Road bike / Winter bike / Touring / Commuter thingy.

Holla,

Wanting to do some road based winter training, have a bike for going to the shops and the odd jaunt with my roadie Mrs.

Thinking Sonder Santiago, with bull-horn bars because I hate drops.

Obviously steel is real.

Any other options I could consider?

Under 1500.

Have you seen the Spa Cycles frame clearance?

https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m11b0s238p0/Frames/Clearance-Frames-Framesets

The listings state they can do custom builds using those frames.

Carbonda CFR696 frame, £500

105 disc Groupset £500

£500 left for you choice of wheels and finishing kit.

My Spa Cycles Audax frame and fork have done me very well for that kind of ask over the years. I’d probably look at doing something similar with something like their Elan mk2 if I were replacing that bike today.

2nd Hand Charge Plug?  The alu disk braked one that takes ~40mm tires and guards, not the steel version.

Thinking Sonder Santiago, with bull-horn bars because I hate drops.

Bars have crept lower over the years, back in the good old days the top of the handlebars was level with the saddle, and that was the default for club cycling.

Even on a lot of “winter bike / touring / commuter thingy(s)” they’re too low.  Flip the stem upwards and give them a fair chance. You should be able to drop down enough that your forearms are flat without your knees hitting your ribs (to an extent this is dependent on how rounded your lower back is).  From there the tops / hoods should be very upright / comfortable and you can use the drops as an aero option when required. There isn’t really a practical difference between bullhorns and riding on the hoods.

Beryl Burton, the most winningest cyclist in history, with her bars only an inch or so below the saddle.

Merlin have a load of ridley, orro and felt’s at great prices

not steel or bullhorned mind

Bars have crept lower over the years, back in the good old days the top of the handlebars was level with the saddle, and that was the default for club cycling.

Yep – bikes designed to look fast propped up against the cafe wall is definitely a thing. As someone with long legs I buy frames with care looking for a longer head tube (or stack measurement these days I guess). Not all bars are made equally either – drop distance can vary by about 25mm even before getting to the more weirdly shaped variants.

Bars have crept lower over the years, back in the good old days the top of the handlebars was level with the saddle, and that was the default for club cycling.

Yep. I’m browsing for a new summer bike, really struggling to find something that matches my requirements due to everything having really low stack heights, exasperated by needing size XL.

My current do it all is Kinesis RTD, saddle is only a bit above the bars, and I love it this way. And I can still keep up on the fast club rides.

As someone with long legs I buy frames with care looking for a longer head tube (or stack measurement these days I guess). Not all bars are made equally either – drop distance can vary by about 25mm even before getting to the more weirdly shaped variants.

I have the opposite problem, 6ft but I have to buy jeans in a short size!

Really what I want is a fairly racy bike with a very sloped TT and mudguard mounts.

I got the spa flat bar tourer built up, put some Jones bars on, well the cheap px ones.  38c tyres fit with guards.  Bought it for commute but it’s rock solid and not been nicked yet, think I paid 1100 all in.