Light tourer for 30km each way commute - Advice please

clarkey cat

Hello.

I currently ride a Gary Fisher Triton with racks but am moving to Walton-on-thames and my commute will be significantly longer - also my son will soon be able to sit in a child seat on the rack and so not sure SS will be appropriate.

I'd like to retain a horizontal top bar and so have been looking at the Jamis Aurora Elite. Does anyone have one?

I like the look of it mostly but does anyone have any other suggestions between the £1000 - £1250 mark. Condor is near my work so was thinking of getting a Fratello and decking it out as a tourer...

Any advice would be graetfully received!
Thanks

EKE_38BPM

I can't help much, but I can say 60 km a day sounds like a bit of a mission if it has to be done everyday. The Friday evening commute is hurting my legs just thinking about it, but that pain can be alleviated with a trip to the Morpeth.

I'm really just saying Hi to the new guy.

Also, whats your FCN?

unixnerd

Jamis Aurora Elite

That's a nice looking bike, never heard of it until now.

I'd do two things for your commute though. Firstly I'd get some lighter wheels and run 28mm tyres. It really does make a big difference.

Secondly I'd change the cassette to an 11-28, you'll have smaller gaps between the ratios and you won't miss the big cog. My tourer runs an 11-28 and I can get up Cairngorm on it! I'm surprised they're not offering 10 speed.

Fixedweasel

It may be worth taking a look at the various cyclecross bikes being touted by various manufactures e.g Cotic.

clarkey cat

Thanks for the responses! And hello.
I don't think I'll do it every day - I have a Vespa too (Boooo!)
Move in 2 weeks and CANT WAIT to ride up through Bushy Park and RP first thing in the morning - my current 25 minute dash from Dulwich to Bloomsbury isnt exactly scenic.


I spent a few hours looking at the "pictures of your commuting bike" thread and found it really useful reading up on the chat about what kit everyone runs with. Thanks for the tip on the cassette ratio - Im a bit clueless with technical chat so I was tempted to go into Condor and just ask them to build me the perfect bike but I appreciate that will cost me an arm and a leg.

Has anyone any experience of Ribble (audax) The bikes look great value but ideally I'd like a steel frame.

My FCN is 8 I reckon.

:P

Marcus_C

I like the look of that Jamis bike, looks like a very good commuting machine. I recently built up a Genesis Equilibrium and am loving it, if you want a steel frame it's definitely an option and it's a hoot.

clarkey cat

That Genesis is beautiful... got my list of commuters (thinking now maybe <£1000) to:

Tifosi CK7
Kinesis Tripster
Specialised Tricross
Jamis Aurora
Genesis Equilibrium
Ribble Audax

I'd prefer steel, I need rack mounts and good clearance for guards and it needs to be QUICK - for SCR credentials (but comfy...)

Marcus_C

The only ones i've ridden on that list are the genesis and a tricross. The tricross is a good bike, though I don't like the look of it and i shouldn't imagine it's as fast as any of the pure roads. The equilibrium can take full mudguards but if you want a rack you'll need some p-clips, i'd look at another if you'll want a rack a lot of the time.

Pessable

I've got an Equlibrium for my 15 miles EW commute and I'm loving it. My route is mainly rural lanes and the Equlibrium with 23mm tyres absorbs the road surface as well as my hard tail hybrid with 32mm tyres. It really is a comfortable ride, and the geometry lends itself to commuting too - a bit more upright and relaxed.

As for rack, I've switched my existing rack over no problem although I was lucky that it has 3 mounting points at the front of the rack so that I could replace the 2 which connected to the mounting points on my hybrid with one that connects onto the seat clamp. I haven't got round to mudguards yet, but I plan to.

Let me know if you want a piccie.

UndercoverElephant

The correct answer is a custom Bob Jackson, that would probably get in below your buget too.

Marcus_C

Pessable wrote:

Let me know if you want a piccie.

I could use a pic, I have a rack which stubbornly refuses to mount successfully. (not that i really need one most of the time)

You have good taste in bikes by the way 8)

clarkey cat

just a quick question about mounting a rack to the seat clamp.... will that take the weight of a 6 month old (fat) baby?

andrewc3142

I ride in through Walton on my way from Woking so may see you. Not that many of us before the Park.

I mostly use my Condor Acciaio with an SQR Slim and works fine. Great bike and a reasonable price with a 105 groupset.

I think I'm right in saying the Fratello is basically the same as the Acciaio but with the ability to add a rack, mudguards, etc.

clarkey cat

Well every time I apply my mind to the question of which bike to get all paths of reasoning are leading back to the Fratello. Just every so slightly more than I wanted to spend though...