Any thoughts on the On-One Steel 456 EVO?

[Zenroad]

Doncasteur?

Nice.

 

[MacB]

As you're in the US I'd definitely be choosing Surly over On-One but it does seem a bit like you're trying to choose a bike for worst case scenario rather than for 99% of its useage. This is something I'm really familiar with as I have a tendency to get a bit belt and braces and want everything but the kitchen sink on there. If we stick to the Surly range for the riding you describe then I'd be looking in this order at:-

Crosscheck or LHT - latter if you want discs and load carrying ability former for a livelier ride and a bit less capacity - they can both take up to a 700x45 tyre

Karate Monkey - for something that will cope with a bit more than the Xcheck but still do street pretty well

Troll/Ogre - for really heavy duty stuff

But if you're sticking a Rohloff in there then you're not going cheap and there are other bikes I'd choose over the Surly range. The slot/trackend style dropouts work for hub gears and disc brakes but it is a bit more finicky. I'd be having a look at framebuilders and what they offer to accomodate hub gears, specifically adjustable dropouts or eccentric bottom brackets. I prefer the former and have two frames made that would be be close to the requirements you specify:-

1. touring frame - in titanium with Paragon Rocker dropouts to handle chain tension and accomodate a Rohloff - this is very close in spec to a LHT and actually has LHT disc forks

2. 29er frame - in steel with Paragon Rocker dropouts again and can take up to a 100mm fork or be used with my Salsa Fargo 2 forks which have lowrdier mounts etc.

Both frames have 3 sets of bottle bosses and can take either hub gears or standard derailleurs. The adjustable dropouts take different inserts depending on what you want to run.

 

[Zenroad]

Thanks, MacB. Much appreciated. No Rohloff for me. Standard gear cassette and a derailleur. And disc brakes for the first time in my life. The reasons that the 456 EVO is looking good to me are the slightly longer chainstays, the assumed longer wheelbase (no number for that from One-On), and a lower BB. And it turns out that the EVO frame is priced cheaper than the Troll here. Go figure!

 

[MacB]

I haven't checked but have you looked at how each of them measure the chainstays, I know Surly use the shortest measurement possible. For example our KMs have a listed chainstay of 431mm however we run them with gears and use the little inserts to move the axle rearwards to make sure there is no tyre/FD interference. This moves it back by 14mm thus giving a 445mm chainstay and it's still no more than halfway back in the available space. You can have them further back by using tugnuts instead.

 

[Zenroad]

I don't know. I do know that the Troll has horizontal drops, while the EVO has verts. Definitely makes a difference. Thanks, MacB!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Ha! I long to one day tour the UK. I really enjoy looking at y'all's tour reports and pics. My father's family was originally from Dublin, so a trip through the old homeland is definitely in order.

You do know that the Republic of Ireland isn't part of the UK right?

 

[lulubel]

Crosscheck or LHT - latter if you want discs and load carrying ability former for a livelier ride and a bit less capacity - they can both take up to a 700x45 tyre

The LHT (Disc Trucker) would be my first choice for any major tour. As a very happy Crosscheck owner, I wouldn't even look at anything else for "heavy" touring. I'm a total Surly convert.

(In fact, I'm such a Surly convert that I keep going back and studying the Troll geometry in the hope that it's changed since I last looked at it, and it's become the perfect frame for my new MTB!)

 

[Cubist]

Doncasteur?

 

[Alun]

You do know that the Republic of Ireland isn't part of the UK right?

It used to be! Perhaps it was when the OPs family lived there.