Brief backround: I rode mountain bikes for several years in NY & various Western states ( Wildland Firefighter for US Forest Service ). I never owned a road bike & started with a Sinister Ridge hardtail. My recent bikes ( I sold both ) were a 2008 Titus Motolite & 2009 Santa Cruz Heckler. It was difficult to travel back & forth across the country with two bikes & My riding needs/ habitats have changed.

I seek an everyday do-it-all bike ( We are looking for the perfect One bike ). I no longer want the hassle of fixing & adjusting many components. I Love the Simplicity of The Ride.

My riding now will consist of urban/suburban roads/ sidewalks, etc. & two track dirt roads & non-technical singletrack. I will use bike for commuting & exploring.

I want a steel frame with rigid fork. SS or Fixed ( which ever would suit My riding needs best ). After many years riding mountain bikes with all the " bling ", the pure beauty & simplicity of SS/Fixed confounds Me on where to begin & what to purchase.

Funding is not an issue but I do not wish to spend ridiculous amounts on something if there is a better alternative @ a lower price.

Please suggest frame or complete bike, gearing ratio ( I Love to pedal hard & work the heart ), geometry, tire size ( I assume no road tires but no mountain bike tires either ), ant specific components.

Thank You Kindly in advance. I look forward to your replies.

I'm going to suggest anything with a flip flip hub, both FG and SS options, and take a second to change over. What is your budget?

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/uno.htm

welcome to the bikedirect satellite sales center

but seriously...

are you really going to ride off-road much?
if so...
there are lots of really nice ss cyclocross bikes to choose from or else you might consider rigid ss 29ers like the karate monkey or monocog

My Budget is between $1000-$1500 USD to begin with ... But will be willing & able to spend more if need be ... ... ...

I will ride trails 35% - 50% of My riding time depending on the day ... I do not feel comfortable on a 29er ... I do like the 650B's though ... I assume any frame will do, but it is the set up ( tires, handle-bars, etc ) that will make the bike doable for both urban & trail ... ??? ...

I should add ... I know that road bikes are 700cc/29er tires ... The 29er I tried was a friends Santa Cruz Tallboy whose was too Big for Me ... I believe that with the added height of 29er tires made it uncomfortable for Me ... ... 29er Mountain frame is key to start ... ... ...

since you know that 700c & 29er rims are same diameter, perhaps you also realize that you could put cx tires on a 29er that are not nearly so tall as big ol' knobbies. plus, besides the fact that you mention the 29er you rode was too big for you, keep in mind that a full sus like a tallboy is, well, taller than a rigid hardtail.

i kinda thought i had found a perfect do everything bike. been riding a fixed redline 925 for just about everything lately. it is a tuff frame that will take wide tires, i stripped off the fenders, swapped to riser bars, & threw on some 32c cx tires. besides commuting & cruising, i began taking it to the same trails i ride my stumpy on for some "hipster mountain biking". funny thing is, today at the trailhead some guy talked me into selling it to him so now i think i may try building up a steamroller frame i had sitting in the garage to do the same thing.

good luck to you finding your one bike. with your prospective budget the hardest part may be narrowing down the choices.

I say go fixed gear. But you don't really need to decide on that. Not really. Well, maybe.

If you have a fixed gear, you can eliminate the rear brake. Maybe. If you are into that. I like no rear brake bc I do not have to worry about the brake set up of my chosen frame (disc, canti posts, caliper). I also do not need to worry about wheel size. As long as the big wheel fits in there a smaller wheel will also. Of course, if you go disc brake you can also be flexible as to wheel size.

I really like 26 and fixed. Mine are freaking bomb proof. Put a 36 hole rim on there and you can take pretty much any abuse offered. Only problem with this is that the front ring gets tight if you go too big, but I'm not like you. I like to spin.

The last is obvious, but make sure you have track drop outs. Since you are buying steel you can have the dropouts replaced for $100 if you are in any decent metro area. But you might not want to go there now. The redline mentioned above is a good candidate. If you dont have track drop outs look at the ENO eccentric hub. It's as kick-ass as anything out there.

Fork? I'm partial the the surly 1x1. Cantis and disc mounts. Run disc brake or canti brakes on any size wheel using Paul moto brakes.