@wisepranker, i assume yours must be second hand cos mine came (from 18bikes) with both 16T and 18T cogs (18 fitted), and a chain tug of sorts on the drive side for adjusting the tension…

Yes, mine’s secondhand and only came with the 16t. It’s got the Cotic chain tug fitted, I was just curious about the actual movement I should have on the chain, at the moment it’s got about 1/2″ up and down on the lower chain run.

Jwr;

What tyres are you running in winter mode? I see you have a full front guard, do you also have a rear? I fancy some cx ~35mm tyres for my road rat but I do lots of commuting road miles so don’t want I ditch the full length mudguards; trouble is I’m unsure what fits!

I fitted 45mm sks chromoplastics to allow me to fit 700x35c winter marathons in

Commuted on mine for several years and loved it. Running a Kinesis now and ‘rat is in cx mode with flipped Marys. A tad over-braked though with hydraulics!

I’ve got another stupid Roadrat question, am I right in thking that if I decide to run it geared I can set it up as 1×9 or 1×10 with MTB mechs and shifters?

Yes

Mine is in the mail A brown med-short. Looking forward to it

Yes

Excellent. Good answer 😀

Another crap question from me, in typical STW style, what tyres are good on the Roadrat?

It’s currently running 23c Continental GP Four Seasons as I’m commuting on it but I fancy something a bit wider for a more comfortable ride, possibly a 28c or thereabouts.

Any suggestions for something that’ll roll we’ll on the road and ride well through the winter with a bit of comfort?

Something punctureproof….

Ive just ordered 4 winter marathons for winter for our commuting bikes.

In spring ill likely put something sensible on , thinking i might try narrow twin rails in black…… Or a conti touring plus.

I hate punctures. Mrs is running conti touring pluses atm and ive had one on the tricross for 4 years and it hasnt punctured or worn much …. And much better grip than the nutrak things stock on the roadrat

i was wondering the same thing; so far i’ve persevered with the nutraks (for the last 2 weeks!) and tbh i find them okay, but they’ve lost grip a couple of times on particularly rainy mornings and i’d prefer to not have to mess around repairing punctures too. some people have recommended conti gator skins to me- anyone else? ideally similar to wisepranker’s requirements, reasonably fast rolling but with enough grip to last through the winter months?

I definitely need something puncture resistant.
Did my first commute on the Roadrat yesterday, riding home just after midnight in the pouring rain and got a puncture! Not the best of commutes.

I used to run big Specialized Boroughs on mine, kind of semi-slicks. The Armadillo versions are very puncture resistant and they roll reasonably quick, are happy on tow-paths and easy off road. Nothing exciting, but they worked fine for me. Road slicks are quicker on the road though.

I’m almost scared to comment here, as I’m sure to have a puncture now…

I’ve been running Land Cruisers on mine for 2 years or so, including daily commuting for about a year of that. I think I got the 28mm versions, but they fit fine with SKS full-length guards. Good grip on road, with a slick central rib, but enough grip at the edge to cope with light CX stuff. Cheap too.

Anyone got an Orange roadrat ? …. Id like to see an orange frame built up before ordering a frameset 🙂

Mrs has an orange day one alfine …. I dont really likeit

Wish i coulda got a coffee brown one but no … Black it is in that case

I really like the day one`s in orange 🙂 ….. also really like the day one single speed in blue

my roadrat’s orange, but i bought it as a bike so it’s the standard cotic flat bar SS build.

my old one in various guises

P1030349 by eastham_david, on Flickr

P1030364 by eastham_david, on Flickr

P1030477 by eastham_david, on Flickr

P1030967 by eastham_david, on Flickr

P1030986 by eastham_david, on Flickr

P1040006 by eastham_david, on Flickr

@vortex …… loving the different options the rat has to offer 🙂 … just weighing up maybe getting one as a commuter for road and canal duties 🙂
what size is that ? …. looks pretty small which is what i need 🙂

They are very versatile that’s for sure

That one is a small/short

@ vortex .. cheers for that ….. see Cotic only doing small /long now 🙁

yip, thats correct. I think I got the last one

I have a small/ long. Soon to be off-loaded as I have bob-all chance to commute on it anymore. Shame, as it does the job lovely.

@ spud … pics and price if you do please 🙂

Will drop you a mail @stumpy

Dont be put off by length … Mines a large long and is about 2cms longer than id normally ride drops on …..butni also wanted more uprightposition so i have stuck ona short high angle stem and despite thinking i wanted shorter the end of my first week has come and im at 300 k plus on the bike and ive grown to like the position.

I’ve got a small/short one (fnarr fnarr) for sale

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-smallshort-roadrat-frame-headset-marz-55rs

Email in profile if interested 🙂

Since its a sunny day and I can’t go anywhere on it as I’m waiting in for a delivery of logs, here’s a snap of my roadrat.

Flat bar alfine model, swapped to the black chain set as I thought the silver looked odd. I have a topeak mtx rack that I use for commuting as well as full guards.
IMO the roadrat is great, not being a road cyclist but needing something to commute on and for general rides where the 160mm FS is a bit overkill it’s perfect.

Oh, and my Oury grips from the USA. Granted they’re a little marmite but I like them 🙂

Flat bar alfine model, swapped to the black chain set as I thought the silver looked odd. I have a topeak mtx rack that I use for commuting as well as full guards.

That looks exactly what I’m after for my commute.

I really like the convenience of the mtx rack and bag but I do find it does the handling no favours having the weight that high up and far back. Almost tempted to give some traditional panniers a try or possibly fit a frot rack to balance the load.

No experience with front panniers; what’s out there and how easy are they to fit?

Roadwarior does that mean you have experianced the speed wobble when going no handed ?

Mines does that , but any old flexy steel frame ive ridden does it ….

Recently put a Surly Crosscheck fork (courtesy of a mate who had it kicking around) on my Roadrat to replace the original one which I bent slightly.

Much better. Simultaneously sharper, quicker steering and more complient. How does that work?

Ive got a roadrat in orange and its very very orange….SMIDSY drivers have absolutely no excuse with this one!

Ive absolutely loved the frame and havent experienced ‘flex’ and i weigh 16st. I cant comment on wobbles when loaded as ive never tried it. Tyre clearance is pretty ample (i run 35mm marathon pluses with plenty of room either side)

I have only ever run hub gears on it and have had the Alfine 8, Alfine 11 and now ive finally took the plunge and put a rohloff on it. My advice on this one is simple – save yourself the cost of upgrading and just get the rohloff. Alfines do work fine on a roadrat but the axle kept slipping until i put a chaintug in.

One thing to consider if you want to put a rohloff in this is the speedbone goes right across the mudguard/pannier mountings meaning a bodge of some kind is required to fit full mudguards ( i have sks chromoplastics). The one good thing about the setup is even with a QR rohloff, the way the oem2 mates with speedbone means that the disc mounts will break before the wheel will slip forward. However the whole setup looks and feels plenty strong enough to me.

See i have a rohloff in the garage .

I much prefer the alfine.

Te alfine behaves as multiple singlespeeds. You always know your ridimg a rohloff imo.

Ony thing thing that will swing it for me is if alfine 8 proves unreliable.

Axel hasnt slipped at all on either my roadrat or my mrs genisis day one

I was having axle slipping problems with my alfine 8- but I found murdering-on the 15mm bolts sorted it 😉

Not had any speed wobble- more just that for cornering I have to shift my weight a long way forward to counter the weight of the bag so the bike feels balanced- there’s no weight on the front wheel other wise.

Does anyone with the SS Roadrat find that the drivetrain is noisy?
Mine seems to make a bit of a noise, it seems that the side of the chain is catching the chainguide on the chain set. Is this normal?