Drop bar / all-purpose MTB?

Have a look at Singular cycles too. I’ve got a Singular Rooster which is superb. And a Kona Sutra LTD which is definitely more gravel that the Singular but can still handle some fairly rowdy stuff.

Thanks! Saw the Singular Gryphon and added it to my list.

I’m definitely not looking to go rowdy with this one, but would like the versatility to cover some of my usual bridleways that you can’t get from a more typical gravel bike.

My other half has a Bridge Club and it's way better than the sum of its parts. With a Surly corner bar you could swap between drops/flats quite easily and switch between roadplus and xc tyres depending on the surface. Heck, you can even squeeze some G-One 2.8s in if you're happy to sacrifice guards for squish! She's run hers with the stock 2.1 WTBs under guards and currently has Senderos fitted.

I had a Fargo and now have a cutthroat. If your budget and philosophy will accept carbon the Cutty does everything the Fargo does but is lighter and faster.

I have a Cotic Cascade and love it. It's comfortable, fun and very versatile. I've had narrower tyres on it during the winter but with wider MTB tyres it's very capable off road.

Ooh - thanks, I like the look of the Cutthroat!

Really appreciating all the responses. 🙂

Graham from Slam69 is selling is ex-demo Mr Harry, if you want a ti dropbar do anything bike that can easily accommodate anything from a 45c to 2.6 tyre.

I had a demo of a Cascade a couple of weeks back when the snow absolutely dumped down.

Hands down the best bike I have ever ridden uphill. Not that I have much in the way of experience of good climbing bikes but it was just perfect for me, the balance was just right so that you never had to get out the saddle (in fact that just mucked things up). The Wolfpack Race tyres did remarkably well in the snow and I actually only came off once. Only had to push once as well.

I'm swithering over drops still (not sure how comfortable I am with them off road) but it's still a fantastic bike and for the use you describe it's spot on, basically same use case as mine. I'd recommend getting a shot on one.

I've had a rooster and just built a gryphon, which has the same feel. Very capable for a rigid bike, but you can't really say why, just feel right and wants to go further. Way nicer off road than a regular gravel bike. Slower on the road of course which you notice most on climbs.

I would expect a cascade to be very similar, but not been on one.

I really like masons and have 2 in the house but the (relatively) low front end of the exposure puts me off because I prefer off road on the drops. That and it being constantly covered in crap half the year. BUT I would buy one if my budget was unlimited just on looks and bling.

You missed Pipedream ALICE

Cascade is incredible fun
https://ukgravelco.com/cotic-cascade-review/

https://flic.kr/p/2o4feNr

Exposure.
I visited Mason Cycles today to collect my Raw. I spent some time looking at their "gravel" range. Big mistake. Fell in love with a very, very nice Exposure that they've built up for promo stuff. Just stunning. I just need to work out what to sell to fund it 😄

Could you not just put lighter tyres on the Yeti?

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Could you not just put lighter tyres on the Yeti?

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TBH I agree, with a carbon fork and lighter tyres that arc would be an absolute weapon.

I've got a Cotic Cascade, which I really like, but I'm running it with Jones bars rather than drops - partially because I didn't want to fork out for STI's but mostly because I never use the drops on my road bike.

Its great off and on road - I've got chunky barzo's on it which are reasonable light and fast rolling.

I'm similar to you - I've got a fancy short travel FS and a gravelly road bike - neither of them are getting much use at the moment as I'm mostly on the Cascade.

My thinking is…

All the riding I do on my roadie (not a lot in real life) will in future be done on my Shand. The Shand will do everything it currently does, on top of that. I will continue to do most MTB on my Yeti.

What I want from a new bike is to be backup commuter, to do some more / new light off-road and to be an all rounder for family duties etc.

That points towards something closer to a gravel bike than a MTB I think.

Loving all these Cascade pics and views. 🙂

Howabout a Stooge Rambler if drop bars are a must, or get yourself on the MK6 pre-order list ( http://stoogecycles.co.uk/product/mk6-pre-order/)?

Surly Ghost Grapler or Salsa Fargo are the other drop bar MTBs that spring to mind.

Can't the shand do all of that except for the "backup". There isn't really much gap between the gravel bike you have and the xc bike you have so just buy something pretty

There are still some very nice cut price Bombtracks at Lyon Equipment. The Hook takes up to 2.2 I think and has mounts galore

Ooorrrr…Pipedream Alice.

Loved mine and did all of the above. Equally good with slicks and mudguards doing 30km road commutes as it was with 2.8in Cross Kings mincing around BPW.

I still think a rigid 29er is the better solution for an all rounder bike like this and a significantly different bike to both the current Shand and the yeti.

Built with lightweight parts they are great fun to ride!

sell everything and buy a bike that will do all. Ti Fargo.

Genesis Vagabond

I'd recommend a Pipedream Alice. Mine is awesome but I only have room for one bike so I'm moving it on in and replacing it with a Yeti Arc.

I love the drop bar MTB but found I missed having a hardtail more, so the Yeti seemed to fit the build. I'm building it up with some Sid Ultimate 120s but might also consider some rigid forks down the line , something like Whisky LT MTN fork would suit.

So, I want to fill the gap between the Yeti (XC / trail) and Shand (35c tyres, road & touring).

There's nothing really "in between" these two that another bike (especially one as limited as any version of a gravel bike) is going to do amazingly better than the current ones you have. I'd be investing the money in these two.

I was thinking same as nickc, the Shand sounds like the bike you want already. If
It’s a bit more off road I’d go rigid MTB or hard tail plus some kind of loop bar to get low if needed. I’d be looking at a parts bin special/pub bike/ shop bike kind of vibe.
Planet X frame sale then go from there.

Can’t the shand do all of that except for the “backup”. There isn’t really much gap between the gravel bike you have and the xc bike you have so just buy something pretty

Yep, I was thinking that. Maybe get second set of wheels with more gravelly tyres if you want to swap between road and gravel?

It seems like a very slim gap you're trying to fill unless you simply want a drop-bar mountain bike to do things less well off road than the Yeti.

My 2p.. All-purpose or MTB means something other than drop bars unless you're on tarmac much of the time with an interest in getting lower and out of the wind. There are better solutions to all-round use bars with multiple hand positions than drops - the basic issue with drops is the best braking and often widest grip position (ie best control off-road in theory) is also the lowest and furthest fwd. That's all wrong for off-road use and there's no way resolve that. So it comes down to how keen you are on the road position - if that's a factor then drops may be worth the compromises in other areas.

A North Road / M pattern shape (basically a flattened drop bar) works really well, or Jones H, Koga Denham, Surly's various alt bar options, but I can understand people not wanting to build something that looks like a hybrid. But this is what we're talking about here, a burly hybrid. Awesome all-rounder bikes that can be loads of fun ime.

OC you can set up drops high and get them in wider versions, that can get you a similar position to an alt bar and some frames make it work without crazy spacer stacks.

Tim at Fearless Bikes has a few larger Warlocks left in stock. He has new stuff in the pipeline.

Mine is doing a similar job to what you’re looking for. Good value IMO and with all the mounts. Ran mine 650x2.2 and currently 700x50. Hopefully going back to 650 this year.

I was also going to suggest the Fearless Warlock.

But to be honest, I'm using an old 26" Kona frame with 650b wheels and On One loop bars for exactly the needs you state: commuting, general bimbling, and a mixed road/off road tour planned for April. I've enjoyed tinkering with this setup on the cheap over the last three years.
[img] [/img]

I did the Tuscany Trail on my previous generation Yeti ArcC. I'm struggling to see what you are trying to do other than justify a new bike.

I tried to go this route a few years back and bought a Vagabond. It was a hugely versatile bike, but I never found it to be exciting to ride. Great for bikepacking/exploring but the ride itself was for me a bit meh.

I now have a lightish build AXS 29er HT (Giant Fathom) and a Topstone Lefty (with 650 x 47 tyres), which for me is a much better combination, though rather costly. I can use either for loading up and bikepacking, and if using the 29er with luggage I just pop out the AXS dropper and put a fixed post in.

Don't listen to the naysayers... I could easily get two bikes into the gap in your current collection.
Money no object? Then fill your boots 🙂

I can also recommend the Pipedream Alice

I was a bit stupid to sell mine (I wanted something more roadie like your Shand, but now I'm going back the other way)

I think you need to decide if you want the option of suspension

The Pipdream Alice, Genesis Vagabond, and Kona Sutra are rigid only (420-440mm forks)

The Cotic Cascade and Salsa Fargo are designed for short travel sus forks or sus-corrected rigids

You're sort of in the same position as me, but different.

I have a Shand Drove that I've just put a SID Ultimate and wider bars on the front of. (And ripped out the Rohloff but that's a different story.)

But this is my only bike, I use it for 'XC mountainbiking, with OS maps etc, and I think it's the exact bike I've always wanted for that. I use it when I meet my mate at Swinley too and it's fine.

I suppose if I was ever likely to want to do tail whips and that, I might wish I had a different type of bike, but I'm not.

Sometimes I think I'd like a Pace hardtail, or a Cuththroat for the carbon, but then I think again.

Sometimes I think I'd like a Stooshie, but I know I'd end up trying to ride that like I ride the Drove.

By the way, I had a Sutra LTD before the Drove. It was like a gateway drug to drop-bar MTBing. I ended up riding it more and more off-road and MTB-style, which got me wanting that MTB geometry so I could do it better but still keeping the drop bars for extra hand positions.

(The Sutra is a great bike and I guess if you have the Yeti, it might make more sense but then you've also got the Stooshie for when the Yeti's not right, so now come to think of it I don't quite understand what you're after.)

Really appreciating all the comments and ideas everyone.

The 2 bikes I'm keeping are:

[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]

I don't really mind overlap between a new bike and the Shand, because it's intended to be commuter no.2. That's a role that my current roadie already performs, and I do want to have this "redundancy" because I do c.3,000km a year just commuting. But I guess I don't need so much overlap with the Yeti.

Don’t listen to the naysayers… I could easily get two bikes into the gap in your current collection.

The bike industry can split those differences at last half a dozen more times : )

Thought I'd get in on the Cascade lovin!

With On One OG bars:

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With Funn G-Wides:

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Yeti envy 🙁

i went from a rigid ti 29er (ragley TD-1) with jones bars

to a Salsa Cutthroat with Woodchippers and put Ti bike to full time SS/Winter duties.

I dont regret it , Cutthroat much more versatile i find while being comfier.

Only draw back is the ragley could handle its self ok in really tech trails - the cutthroat due to the weight being more forward is a little less capable on the top end of the gnarr scale but for majority of my riding its more suited than a flat bar bike or a gravel bike - i use the fireroads to link up singletrack rather than the roads to link up fire roads

Yeti envy 🙁

Yeah, me too, that's a really nice looking bike @Ben_H