looking at building either a Cotic Road Rat , or Escapade, its going to take me 6 months to get it together saving and purchasing a bit each month. Probably buy new frame and build with what I can buy on here and ebay, funds will be tight 😀

do roadrats take 135mm rear ?

If so, narrowish xc 29er wheels

Fulcrum xl 29ers here. £160 a pair and narrow rims for road tyres.

I also have an almost brand new set of wheels from my Cannondale Synapse Disk I am putting up for sale.

Random offer mode – I’ve got a silver rear XT disc hub on a silver Rigida Sputnik 700c rim. £40 and its yours. It should be easy enough to find a front.

scaredypants , yes the website says for the new frames they are 132.5mm so they will fit both 130 and 135 being flexi steel 😀 if I went road rat I guess I could use mountain bike drive train and flat bars , I have enough bits to get started, would need brakes and wheels, this route would be my cheapest option, the Escapade would need drop bars and brakes n shifters and rear mech etc not sure if compatible with 10 speed mtb mech.

Got a pair of these from Rose Bikes for my Road Rat; paid £160 for the pair, and have so far clocked up roughly 2000 trouble-free miles on them; very happy with the build quality, and the service received from Rose was first class.

Unless you pick a very road based bike with 130mm dropouts any MTB based wheel will fit and they come in a range of prices. Assuming this wheels are the last thing you need. Everything fits. Choose your bar shape, add appropriate shifters then match mechs to those.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and offers, not got the frame yet so won’t be buying wheels etc, til then, just fishing for ideas, e-mail to Cy and he thinks maybe the Road Rat, will suit my needs best, best get saving 😀

I got a shimano mt66 29er wheel set for around 180 quid for my roadrat. Wanted a beefy wheelset as I’m carrying panniers and a toddler plus seat. They’ve been fine so far. They’re centre lock so you may need new rotors which pushes the price up a bit. And the graphics are a bit rubbish but the stickers come off easy enough.

bit over £200, but worth considering if you’ve got some wiggle room in the budget: http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/stans-notubes-ztr-alpha-340-disc-wheelset-4755-p.asp

Deore hubs and Mavic A117 rims are a safe bet