Forum menu
So it's finally happening, after 3 years of being in my safe home bubble I'm having to go back into a physical office two days a week! Erghhhh!
My commute to work is going to be around 10 miles and rather than taking on central Brum traffic it'll be a nice commute in to Lancaster. I can either do all road, canal then road then canal then road or other permutations of the combination. My current winter road bike is an orange RX9 with carbon forks and different wheels from standard. It has full mudguards, cheapo avid disc brakes and 32 gravel kings. I'm thinking of moving it on and replacing it with something via the £1500 cycle to work scheme. Once the weather gets rubbish I use it regularly through the week on after work rides and the summer road bike gets glued to the turbo.
Wants: Tubeless, higher volume tyres, mudguards (not perm attached), disc brakes.
I think there's a fairly active ladies gravel group in the lakes and although I generally prefer a hardtail for that situation I no longer have one as sold it to fund house purchase so wondered if maybe I could kill two birds with one stone.
Other than that I've no idea what I should be looking at as I much prefer looking at bigger MTB's!?
On One Whippet?
Can't use Planet X with my cycle to work provider I'm afraid. Can use Halfords, Giant store nearby, Wheelbase, CRC, Leisure lakes, Ribble, Evans. To name a few.
To my untrained ear, you’ve just described a hybrid/gravel type bike.
Just watch lead times with ribble.
Flat bar or drop bar is the question
Pinnacle lithium 3?
3x9 gearing, takes 700x40 and mudguards, and a rack.
Would leave plenty of budget for some nice lights, new helmet/clothing etc.
Something like that would take a bit of beating anyway.
Whats wrong with the RX9? Sounds ideal for what you describe, perhaps with a hydro disc upgrade?
The wheels are only rated to 32 as will the mudguards not go much bigger. If going to shell out for a new wheelset for what it's worth may as well get shiiiiiiiny!
@duncancallum Yeah Jan 2023 apparently! and besides over budget.
Gearing?
I just put some full mudguards on the gravelbeast. The front one wouldn’t clear the tyre because of fork dhape so had to cut the front guard in two and mount in two parts at the fork crown.
I think gravel bikes and mudguards can be a mixed bag so is maybe worth having a delve into found solutions aforethought
This is a neat solution to mudguarding a Specialized Diverge for instance.
If I was just going to use it for work I could probably get away with single speed but as the plan is to use it as my road bike over the winter months too it needs to be 2x but other than that nothing radical as I tend to do around 20 miles on the road bike in the winter and more miles in the summer when its drier and warmed. I certainly won't be cycling up any Lake District pass on it!!
I generally prefer a hardtail for that situation I no longer have one as sold it to fund house purchase
I knew that bike prices shot up last year but had no idea that I could have become a property mogul if I'd sold mine..
Singular Peregrine? Pretty much how I used mine. I've got a Mk2. Spenny frame, so to begin with it was a serviceable/parts bin SS commuter build in 2011, and been through quite a few different guises since.
Here's the Mk3. Speak to Tom @ Woods Cyclery if you want to know if/what can be done in your budget/on your voucher.
To my untrained ear, you’ve just described a hybrid/gravel type bike.
+1
If I was just going to use it for work I could probably get away with single speed
That sounds like a good idea until it's the n'th day riding to work into a horrendous headwind and you'll just wish you had gears. Esp if your commute is outside of a town / City where the wind doesn't get broken up.
650b wheelset with larger rubber on the Rx9?
If it was me? Hmm.
My current (also favourite ever) medium-distance/interurban commuter (as opposed to the town/urban one) cost me about £100 (used good condition British 531 Audax/Tourer) and is swift, low maintenance and very, very comfortable. It came with new tyres, spare NOS running gear, triple, full-guards and a rear rack. On 28c I’ve found that it covers all road (and some all-road) duties. I can leave it pretty much anywhere without worrying. (Note to self: remember to cover the 531ST decal)
If I had a C2W to spend I’d use my own cash buy the retro tourer again solely for commutes and road touring, and use the voucher to buy a nice 29er rigid or HT MTB, or should I say ‘pretend-commuter’(expressly for gravel duties and more) 😎
#notinthespiritofthings
#notanyoldbike
#newmtb
+
My current (also favourite ever) medium-distance/interurban commuter (as opposed to the town/urban one) cost me about £100 (used good condition British 531 Audax/Tourer) and is swift, low maintenance and very, very comfortable.
Funny you should say that!
Winter roads, and long-way-home summer commuting:
@nedrapier that’s a beaut. And that backroad looks so much like the backroads around here this week!
Right now on the (above) commuter have ditched the drops and put narrow flat bars with (GP3) bar-ends on for a long spell. Like a magic carpet (handmade frame, wheels and a Brooks Team Pro Special helps) and the bar ends give a little more pull/purchase up these hills. I seem to switch the drops and flat bars once a year for a change, w/new cables and bar tape in Spring. This is one reason I’ve stuck with the downtube shifters, but I do like bar-ends shifters also. It really flies on the streets and open roads compared to the (also steel) 29er. But the 29er is amazing off-road. Wouldn’t switch to a ‘gravel’ bike, I don’t think. Although I do miss the monstercross (Vagabond) since I sold it. It was basically a 29er with drops.
Have also thought about a Bombtrack Arise or Day One Disc when my weight is back down & fitness returned to levels worthy of singlespeed winter spins on nastyroads. A singlespeed beater is a thing of beauty but I’d want a shower if commuting regularly on one because it heats me up like a boiler.
#3ringsnosweat
Shame, sounds like prime PX titanium territory.
I had a ti charge plug for this type of thing and it was ace.
I’d also consider wheel change on the orange.
Marin DSX 2?
just because.. they are beautiful looking IMHO