So I've been thinking more about what I want for my next bike now I'm now a more experienced rider and actually have a better idea of what I want (currently on a Kona Dew Plus hybrid).
My commute is a relatively short 4-5 mile journey through a poorly-surfaced town center and out on some slightly hilly A-roads to work in the morning, then a 14-mile journey on some smooth and some very rough towpaths as well as some road on the way home.
I've been chatting to a chap in my LBS and I'm thinking about (but far from committed to) the following setup:
1. Old lugged steel or alu tourer/cyclocross frame, because I likey the way they look!
2. 3-speed SA hub gears (or poss 5-gear if such things exist?) with coaster brakes at the back
3. Hyrdraulic disc brake at the front
4. Moderately sturdy rather than ultralight wheels capable of taking skinny race tyres and chunkier Marathon Pluses depending on conditions. Also ones with deep-v rims as I like the way they look.
5. Drop handlebars with appropriate shifters/brake levers OR possibly bullhorn bars (as I'm likely to spend most of my time on the hoods) which I think bar end shifters would work nicely on, and also equipped with smaller brake levers on the flat like you see on many tourers and cyclocross bikes for when I'm just tootling about.
Let's be honest with myself here - I want a bike that is practical for some fairly demanding use, but with the looks of some trendy hipster's fixie.
Is what I want achievable? Or am I being very silly indeed here?
My commute is a relatively short 4-5 mile journey through a poorly-surfaced town center and out on some slightly hilly A-roads to work in the morning, then a 14-mile journey on some smooth and some very rough towpaths as well as some road on the way home.
I've been chatting to a chap in my LBS and I'm thinking about (but far from committed to) the following setup:
1. Old lugged steel or alu tourer/cyclocross frame, because I likey the way they look!
2. 3-speed SA hub gears (or poss 5-gear if such things exist?) with coaster brakes at the back
3. Hyrdraulic disc brake at the front
4. Moderately sturdy rather than ultralight wheels capable of taking skinny race tyres and chunkier Marathon Pluses depending on conditions. Also ones with deep-v rims as I like the way they look.
5. Drop handlebars with appropriate shifters/brake levers OR possibly bullhorn bars (as I'm likely to spend most of my time on the hoods) which I think bar end shifters would work nicely on, and also equipped with smaller brake levers on the flat like you see on many tourers and cyclocross bikes for when I'm just tootling about.
Let's be honest with myself here - I want a bike that is practical for some fairly demanding use, but with the looks of some trendy hipster's fixie.
Is what I want achievable? Or am I being very silly indeed here?