Entry-level road bikes? I’ve seen some questions, but still wanted to ask…?
I’m interested in a basic entry-level road bike (a touring bike, I guess? I want at least racks and possibly panniers later). I ride pretty much daily 35 miles and will mostly want it for commuting, but also for longer weekend trips.
I’ve read other questions regarding similar bike interests. I just want to ask if people have any strong opinions about the lower-end bikes such as Trek 1000’s, Giant OCR’s, even those Dawes bikes that I’ve seen on bikesdirect.com. If I were going to get one of these, are there major reasons why I might choose one over the other?
I definitely want something I can hopefully set up fenders and racks on, commuting in Seattle. I ride in the rain and currently get soaked pretty bad in the rain, but hopefully will change this…
I would strongly reccomend either the Surly Crosscheck, or the Surly Long Haul Trucker. Both are built fom 4130 chromoly steel (which rides way better than aluminum). The Crosscheck is…well, you guessed it, a cyclocross bike. However, people set them up for commuting, touring, ‘cross racing, singlespeeding, fixed gearing, almost anything really. They have clearance for 45’s, semi-horizontal dropouts (so you can run singlespeed or fixed), and 132.5mm spacing (so you can use either a road or mtn hub!). The crosscheck also has lots of braze ons, for fenders and racks. The Long haul Trucker isn’t quite as versatile, but is set up for LOADED touring or commuting. Longer chainstays, lower BB, and more braze ons. You can buy either one for around $900 bucks. That’s a super deal for what you’re getting. I just special ordered a 58cm Crosscheck through my local bike shop, and spec’d it with mostly mtn. components (avid, salsa, xt wheels, xt derailleurs, lx hollowtech II’s) and some road stuff (dura ace down tube shifters, salsa cyclocross bars, aero levers). It’s supposed to be ready tomorrow, and I can’t wait! I live in AZ, so rust isn’t as big an issue as it is up there. Frame saver, and liberal greasing should be enough to keep a steel frame alive in that crazy wet seattle weather, but I don’t know for sure. I guess aluminum would be pretty hard to beat on the coast. There’s always titanium…
Good Luck.
MI to CD bike commute
