Steel frame bike

charlesf

Hi

I really enjoy reading everyone's opions about the bikes available today. At present I ride a Claud Butler Voyager which, before anyone else says it, is too heavy, too big (for me), and laden with poor quality parts. Sadly sold to me by the LBS, now closed.

After a lot of research, I have decided on a drop bar steel frame bike that can take mudguards for my commute and I have almost decided on a Cotic Roadrat.

However, does anyone have a better bike in that price range - £750?

Over to you guys!

Soul Boy

Better than a Cotic Roadrat? Doubt it.

Heard great things about it, would be my 1st choice of road/commuter.

Ooops my name gives it away, a bit of a Cotic fan :oops:

el_presidente

Pompino is the obvious steel competitor. Quite a different style of bike though, and I doubt it is superior to the RoadRat

alfablue

Dawes Audax Supreme? on offer at £720.

A bit more, but lovely - Condor Fratello. Start at £899

Fireblade96

I had a test ride on a roadrat, it was lovely. The test model was a little large for me and had flat bars rather than drops, but other than that - great fun!

Doooooo it !

alfablue

Is the Roadrat only single speed?

The Rookie

Looks like it http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/bikes/roadrat/flat_bar/

Simon

roger_merriman

The Beginner wrote:

Looks like it http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/bikes/roadrat/flat_bar/

Simon

looks lovely,

charlesf

Thanks for the input, you can get the Roadrat with a hub gear, 18 Bikes have some good pics (http://www.18bikes.co.uk/content/custom_build_bike.php).

Thanks alfabue for your suggestions, I really like the Dawes but it seems to be discontinued, but worth hunting for, and you are right the Condor is out my range - I have to stop the price creep as I started with a limit of £500![/url]

Roastie

Well done for choosing steel! I love steel - still the best riding material I have ever tried.

Anyhow, my steel fetish aside - here are my suggestions:

Ridgeback Voyage:
Reynolds 520 tubing. Sure, it is a touring bike (which, if you ask me, is a good thing) - but you could very easy "sport it up" if you wanted by removing the guards and rack and fitting a nice double chainset. In that format it would make a nice part time cross type bike - perfect to commuting.

Also, bang on the money.

Planet-X Kaffenback:
I'm sure you could get a Kaffenback build bang in your price bracket. Plus you can spec the bits down to the last bolt, so you'll get exactly what you want. The Kaff got a great write-up in CP and is more "road-bike"-ish.

Surly Cross Check (Pacer or Long Haul Trucker):
I like Surlys. A lot. There are a few shops that sell them in Surly built up spec, but also in a custom builds. For commuting I'd take the Cross Check, but if you'd like something more road bike-ish I reckon the Pacer is a bargain.

If you can stretch the budget:
Condor Fratello:
Class act. Gorgeous finish.

Salsa Casseroll:
As per the Fratello, just prettier IMHO.

I do hope this helps. Otherwise, perhaps approach a local frame builder to see what you can get made up?

charlesf

Hi Roastie

Thanks for your advice, I really like the Planet X! I do have a local charity bike shop that only re-builds steel frames. Unfortunately they don't have my size (21") and I don't know how long I will have to wait for a frame to come. So I am exploring buying new as well.