After being somewhat royally effed with my last bicycle purchase I thought it would be a good idea to seek help for my next. I want a bike to ride everywhere, long rides over poor quality surfaces in all kinds of weather. I plan to use it to commute (my workplace has a secure bike room) and to carry fair amounts of weight (I’m thinking the ability to carry around 20kg would be ideal in the off chance). I think I’ve decided on getting a cyclocross or a tourer. I’m leaning toward a cx as I’m liking the idea of powering up Mt Coot-Tha then racing down the fire trails. I want disc brakes (almost certainly mechanical, most likely BB7s). Ideally I’d like a lugged steel frame with a horizontal top tube, space for fenders and mounts for panniers. So far the short list consists of the Surly Disc Trucker and the Soma Double Cross. I hate the colour of the Surly and I’ve read some not too flattering things about the build quality of the Soma. I’m also considering getting a Colossi: Columbus Max Cyclocross | Flickr - Photo Sharing! . I’ve seen a few Colossi’s on here, they seem to be pretty nice bikes. Thoughts? Are there other bikes I should look at around the $2k mark? Which would you recommend me getting out of these three?
TL;DNR
Surly Disc Trucker, Soma Double Cross or a Colossi. Which should I get for commuting, transport, leisure and a bit of fire trails?
If you want to spend that kind of money and don’t have a specific bike in mind, I’d hit bike exchange and see what specials are on offer. You can most probably pick up an older model sale bike with better specs. $2k buys a lot at the moment.
Thanks for the replies! The Disc Trucker would be great as a pre-built bike, but I really wouldn’t want to ride it off the road in the same way as a cyclocross bike. The Double Cross looks like it might be the best option since the trucker only comes with 26 inch wheels for the 52cm frame and I think I’d like to stick with 700cc. It also sounds like it would give a better riding style and someone I spoke to at my LBS said she really liked her Soma Smoothie. For a similar price to the Soma I can get a Colossi frame and fork. The bike as standard doesn’t come with disc mounts but I’ve been told they can put them on, which at first I was excited about but now I’m wondering whether that would be a potentially dangerous idea if it hasn’t been designed with discs in mind.
I’ve been told by a few sources to consider the Salsa Vaya, and it does look like a good bike. For some reason it just isn’t hitting the right chords with me.
I guess I’m pretty much looking for a bike to ride in the rain, over terrible conditioned roads, off gutters yet still enjoy a longer ride. I was initially looking at getting a hard tail mountain bike, but I’m fairly sure a cyclocross might be more aligned with the bike I’m trying to find.
Kumo, get whatever you want on it and he’ll make it stronger than your face x5.
Discs and shit whatever man, idk if the fixed.org special is still on, but a frame like that with a mid level groupset and wheels, baby you doin well.