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Right then, time to refresh/replace the winter road/commuter bike. I’ve currently got an old, beaten up Kaffenback and it’s no fun to ride so time to upgrade. Requirements are nothing overly out of the ordinary I don’t think, any ideas would be gratefully received:
Road bike with drop bars
“Normal” road bike geometry, not too relaxed
Vaguely lively and interesting to ride, though compared to the Kaff anything will be better
Hydraulic disk brakes
Space for 28mm (ideally 32mm) tyres and full guards
Ideally a Shimano build
Braze-on’s for proper guards and a rack ideally
Ideally a peg for a frame pump
What do you reckon?
I have a Whyte Glencoe it covers most of the things you list and is supremely comfortable.
I bash it about like a mtb with no worries, whyte do other models with more gears if you have lots of hills to contend with.
https://www.whyte.bike/glencoe/
Saracen avrò - secondhand. I used to have one and ticks those boxes
Pinnacle Arkose 2.
SRAM rather than shimano, but otherwise fits the bill. Can easily take the tyre size, rack mounts front and rear.
Sonder Camino AL.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-zenium-vr-disc-road-bike-105-2018/rp-prod159799
£800 before BC discount is one of the best buys I've seen recently.
I've picked up a boardman cross bike over the summer, its last years version of this (for £800)...
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/cyclocross-bikes/boardman-cxr-8-9-cyclocross-bike
Cracking bike and ticks most of your boxes....apart from the Shimnao bits 🙂
I have got to quite like my London Road ,it ticks a lot of the commuter/gravel boxes,but it's a heavy old thing and I now fancy getting something the same in carbon.
Sonder - No, too adventure style, I want a proper road bike.
Vitus - Perfect bar them not having my size.
Saracen - Looks good but little or no availability
London Road - Is the default but boring option
Boardman - Nope, that's a CX bike.
Pinnacle - Not bad that, an option.
<p>I also use an Arkose (4) for commuting. Got a beefy tubus rack and Bontrager mudguard. Hydraulic discs are great and it smashes the canal towpath part of my commute (current Strava KoM haha). Super comfortable and covers round quickly (I got decent times on the PRL100 and London Tri with it). However I would not call it lively by an stretch of the imagination and I don't need anywhere near the clearance or off road ability it offers. Hence, I have been vaguely considering the Dolan RDX and would be interested in opinions. The main criticism I've seen is the fugly cable routing near BB shell. My plan would be get the Ultegra / Cosmic Elite version.</span></p>
Sonder – No, too adventure style, I want a proper road bike.
Boardman – Nope, that’s a CX bike.
Pinnacle – Not bad that, an option.
From the Evans website
Home<i class="material-icons px-2"></i>Pinnacle<i class="material-icons px-2"></i>Bikes<i class="material-icons px-2"></i>Cyclocross Bikes<i class="material-icons px-2"></i>Pinnacle Arkose 2 2018 Adventure Road Bike
So not an adventure bike and not a cx bike but ok if it's both 🙂
Pinnacle Dolomite is a bit more Roady based than the Arkose and seems to tick most of your requirements - I got a Dolomite LTD earlier in the year replacing a Kaffenback that I grew to despise. The Dolomite is really nice to ride, reasonably quick, but comfortable and sturdy without feeling overly weighty. Plenty of clearance for 28mm tyres with mudguards, though 32mm may be a squeeze (fine without mudguards).
Ahem... currently got a size L Dolomite 6 for sale in the classifieds... 🙂
Cannondale CX frame? I know you said it must be a road bike not cx bike but I've got both (Cannondale Supersix Evo and a alloy CAADD CX) and they both feel like they have the same the race geometry frame , the CX is a just as lively and fast to be fair, just more comfortable and stable on the roads for winter riding and you've got more choice in tyres.
+1 for the whyte glencoe, I bought myself one a couple of weeks ago and it's excellent.
The plus tyres are so comfortable on the road that my road bike feels horrible to ride now.
+1 for the caadx i got the tiagra equipped one which has mech discs, great on road and occasional bridleway action
I'd avoid most of the usual suspects on geometry grounds. You want something that handles like a nice road bike. CAADX is a good choice. For road, how about a Kona Esatto disk - not sure about mount options. Giant Defy would the same. Might limit larger tyre choice, but I would definitely be looking at more roady and less gnarly.
Don't write off a Boardman. I ride an older CX Team, and it has the same 73 degree parallel geometry as my race bike. Slightly higher BB, but it is a cracking ride. I train on it in the winter and have raced it in the Winter Series - sans guards. Looking at that chart, he's gone a bit slack compared to bikes of old. Mine's not disk.
EDIT Defy is nor the Contend SL-1 Disk. Not sure about it taking guards, but has decent road geometry.
For £720, that Vitus is a bargain.
9.4kg, full 105 hydro group, carbon fork, guard and rack mounts, 12mm TAs.