighter rain bike.)

My "dry day" road bike is a Cannondale Synapse.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

Trek District Carbon :innocent:

Throw these on the Synapse.

http://www.crudusa.com/product/27

Tri-cross doesn't have caliper brakes. If you can live with canti's, lots of entry level touring bikes will work. Heavy, but cheap. How much rain riding you plan on doing?

What kind of riding do you want to do on these rainy days? Training? Racing? Commuting? Just riding around? There are different answers depending on the question.

I do have to admit that the Salsa Casserolls sitting in my sponsor shop look to be a serious upgrade over what I currently commute on and would be suitable for most training rides.

It would be quite a lot (it rains quite frequently in the Puget Sound area.) This bike would mostly be a training bike used for club rides (I can keep up on the 17 lbs Synapse... I can't keep up on the 31 lbs touring bike.) I could commute on it also - but I prefer the touring bike for that.

Hmmm. My kid's specialized sequoia can squeeze in 32 mm tires past the caliper brakes if you don't fully inflate them before installing the wheels. I wonder if you could squeeze in a fender?

I'm thinking I might go with the Salsa Casseroll frame, long reach ultegra brakes, and an ultegra drive train. 28 spoke Open Pro wheels (I have a set sitting around), Thomson seat post, shimano spd pedals. I'll have to think about the saddle, stem, and bars (I like the control tech forbidable.)

I would hope this build would still come in under 20 lbs.

I'd love to find something similar off-the-shelf.

You can put full fenders on most all road bikes. It just takes some doing, either with p-clamps if you don't have eyelets or by splitting the fender and using brackets if they won't fit under the brakes. I bought an old Cannondale 1000Si (CAAD5) off craigslist to use as a rain bike and used p-clamps. The fender fit in between the brakes and tires without having to split it.

Dean

105 triple on the Sequoia, long reach calipers, AL frame. Never weighed it.

My Giant OCR-1 will take fenders. It's a relaxed geometry road bike.

Soma Smoothie ES with 57mm calipers, plenty of room.

Hey, that's a pretty interesting frame! I like the fact that you can get it with a carbon fork that is designed for fender clearance.

+1

Those look pretty interesting. The back fender doesn't appear to be a "full" fender. It might work though. I guess it's worth a try - $45 bucks vs. a new bike???

I went with the Tricross myself. I'll tell you how it is in a few weeks when it arrives. A team discount made a difference in my decision though. I thought about the crud roadracers but I really wanted full fenders to keep both myself and the bike cleaner in the rain. The geometry will be different, but I think it'll work out fine. The longer wheelbase should help my toes clear the fenders and heel clear any rack. I should be able to set up the cockpit just like my Tarmac too, which will be nice.

Well, I just got a Surly Cross Check and I think I like it so much I might faint. It is like an assult weapon, built like a tank, rides like a magic carpet, can take any tire/rim from a 23 to 45 and can mount any manner of racks or fenders or machine guns or rocket launchers. Mine weighed 25.1 pounds but I think when I go to a better tire in a few thousand, maybe a different crank, I should get into the 23 pound range. The bike is no slouch and eats dirt roads up and rolls fast and clean on pavement.

I planned from the get go to swap the CC double 175mm Andel crank to a project bike I have and put a nice Shimano double crank on the CC with a 170mm size.

I paid about $35 at ProBikeKit. They have tight clearance, so they need to be adjusted a few times to keep them from rubbing. Putting the bike on a repair stand makes the setup a lot easier.

The partial back fender wasn't a problem, except for going over 20 mph in very wet roads -- then the water coming off the front of the rear fender caught the wind and splattered out to the side. I've had booties when I've been out in the wet, and they got soaked from the front tire splashes, but my shoes stayed dry.

A store-bought rain bike? Purchased with the sole intent of being a rain bike? Really?

Isn't that like buying pre-faded blue jeans?

Made in the Northwest, for folks who ride in the rain a lot -- the Baron Outsider rain bike.

http://www.baronbicycles.com/models.htm#outsider



No discs,

carbon fiber: new Gary Fisher Chronus road bike can fit fenders plus 25c tires.
steel: Co-Motion Nor'wester

Quote Baron:

"There is a fleet of ****ty Aluminum frames at the races, but they aren't popular because they ride nice - they're popular because you can build a ****ty Aluminum frame and get them a container at a time from China for $120 a pop. A quality, light Steel machine makes all the difference 30 minutes into the race when your back starts to talk to you. The F. Nightingale lets you keep putting out the power and pushing it all the way to the line. "

End Quote.

LOL

Surly Cross Check

Very nice ... :thumb:
Out of Stock ... bummer :(

25mm is the maximum general tire size for these fenders. Weight (in grams): 160

http://www.crudusa.com/images/upload...lonel_1000.jpg

http://www.crudusa.com/images/upload...losel_1000.jpg

I don't have direct experience with this bike, but I always thought that a Surly Pacer would make a good rain bike for a roadie. The crosscheck is a cyclocross frame; the pacer is a road frame (IOW, works with caliper brakes) but with clearance for fenders. The literature says it can take a 28mm tire and still have room for fenders.

My ideal rain bike will come from bikesdirect. Just don't know if they are fender-compatible.