steppinthefunk 

I say go with an older vintage bike. Possibly a french porteur.
POst this question in the Classic and Vintage forum and you will find that
$1700 will give you the nicest vintage bike in town!!!!

jr59

I ride a CC as 1 of my bikes. If I had to do it again I would buy a pacer. The CC brakes are not that good.
While you cad run any type of road brake on the pacer.

I would go see what Bill Davidson could do for me, it might be a bit on the high side, but he makes GREAT bikes.

j-law

Rodriguez Cycles- made in Seattle.

https://www.rodcycle.com/index.html

They have complete bikes with customize frames in your price range.

robbyrocks12345

Man you need to get an aluminum frame or a carbon fiber frame

rkleim

Forget cross bikes unless you mean to carry your bike around. Check out the salsa Fargo.

Scooper

^^ This.

Daddy Wags

You folks are killing me with all your well meaning and informative suggestions. As enticing as many of the bikes presented here, I am determined to stay under $1800 and would hope to find a bike for a little less than that. Believe me, anything I decide to buy in that price range will be a huge improvement over what I am presently riding.
I do have a question concerning complete builds or frame only buys. I am not that savy that I could build up a bike myself from a frame purchase, but would it be worth it to find a capable "bike guy" and have a bike built up for me? A local bike shop that could get me a Salsa Casseroll told me they have what he described as a "Dream Build", where by you can order the bike and specify the improvements you want to make on the bike rather than have the bike shop do the switch outs once delivered. Or would it be more cost effective to order, say a Soma ES frame, and have someone build it up for me?

Barrettscv 

I built up a Soma Double Cross for about $1500.

I purchased the frame & fork and also purchased a new "doner" bike. I had a bike shope transfer everything from the doner bike to the Soma frame. The bike shop charged $150 labor and I had a complete & ready to ride bike with a free tune-up at 500 miles. See: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...nally-finished!

Bikes Direct is a great place to buy a doner bike.

RickB.

That's kinda how I want to do it. Soma or Pake frame & fork and let the shop install the crank and headset of my choice, the rest I can do a bit at a time. Not so much with a "donor bike", but piece by piece with parts from Velo-Orange or Soma Fab.

jr59

Just go buy the pacer complete! It will do most things that you want a bike to do. Plus you will have extra cash for gear or upgrades if you wish.

On top of that, the green looks great!

MNRon

I have both a Pacer and a Cross Check. The pacer is built up with a 105 drivetrain, and is kept pretty bare as a pure road bike. I have a rack, some fenders, and wide (700x40) tires for commuting and gravel riding on the CC. I like them both, but if I were not going to carry much (seat bag or a Revalate frame bag) I would stay with the Pacer. I needed the wider tires with fenders and that's why the CC came into the garage.

You really can't go wrong with either, in my opinion.

BluesDawg

It's hard to go wrong with a Salsa Casseroll for the kind of riding described. The "Dream Build" sounds like a nice deal if you are thinking of some upgrades from the standard build. The Soma ES is a nice frame, too, but it is usually more costly to build up a frame than to buy a complete build.

pallen

I built a Pacer well under your budget with 105 and Dura Ace (7800) components and have been very happy with it. I even have a little rack on the back for commuting. (Axiom Streamliner Road Rack) Its comfy, and not too heavy (for steel anyway). I also looked at the Casserole and Gunnar Sport. I dont think you could go wrong with any of those.

Bat Guano

I'm surprised nobody's recommended this yet: https://www.rei.com/product/807242

It's almost the same bike as the Trek 520, except with SRAM Apex. Rides smooth as butter. With the 20% member discount it's well under your price range.

spock

https://2009.fujibikes.com/LifeStyle/...bsolute10.aspx

Daddy Wags

Although I do have access to the Seattle area to buy a bike...about 70 miles from here, I would really like to give my business to one of the 3 local bike shops in my area. I know these shops struggle at times and I appreciate having them close by. They are all friendly folks who don't mind spending time with me answering my questions.
They sell mostly Trek and Specialized and Cannondale. But because I want a steel bike, I would be limited to the Salsa's and Surly's through these shops. This is OK with me as I like offerings from both builders.
Shop One....they think the Surly Cross Check or Salsa Vaya would be the bike for me (they are off road riders) and aren't as enthusiastic about the Salsa Casseroll as I am.
Shop Two....one of the owners rode a Surly Pacer for years and loved the bike and just recently replaced it with a carbon fiber bike. He thinks I would like the Pacer.
Shop Three....He has a beautiful green Surly Pacer sitting there but in a very small size. When I asked his opinion on the Pacer, he said it was old technology and design and I should try out the Specialized Tri Cross.
As much fun as I'm having looking at bikes and studying forums (like this one), my problem is finding these bikes to ride. I have been on a Specialized Tri Cross and will ride a Cross Check this week, but the Salsa's Vaya and Casseroll and Surly Pacer are not to be found locally for a ride. I may have to locate them in Seattle for a ride.
Some folks, at bike shops and elsewhere, are suggesting a performance hybrid..such as the Trek FX or Jamis Coda would be better for me as I am an "old guy" with some wear and tear in the neck. But as comfy as these bikes are when you first hop on, I tire easily of the limited hand and body positions. SO, I am strongly inclined to buy a dropped bar bike, but one with a more relaxed geometry and a more upright riding position. I know many of you young guys think the upright dropped bars are sacrilegious to the art of cycling but to many of us old farts who still want to ride drop bars, the more upright riding position is a blessing.

acckids

I bet you could get this one under $1700 at https://www.benscycle.net/index.php?m...ducts_id=11744

DVC45

That! ^ ^

' seen it in person. Its a lovely bike.

IcySmooth52

It's a shame Fuji didn't make this one again this year.

Chuck K.

Hey, Daddy Wags. Here's my two cents: It sounds to me like you're moving in the right direction. Of the bikes you mention, all seem to be good choices. Personally, if I were to upgrade today, I would go Salsa Vaya with road tires. It's a super relaxed fit, and I think you'd be plenty happy there. You could put wider tires on for a weekend if need be, and the bike has disc brakes, which in Seattle would be a godsend. Finding one to take a test ride on may be a challenge, as you acknowledge. It could well be worth it. (Plus, that machine is frikkin beautiful in its orange metal flake raiment!)

Just another opinion, fwiw. Good luck!

Daddy Wags

I agree, Chuck, the orange Salsa Vaya with the black fixtures really caught my eye. And, if I decide to load the bike up a little more than I intended and/or take advantage of the miles and miles of forest service and logging roads in my neighborhood, the versatility of the Vaya might be just the ticket.
I would probably upgrade the brakes from the BB5 to BB7. And I don't know if I would opt for the triple or deal with the SRAM double. It's really hilly around these parts and my ole body struggles up some of these grades. I might like some 700 x 32's on it for my regular routes of riding.

Epicus07

Daddy Wags,

I absolutely adore the Casserole. You are making a large purchase so i strongly recommend that you do some good test riding before committing. I had a cross check and i believe that it paled in comparison to the Casserole. I would also say that Jamis makes awesome steel bikes. I would definitely go with Salsa or Jamis over Surly any day.

Go to Recycled Cycles on boat street south of the U.W. they will have a Salsa Casserole you can take for a test ride on the Burke Gilman. Just up the road from Recycled Cycles on the Burke Gilman is a bike shop called Counter Balance cycles which has a variety of Jamis bikes (and a nice collection of Brooks leather saddles which you can also test ride on the Burke Gilman.

Best of luck and let us know. FWIW i like the older casserole better but the new one looks pretty sweet too. Recycled might have both.

Daddy Wags

What a coincidence, Epicus, I just wrote down the phone numbers last night of Counter Balance and Recycled Cycles in Seattle to call them to see if I could come over and ride the Jamis and Salsa bikes.
You mentioned you like the older Casseroll over the new ones. What is it you like with the old model? I believe the new Casseroll has a taller head tube, level top tube, canti brakes, integrated front rack, and something else I can't remember. The Casseroll sure has alot of folks that think highly of that bike. I don't know about the newer version.

Epicus07

I haven't ridden the new Casseroll so know that my judgment is based on the aesthetics alone. I simply don't like the silly head tube. I do however love the color, style, canti brakes (awesome!) and front rack.

If the head tube doesn't bother you , the newer model will be more appropriate for your uses. The cantilever brakes will allow you to mount significantly larger tires and fenders. This will probably be significant considering that you might take it off paved road.

It is definitely a sport tourer or randonneur. She can't carry all of your touring gear but she will be quick and versatile and allow you to carry your necessities in comfort.

You can look at my signature for all of the nice bikes that i have....None of them fill the empty space in me that longs for the Casseroll. It is probably really silly. I have only ridden one once but it was special. The Roubaix just fulfilled my long distance needs better....i guess.

Enjoy your test rides.

Chuck K.

Daddy Wags: More FWIW...

Re the triple vs. double, I would heartily agree (avoiding knee cartilage wear & tear being a sensible desire).

Re the BB5 vs. BB7, I hear good things about the BB5s, but great things about the BB7s. I've never used either, but on hearsay, I would also tend to agree.

I hope those new wheels of yours turn out super.