[Closed] Do it all road bike?- commute/kid towing BUT "fun" to ride

CX bike like a cotic X?

Genesis Equilibrium.

Edit: changed my mind.

Pearson carbon audax. Friend has one - he's toured on it, rides it as his winter trainer and, no doubt, it'll pull any trailer.

As above - look at almost any CX bike.

Planet X Kaffenback???

I just got a Marin Lombard through the NHS bikes scheme, worked out at around five hundred quid in the end. So far, so good, I've just put a pair of schwalbe cx tyres on it, looks like an excellent do it all bike.

Have a look at the Kinesis stuff - lots of choices on their site.

Need a bit of help- why, apart from tyre clearance, might a CX bike be the way forward. I know nothing about them geometry/handling wise- any thoughts on how a typical CX bike would compare, ride-wise with, say, the Equilibrium or Pearson Audax suggested above?

Sorry, bit of a numpty in this arena!

er, not completely sure.

but A genesis equilibrium will be a little lighter than a planet X kaffenback.

but the Kaff' will take discs - which i like...

caadx 105
kaffenback
unclejohn
surly cross check
surly long haul trucker or their road frame
charge filter
ribble winter frames

plenty out there.

A cross bike would be good for versitility provided it had mudguard mounts and bottle mounts.

Winter training bikes and more old school bikes are your next best bet. They are often sturdier and gome with rack and gaurd mounts.

For your requirements, I'd:

1. Ignore the cross bike suggestions, other than they're the bike du jour on STW. I can't see how one would ride as well as a dedicated road bike.

2. Probably discount the Kaff for towing duties as, unless I'm mistake, it has sliding dropouts. Not sure I'd trust them over time with a trailer on. But it does look eminently practical (steel fork prob isn't going to flick your switch).

[url= http://www.dolan-bikes.com/road-bikes/Carbon/Dual%20Road%20Bike ]What about the Dolan Dual - carbon, but room for full guards?[/url]

cross check, lots of fun and at home in most situations

The towing and sliding dropout thing has me thinking. Apart from front breaking isn't all the force being applied to the bike, through the rear axle, so if your trailer attaches at the axle rather than chainstay would the effect be fairly neutral?

I have a Bad Boy for those duties, but it's not much fun riding it on the road compared to something like a cx or road bike

Buy an old frame stick some wheels on...simple?

so if your trailer attaches at the axle rather than chainstay would the effect be fairly neutral

I am no physicist..! I figured that the fore and aft forces from the trailer (on the axle) may push/pull the whole dropout unite, which is attached via bolts.

But, like I say, I am no physicist..! 😀

For your requirements, I'd:

1. Ignore the cross bike suggestions, other than they're the bike du jour on STW. I can't see how one would ride as well as a dedicated road bike.

I ts replacing an HT and a road bike ... A CX bike will manage most general off road stuff fine that the HT did , plus with a set of slicks on a 2nd pair of wheels ( as mentioned by OP ) will hoon along the road all but as well as any other road training bike.

A CX frame is likely to fulfill the options for all the requirements he lists in terms of what it would need.

Mud guard clearance - plenty and cx frames generally have mounts
racks - if you've got mudguards, you can fit racks ( generally )
tyre clearance - plenty
He also mentions lots of steep hills, a CX bike would likely have slightly lower gearing than a road bike, making it easier up those hills as for towing.

Need a bit of help- why, apart from tyre clearance, might a CX bike be the way forward. I know nothing about them geometry/handling wise- above?

any thoughts on how a typical CX bike would compare, ride-wise with, say, the Equilibrium or Pearson Audax suggested

The typically have a slightly longer wheel base than an all out racing road bike plus maybe a slightly slacker head angle ... makes the general ride a little less twitchy steering wise and a little more supple.

The bars may be slightly higher than your typical road bike too, making the position a little more upright, easier on the back.

But then again, those a features that you could also find onan audax bike too.

Personally, I poo poo-ed the idea of CX bikes for a long time, however, I got one on a bit of a whim, and its turned out to be a great bike. OK, its not quite as fast as my all out road bike, but its considerably comfier, smoother and the ever so slight slower pace is more than made up for by the nice smooth ride. I'm now ditching the HT frame in the garage for it.

You mentioned its replaceing an hardtail mtb. Are you expecting to go offroad at times with the new bike? would you be expecting to be able to go over some rough stuff? If so, then the CX bike.

If you're not expecting to go off road atall, then a tourer/audax may be the better option.

gotta be a mmmbop with Super Moto's 😀
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I ts replacing an HT and a road bike ... A CX bike will manage most general off road stuff fine that the HT did , plus with a set of slicks on a 2nd pair of wheels ( as mentioned by OP ) will hoon along the road all but as well as any other road training bike.

I didn't read it in quite the same way, and came at it from the POV of replacing a decent road bike and a HT operating as a utility bike.

Certainly, if offroad is to be thrown in, and it's more than just tracks/towpaths, then a CX bike will be ideal. If no more than tracks/towpaths then a road bike is more than enough. So then my thinking was veering towards a decent road bike that could do other stuff (like take a rack, tow a trailer), which I reckon both the Pearson and Dolan would do well.

Actually, this has made me think - the new On-One carbon, disc only CXer. Got to be the ideal bike for this usage..! [url] http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FROOCXD/on_one-dirty-disco-carbon-cyclocross-disc-frame-and-fork [/url]

Technical spec:

No mudguard or rack mounts

Although a 26" mtb based bike, I'd be keen on the Surly Troll. There was a large full build on the Classifieds the other day:

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/fs-surly-troll-complete-full-rigid-build

I didn't read it in quite the same way, and came at it from the POV of replacing a decent road bike and a HT operating as a utility bike.

This is exactly right, sorry if not clear. The HT (+ slicks) is just a 'town' bike at the mo, slow on the commute, good for kids duties. I've got a FS mtb and thought I'd use both at different times, but turns out I'm only using the full suss for 'proper' mtbing, so the hardtail is a bit superfluous.
The road bike, while not that flash, is quite light and I really would like something that will be as fun when out on the roads on my own, but will handle the commute and kid bit adequately. Off road capability, other than the odd disused railway line, not required.

I'd get a reasonably robust road bike with long drop calipers, which will allow room for 28mm tyres and/or mudguards.

e.g.
http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/bike/platinum
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/dolomite-three-road-bike-ec027480

I've ordered a Kaff today as a winter trainer/commuter/all-rounder bike. I think it has swappable dropouts now, rather than sliding ones.

Specialized Tricross. If I was ever to only be allowed one bike then that would be the one. Does just about everything.

I'm in a similar position looking for a 'do it all' bike. Currently contemplating a Salsa Fargo or Vaya. Both can take guards and racks and have plenty of room for chunky rubber so will cope with a bit of mud chucking. I think I'll head to the bikemongers place for a test or two.

Forget CX, what you need is an AUDAX bike. Dawes Century or Dawes Clubman. Won't be as light as your carbon framed whippet, but will have a satisfying ride, guards and a decent range of gears. The cheaper Clubman is a bit of a retro looker too (if that's your thing). If it wasn't for the road bike pretentions, I'd recommend a Dawes Galaxy tourer, but I think you'd miss the sharper handling.

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I'm thoroughly enjoying a Salsa Vaya at the moment. It is surprisingly swift on the road, altho you'd not win sprints against someone equally fit on a racer. My tyre of choice is a Kojak in 35mm flavour - incredibly cmfortable but very swift compared to a touring tyre. 🙂

Kinesis Decade Tripster.

It rides like a cross between a fast hardtail and a roadbike. It's got discs, carbon forks, stiff in the right places, guards, racks - everything. Looks very neat too and the current ones seem have the paint and heel clearance sorted too. I have no idea or experience on towing to I'm sorry about that, but as soon as I'd bought a cross bike (the Genesis that preceded my Tripster) I got rid of the hardtail.

I absolutely bloomin' love my Tripster - it's right up there with the very best bikes I've ridden and frequently gets a run out in the hills of a Sunday instead of the posh carbon road bike. It kind of reminds me of when I was a kid and I used to "go for a bike ride". I had no choice of 5" travel full suss, long travel hardtail, carbon road bike, cross bike, whatever. I had a bicycle.

That bicycle used to go on the BMX track in the park, rag around the roads pretending I was in the Milk Race, charge across the gravel tracks to my mates house, down the fields, through the mud. That's now the Tripster.