BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

People use the Crosscheck for light touring, you may need to trade forks with a Long Haul Trucker for the extra mounts.

I don't know, but your out there with the Freeze Thaw Cycles shop. I haven't had the opportunity to see the shop, but from the web site it look killer. Have you talked to those guys?

http://freezethaw.com/

Yeah in my search, that bike has been popping up a lot.

I should add though (sorry for the late addition) that I want a bike that is disc brake compatible. I'm looking for better stopping power than I've had on previous bikes. Especially the way I like to ride my bikes

Steelwool tweed would be a good option.

You could pretty much use any cross bike for touring with two points to note. Cross bikes usually have a chainstay length of 43-44 cm as opposed to 44-45+cm for touring bikes, so if you want to run racks and pannier, you will need to find a longer rack or maybe some rack extenders to offer heel strike clearance if it is an issue, and cross bike typically have a more aggressive riding position than touring bikes, so could be a little more uncomfortable for longer rides, but that is a personal preference issue.

For specs and ignoring name brand:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/outlaw.htm

I almost bought that when I bought my road bike.

I was looking for a bike similar to what you're looking for but couldn't find anything at a price I liked with disc brakes.

have you checked out the salsa la cruz

http://www.salsacycles.com/laCruz08.html

Do you know of any newer cross bikes that have a less aggressive riding position? I have an older Bianchi Boardwalk that has a good riding position and is very comfortable at any speed and down any terrain. I would just build that up again but, it has no disc brake bosses so it's not 100% of what I'm looking for. Also, I never though about the chainstay length, thank you for bringing that up. I'll keep that in mind while I'm looking around the local shops.

Thanks for all the advice so far!

Yes I've read the review of the La Cruz on Urban Velo and thought it could be a good fit but I didn't know how versatile the bike could get. I was thinking of getting the Vassago Fisticuff because I love how versatile it is but, I should go and test the demo of La Cruz to see if it would work for me.

Thanks again for the advice!

The Steelwool Tweed is really pretty perfect for what you are talking about.

Never had a problem with mounting bags without heel strike on mine.

You can even adjust the BB height with the eccentric BB. Up for cyclocross, down for touring.

(edit:need a proofreader, I do.)

The La Cruz is sweet but where are the rack mounts!? Jerks.

Another option; if you have a frame that you like, you could talk to a framebuilder (like Thick) about replacing your dropouts with disc-compatible ones.

Touring bikes and utility bikes have similar requirements. Both uses tend to be slighted by the bike industry.

I read that on some expert's blog a few years ago and I was like, "Yes! Yes! I'm not alone!"

I use a surly crosscheck. I mostly commute, but I've done about 1100 miles on the GAP and C&O with it. I like it.

Mick

One thing you may or may not be considering is the added complication of mounting racks, fenders and panniers to a disc brake equipped bike. It can certainly be done successfully, but will likely require some careful parts considerations and/or some custom bends and head scratching to make it all go.

One thing you may or may not be considering is the added complication of mounting racks, fenders and panniers to a disc brake equipped bike. It can certainly be done successfully, but will likely require some careful parts considerations and/or some custom bends and head scratching to make it all go.

+1

There's always a custom bike or something like the Co-Motion Americano

@ La Cruz:

"A fine cyclocross steed: race it if you like, but ride it you must. Ask your local ‘cross posse, and they’ll tell you there’s nothing better than riding a skinny tire off-road!"

This has me bustin up.

@ Local 'cross posse:

This can't be true right?

I don't know how exactly it compares, spec-wise, to the other bikes suggested, but check out the Trek Portland. It's a beauty, I nearly bought one last year before I decided to get something a bit racier.

I peaked at the Trek Portland. 27 speeds but the lowest one is 30 F, 26R? Three of my 24 gear combinations are lower than that - and those are the three speeds I use the most.

Mick

or build up a soma double cross dc if you can't live without discs:

That seems like a winner there, and has all the rack and fender mounts you could ask for.

When I went to a local bike shop today, one of the mechanics was telling me that Salsa is going to update the La Cruz with rack mounts and such to make it more commuter friendly (just some info for the gentleman who brought that up earlier). But anyway, thanks again for all the information. I'll look at all the options given and see which one I think suites me best.

sweet

That Soma has a rear disc mount no?

yep that's why I recommended it

Yeah I like the soma frame as well.. was seriously considering building a bike off of it. Even better that if you want you could start with cantis then buy into discs at a later point.

The Kona Dew or Dew Drop might fit the bill as well. Can't tell if there are rack mounts.

http://mtnroadcycles.com/product/kona-dew-drop-53717-1.htm

Just remembered this Norco:

http://www.norco.com/bikes/road/touring/cabot/

And these from Kona:

http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=dewdrop

http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=sutra

http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=honkyinc

And this from Rocky Mountain:

http://www.bikes.com/main+en+01_102+METROPOLIS_SEA.html?BIKE=868&Y=2010&CATID=3&SCATID=27

dmtroyer, I read that as "if you CAN live without discs"

Whoops.

Hmm had a bunch of links in a post, but it wouldn't load.

Kona has threee road/touring/urban bikes with drops and discs this year.

Rocky Mountain has one too, looks pretty cool. Norco has a touring bike with disc mounts. I think those Canadians are on to something.

Don't forget the Salsa Fargo.

Probably the best advice for "touring bike questions" would be to go into a bike shop and ask an employee there. A couple good places would be REI and Steel City Bikes.I've often gone into REI to ask questions on cycling and they've been very helpful.

Eric, that post got picked up as spam. i unspammed it. sometimes the filter on here is a bit too strong, sometimes not strong enough. hmmmm.

Thanks erok.

I'll check out those bikes and see if they're to my liking. I have checked out the Fargo on Salsa's site but, I didn't ride it or really ask about it when I was at the shop. I live in State College and we don't have those shops here. I'm definitely going to go and ask more questions whenever I have a chance.