a bike for all seasons/terrains

moonio

So its coming up to that winter time when I will prolly put Harry and Misty away till spring, but have also adopted the n+1 attitude.

So I really want to do some long distance rugged cycling..harry is too urbane and misty is prissy. So can anyone reccomend a winter bike that will also be good for touring on road and on the hills.
I had my eye on the Marin Sausalito a while back..with fatter tyres I think it could be a good option but what say you??

pangolin

Ribble winter trainer

Planet X Uncle John

Planet X Pro Carbon (now available in flat bar! no rack mounts though...)
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/news/products/q/date/2011/09/21/pro-carbon-range-from-899

Genesis Croix de Fer

ummmm. Anyone else?

Kieran_Burns

Cafewanda

K_B you've certainly managed to brighten up my afternoon

Torvid

Genosis Vapour Disc 2012

CX bike with disc breaks and lot of clearance plus mounts

mudcow007

Torvid wrote:

Genosis Vapour Disc 2012

CX bike with disc breaks and lot of clearance plus mounts

the new tricross has discs

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... gn=froogle

ive put the full link just to annoy KB

nation

Surly Karate Monkey with drop bars.

veronese68

I just saw a 2011 Canondale CX bike in an Evans flyer reduced from £899 to £699. Tiagra equipped, but with cantis. That looked quite cheap.

Jay dubbleU

+1 for the Croix de Fer

On-One Pompetamine ?

prawny

Charge Filter Hi, Mmmm blue with a shiney bit.

gbsahne001

mudcow007 wrote:

Torvid wrote:

Genosis Vapour Disc 2012

CX bike with disc breaks and lot of clearance plus mounts

the new tricross has discs

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... gn=froogle

Looking at the spec though, they've skimped on the brakes and gone for BB5's rather than BB7's

godders1

£900 for Sora, BB5 and alloy forks? jeepers :shock:

wombar

How about a Cotic X. Just built myself one up, rides beautifully.

Have just ridden to the New Forest, got a bit muddy (and a puncture) and ridden home again. Perfect bike for me I reckon. Here's a pic just after I'd finished the build, before I'd adjusted the saddle height etc.

ride_whenever

Pompetamine versa..

walkingbootweather

Just stubbled across the photo gallery of the guy that I bought my bike for all seasons / terrains from. So may I present my Thorn Sterling.

With rigid forks and marathon XC tyres it is a pretty formidable commuting machine. Swap fork and tyres and it can go places where regular mountain bikes get stuck. A 14 speed rolhoff speedhub gives a range of gears for any terrain yet remains near maintenance free. It can't get up to the same top speed as my drop bar road bikes, but A to B is only about 15% slower. I have taken it on 60+ miles per day trips with luggage on mixed surface and if has been faultless.

shouldbeinbed

Kieran_Burns wrote:

yes do it, Given my CX to my eldest 250 miles away, he's having a ball loving the fast jeep. I'm missing the beastie.

SimonAH

+1 for the CX. Forget the 'stronger' claim that some of the denizens are hung up on - it just lets you run fatter tyres with no significant weight penalty. And you can hammer it anywhere.

itboffin

wombar wrote:

How about a Cotic X. Just built myself one up, rides beautifully.

Have just ridden to the New Forest, got a bit muddy (and a puncture) and ridden home again. Perfect bike for me I reckon. Here's a pic just after I'd finished the build, before I'd adjusted the saddle height etc.

Very nice bike but bleeding hell you must have long arms, how do you reach those shifters?

itboffin

another +1 for the CX cough cough and the original CX commuter 8)

Loving my Dolan multicross

Kieran_Burns

itboffin wrote:

another +1 for the CX cough cough and the original CX commuter 8)

Loving my Dolan multicross

Possibly, possibly... but *I* made it cool 8)

Kieran_Burns

SimonAH wrote:

+1 for the CX. Forget the 'stronger' claim that some of the denizens are hung up on - it just lets you run fatter tyres with no significant weight penalty. And you can hammer it anywhere.

being serious - the above is why a CX is ideal. The flexibility of tyre choice - you can fit some whopping fat tyres on the bike if you'd like, or get some skinny 25c slick road jobbies - it's all good... you can fit 'guards, racks, bottle cages if you like - all on the same bike and freely interchange if you wish

wombar

itboffin wrote:

Very nice bike but bleeding hell you must have long arms, how do you reach those shifters?

Haha, it's actually not as bad as it looks. It's quite a compact frame, I have longish arms, and I wanted a more stretched out position. Plus the bars are at a slight angle in that picture which makes it look worse. I've done a nice ride on it today and I found it really comfy I always felt a little squashed on my "proper" road bike so it's a nice change.

CX is definitely the way forward for me. Like Kieran_Burns said, it just gives you so many more options. I can go down to 25c tyres, and up to 42c. That gives me the option of running studded tyres for the winter, then swapping out for some nice slicks in the summer.

moonio

ooohh this is making me feel hot..i think i need a cx now..
As a woman, should i be looking for a particular type of frame? I would like it to take mudguards, a rear and possibly front rack.
it needs to be light and fast, but sturdy enough for long distance.
I dont have masses of money to spend, and am considering a second hand bike too..so if anyone wants to sell then let me know

Jay dubbleU

Pretty much describes a CX - they have more clearance than road bikes - I ran mine with 28 Marathons and mudguards plus rear rack - a lot have carbon front forks now so you might have problems fitting a front rack

davis

wombar wrote:

How about a Cotic X. Just built myself one up, rides beautifully.

What brakes have you got on it? Any front fork judder?

wombar

davis wrote:

wombar wrote:

How about a Cotic X. Just built myself one up, rides beautifully.

What brakes have you got on it? Any front fork judder?

Avid BB7 Roads (you need the road specific version to get the right pull). It's got a Carbon fork, but I've not noticed any fork judder. Have only managed to get out for a couple decent rides, but nothing yet

BelgianBeerGeek

Been hankering after a crosser for ages and after battering the Bianchi last winter saved up for one as I've always been impressed by their versatility.
Was going to get the Boardman but was put off by others on the forum being less than impressed with BB fitting etc, so went for the Pinnacle from Evans.
Only had it about two weeks but first impressions are good. Even with the standard tyres I maybe lose only a couple of minutes on the commute. 105 kit is ace and the 32 tyres make a load of difference on the rough, mainly rural roads. I have the chance to take in everything from road to track to footpath/disused railway on the commute and it's really opened my horizons. Before I used to think "No, better not" on the skinny wheels. No I think "Yeah, why not?".
Mudguards arrived for the winter commute to keep feet and ar*e dry.
Absolutely lovin' it - if you get a crosser you will not regret it.

Stevo_666

Nobody has mentioned a mountain bike yet, which is usually a good fit for the 'all seasons and terrains' requirement . I guess it's a question of how tough the terrain is going to be, but there are some good hard tail MTB's that could fit the bill.

EKE_38BPM

Stevo 666 wrote:

Nobody has mentioned a mountain bike yet, which is usually a good fit for the 'all seasons and terrains' requirement . I guess it's a question of how tough the terrain is going to be, but there are some good hard tail MTB's that could fit the bill.

Burn him!!!

Stevo_666

Someone had to say it - just to give a balanced view of course :P

itboffin

I was think of converting my ribble winter into a FGSS style CX would be perfect for the shorter winter commutes and it would mean I'd need a new commuter ;-)

Carbon perhaps?