Could also be tempted if the price is right for a frameset.
Frame and fork.
Hence it being a great deal.
Three things that mention the presence of a fork.
Mid-point rack mounts
• Low and graceful bend
• Five-year frameset warranty on defects for the original owner only
FYI when I ordered direct from Rawland last year it was $171US direct via Fedex for a single XL frameset… might not be worth freight forwarding - shoot them an email.
Solid deal that frameset btw… jump on it!
Get it! Get it! Get it!
Thanks Tom…what did you get?
I read it as F&F too but pick shows frame only.
350 US
+171 US
521
I’ve got one on its way too. The fork is included with both the Stags and Nordavindens, and a few other bits - Rawland-labelled seatpost clamp and chain slap guard come to mind.
One of my sons (also on this forum) is looking at getting one too. Best freight I can now see for him is paying the Rawland USD50 domestic shipping, then getting it sent to MyUS in Florida, who in January aren’t charging for the 145litres volumetric weight, just the 9.5 or 10kg actual weight of F+F+packaging which is USD164. So total price is USD564=AUD698 on XE.com just now, plus the paypal 3%.
And the topic of this thread being big tyres, the Nordavinden will take 35mm tyres. I’ve also chased up some Vittoria Voyager Hypers from Planet X in the UK on a great deal. They were tested by a Dutch guy called Kees (with a bit more science but maybe less fun than the BQ approach, and with similar results across comparable tyres) and came out as flexibly efficient and tough. They are called Vittoria Randonneur Hypers in that test. They are GBP12.5 each with VAT taken off, plus a flat GBP10 delivery from Planet X.
You’ll need to use Googe translate to get much value, and see that the values in the PDF are in Watts of energy used to push each tyre along at different specified speeds. The puncture part of the test can be understood by the relative values, but the translation is still a bit iffy.
https://www.fietsersbond.nl/sites/default/files/test_schwalbe.pdf
jln/dln/zln whatever the letters…hit me up if you figure it’s cheaper to send to boston then have me forward to melbourne. doubt it would be better than a freight forwarder…but if it is i won’t charge fees.
shame i’m not coming home any time soon. delivering bikes is fun.
Thanks, but I’m not buying anything until at least April / May, especially a $600+ frame.
keep an eye out for a used cx bike maybe?
I would really use that time to hone in what you want this bike to actually do, and whether you can make it more versatile for later.
I have an all city mr. pink. With room for 32’s (but run 28’s now) and long reach brakes, it is only suitable for a very small amount of off-road action. I rode some firetrail and singletrack recently and found it to be a real challenge (and 32ish–knobby tyres probably wouldn’t help). It also, frustratingly, has no real rack mounting capability. You may not want to carry anything but if you want a decent dirt ride, camping is normally a pretty practical way of getting amongst it.
I would consider either getting a cross or touring frame and doing it properly, with room for future proofing against later purchases to make it more practicable.
At the moment, my only geared bike is my 90’s Cannondale 2.8 with Veloflex 25’s on it. In the last week I have ridden road (hills), gravel (hills) and single track (that wasn’t the smartest idea). I used to do all of this on my CX bike, but that has a cracked fork.
I enjoy riding different places and surfaces more than just bitumen roads, and the Cannondale really doesn’t handle it too well. I also would like road brakes because I’ve never felt confident braking in the wet with canti’s (that includes commuting as well as descending).
I’d really like a decent steel frame (Tange etc tubing), with mudguard eyelets, two bottle cages and cable guides and downtime shifter bosses. I don’t need it to handle a foofy porter front rack or be built for touring, but if it has the capabilities, that’s fine. I don’t mind if it’s new or old (I was leaning towards new initially, but I’d happily buy an old frame). Something that handles like a road bike, but can fit a bigger tyre and full mudguards for winter.
I looked at them again last night. I’m not feeling them at all. I think it’s the Celtic decals.
cover them in stickers.
I’d suggest getting something with mini-v’s if canti-braking is an issue for me, fixed that issue up perfectly on my Singular SSCX.
…Just get a Surly.
I know WCP and I keep saying buy the rawland, but it’s for a reason. It meets your criteria and is very well priced currently.
A CX bike will have a slacker HT, longer chainstays and (maybe) a higher BB, it’s not the right geo for most of the riding you’re going to do.
If you can find an old frame like the b-stone that has enough clearance and fits (late 80’s Trek 420/520?), more power to you, but there’s no warranty and an unknown history (like your cracked fork), and incompatibility/hassle with modern parts (126mm / 1" threaded / blah).
Yeah, the celtic decals are terrible, but paint/stickerzz/electrical tape will fix that.
mini vees are a credible alternative to cantis for your purpose, my demonCX with minis and 30mm rubber is basically exactly what you want (no rack/guard mounts though) and it rides less like a tractor on road than most dedicated CX bikes. 85mm arms and superslr/sram shakes is a good setup.
How about a BMC road frame then?
fits up to 33mm tires w/o fenders or 28mm with fenders, requires standard 47mm - 57mm reach brake calipers.
$595 will get you the frame/fork with seat clamp and threaded down tube cable stops.
Is there any reason you can’t put a new fork into your CX bike and keep riding it?
Or go full modern, hang the expense, forget about steel and calipers and get a GT Grade / Spesh Diverge / Trek Domane disc etc.
Edit: Keep an eye out for the original Salsa Casseroll. The gingerbeer/mustard one with med reach brakes, not the blue one with canti posts. That was a good bike and meets your needs.
I really like that BMC. That’s pretty much what I had in mind for this type of bike.
Sounds like you want an ‘endurance’ road bike, easy.
Does it need to be steel? Lots of other options like spec diverge, cannondale synapse, trek domane, bmc gf…
Want steel 'cos real.
Lorday is selling a Casserole - $650 complete - but singlespeed.