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Hi, yesterday’s commute in went a bit differently than I expected! A car decided to drive into my left side when I was on a roundabout rather than give way so I ended up being rolled over the bonnet. Got details of the driver but not holding my breath on any insurance claims.
I’m fine, but my well loved flat bar steel touring bike faired worse. Will need two new wheels, front+rear racks bent and I think the frame and forks are now squint so not worth fixing.
Suggestions please for new touring/commuting bikes, steel, flat bar convertible, mounts for F&R rack, triple chainset and discs? <£2K. Don’t have a car so needs to be super sturdy for heavy load carrying and touring use.
Current front runners are:
- Surly disc trucker - 54cm with 26” wheels, as I’m too short at 5’8” for the 700c 56cm, has through axles though
- Spa cycles disc tourer - 54cm, standover should be similar to my cross check, wheels are quick release
Spa was my first thought. Never met an unhappy owner of any of their bikes
Cycling UK magazine always has ads for builders I've never seen - current issue has Butterfield Bicycles, Oxford Bike Works, Stainforth. No idea on prices.
A custom build from Lee Cooper might cost less than you expect and he's got plenty of experience with touring bikes. It may not have the finely polished detail of the premium custom frames but it's more than comparable to a good Taiwan factory output and costs care similar for some specs. He builds frames for a few small specialist brands.
What about a Surly Bridge club 27.5 wheels?
You've told the police yes?
Thanks for the speedy replies!
I will look at the builders mentioned so far, checked out Oxford already but they didn’t list the geometry and with discs it likely to be north of 2k.
Bridge club would have been perfect, but it’s got a single ring up front that rules it out unfortunately.
@csb - Yes, filed a met traffic incident report and have a witness as well.
I have 3rd party cover through LCC in case of any funny business from his insurer making a claim over the dent I made in the car 😂
I was shaken up, so just got name and phone number (drop called to see genuine) not address and full insurance details unfortunately. Never had to do this before so a bit of a blur really.
It's not steel, but https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBTISRGX/titus-silk-road-sram-gx-titanium-adventure-bike is on offer for £1k today.
While the world is distracted/fixated with gravel bikes ,you may be able to pick up a nice steel tourer secondhand.
Glad you’re ok!
When I got hit by someone driving a car, I was fully paid out for my bike by the drivers insurance. All I had to do was get a written report from my local bike shop which detailed the extent of the damage and that a repair wasn’t possible.
I replaced my old Trek road bike with a Genesis Croix de Fer which although a little portly, is a great steel touring/utility bike.
i know it has a 1x, but for the money you still change things if the rest of the bike suited?
Kona Dr. Dew 2022 Bike (winstanleysbikes.co.uk)
Just had a look at that adventure bike ^^^
The frame looks very similar to my old Trek after I hit the car that pulled out on me.😀
They do a flat bar CDF, no triple chainset though.
Local bike place picked up last night and will hopefully have a report ready early next week.
It was bought as a NOS frame off eBay ~9 years ago, has 9 speed deore group, with LX/Sputnik wheels I built in 2020 and tubus racks. With lack of receipts for a whole bike and depreciation I would expect £200-300 for it at the most.
Titanium/aluminium/carbon, single rings and integrated headsets are not what I’m after. I’m a cup and cone bearing tinkerer really, so would prefer things that are easy to service yourself even if a bit old fashioned/heavier.
Ridgeback Expedition?
Love my Ridgeback Expedition, meets all your criteria, 26" wheels too. Plenty of change from £ 2k when I last looked. Super comfy ride, I love it.
Fairlight Faran? Shimano GRX 600 1X/2X Build – Starting from £2,099
Edit - see you need 3x, still doable with a build I'd have thought
Sonder Santiago and that Ridgeback in copper look lovely. 👍
Spa Wayfarer is absolutely delightful.
One of the nicest bikes I've ridden.
Spa would build you a Disk Trucker to similar spec, but it will be pricier.
Not ridden the new one but my 26" wheel DT is a wonderful bike.
Off Topic of a bike replacement but....
I had something similar happen to be a couple of years back. Someone pulled out of a junction, straight into the side of me, rolling me over their bonnet.
I was a bit battered and bruised - but nothing broken. Or so I thought. Their insurer made me what I thought was a fair offer for the injuries and damage to the bike. (the bike had a few scuffs. Great testament to how tough Cotics are!) -so I accepted. But then my shoulder just got worse and worse over 6 months to the point where I needed a lot of medical attention...the cost of which well outstripped what they paid me.
FWIW, I would talk to one of the ambulance chaser legal services. They'll get you what you are legally owed (less their cut) for minimal effort on your part.
Not sure if it is flat bar convertible, but a Kona Sutra (tourer, not the LTD) might fit the bill. Quick Google search and can pick them up for £1900.
https://www.biketart.com/products/kona-sutra-se-2023
Or maybe a Kona Unit, already set up flat bar.
https://www.wheelbase.co.uk/product/kona/unit/kona-unit-x-2023/
my mrs is currently riding a surly straggler 650b kitted out as you want. from Keep Peddling in Manchester.
perfect really.
prior to that she had a surly troll. again as you want and also perfect.
@rustyspanner - Did check them but standover is ~20mm higher for the long version or it would have been on the list. I do have a soft spot for Surlys, but it looks like the current DT would be 500 to 600 quid more than the Spa disc touring bike which ticks all the boxes except no “lime pea green” 🤷♂️
@mccraque - I think I saw you post about that ages ago, it made me want to take my time to be sure. Police called today and confirmed it would be a warning letter if he’s insured, further action if not. Name didn’t match their records so ticking through their process.
@ton - I would have gone troll or ogre but they changed the BB standards a while back and the max ring sizes have gotten smaller since it was switched to single ring.
Edit - duplicate post.
Have you looked at the Brother Cycles Big Bro? Frameset is about £700 I think so leaves a healthy budget for components, I think if you want a complete you might need to get one of their stockists to build you something? I took a box of drivetrain/brakes to The Woods Cyclery down in Lyndhurst and they built one up for me with some shiny new bars/seatpost etc.
Are any of your current components salvageable?
You are not near Rugby are you? if you are and £450 sounds ok have a look at this Spa cycles tourer.
https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?t=154891
No connection to seller but I'm a big fan of Spa cycles stuff!
Edit: might be too small, although it looks like its got quite a short stem.
Here's a vote for a surly disc trucker. I toured on a 26inch lht and my only regret was it wasnt a disc trucker. Otherwise it's a very solid bike. Quite literally .
Report back from the bike shop - front LX and Sputnik wheel, plus racks need replacing. Fork looks OK but the frame stays are have bent so now squint and the rear wheel dishing has changed. At the uneconomical point for a bike not worth much.
@jfab - All the parts are almost 10 years old, Deore 9 speed group set with a triple, XT v-brakes. Some bits I will salvage as spares or for a bike charity.
Big bro does look nice, just not a good match in terms of donor bike really and I would want a triple.
@lesshaste - I’m in London, thanks for suggesting, it does look more like a 52cm so too small. It’s also 8 speed, I would prefer to spend more for a disc frame which is slightly more modern.
I just ordered a spa flat bar tourer, front and rear racks so ideal for supermarket and tip runs. I wanted rim brakes, 35c tyres as I ride mostly on towpath.
Looked at surly trucker, there's 2 on eBay/gummy at c2k, but I m locking mine up outside supermarket and I d worry.
I went over to spa last week to look in person, bikes look really nice. Spa built some touring wheels for me 15 years ago and they ve been excellent.
If u get a spa the black frame, guards etc looks lush.
Thanks everyone, going for a 54cm Spa flat bar tourer with discs in the end.
@poolman - black looked the best with matching guards and racks, shame I might have to hide the decals under some vinyl stickers to make it appear a bit less flash!
That's brilliant, does look good in stealth black. I ll wrap frame in black plastic tape to disguise it a bit.
I uprated fr wheel to 36 spoke and stronger hubs, m+ tyres, should be bomb proof.
New bike day has arrived! Checked it over and just what I wanted, our cat Tilly also approves.
Some tweaks made after this, saddle up a couple of inches and bars dropped further etc. Rides well and is nicely stable, discs are getting better with a bit of use as they definitely need some bedding in.
Also first time I’ve had thumb shifters since I was 11 years off of in my Raleigh Lizard! 😂
https://flic.kr/p/2onYPkR
https://flic.kr/p/2oo542p
Nice. Enjoy 👍
lovely bike that. cant beat a Spa bike for value.
Vote for the Fairlight faran here as well. New colours are a improvement as well.
Nice bike, I collected mine 3 weeks ago so put a few miles on. I ve wrapped mine in black tape and inner tube to hopefully deter thieves.
After a Brompton it deffo feels stable, really nice ride.
I think spa do a free service after 500 miles.
cant beat a Spa bike for value
Whilst the bike might be just what the op wanted, I'm not sure that's true. The flat bar bike on the spa website is £1000 and comes with the same groupset (altus) that's on carreras costing £300. They might be niche, they might be nice, but they don't appear to be good value
Do you get many 725 Carreras? If not I'm not sure it's really a fair comparison.
They might be niche, they might be nice, but they don’t appear to be good value
https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s225p3961/SPA-CYCLES-Steel-Tourer-Flat-Bar-9-Speed - this for ~£1100? Looks good to me. More so if you factor in durability/lifespan to what value means.
Nice bike OP.
More so if you factor in durability/lifespan to what value means.
this exactly. value dont have to involve bling.
Looks a great bike for commuting, touring, getting from A to B or whatever sort of bike. Frame should last forever. Enjoy the new bike feeling on the way to work 👍
Yes it’s been great to commute on this week so far, started the day with a big smile!
Well worth it for no more toe overlap and the handling is super controlled. Just what I was after really, but had to also make it less flash with some tactical black electrical tape.
I think they aren’t bad value for a heat treated butted cromo frame, hand built wheels, fully kitted with accessories, decent tyres and assembled properly.
Also some sizing advice from someone who knows their stuff is a welcome change from most bike shops I go into 😂