Like many I suspect, I've swung between various bikes / formats; successive choices iteratatively tempered by experience to make the next bike hopefully more appropriate than the last as I slowly figure out what I value in a bicycle.
So far my ideal seems to sit somewhere around the gravel / touring / utility area; although nothing off the peg really seems to scratch that itch completely.
As little time as I have for the yanks it seems they've been quietly filling this glorious little niche for a while; with a number of offerings from boutique brands seemingly ticking all of the boxes.
As usual there's always waggle-room on spec, however it seems these bikes typically don't stray too far from the following format:
- Traditionally-styled steel frame with horizontal top tube
- Proper lugged, curved steel forks
- Discs
- 650b wheels with fat tyres (typically 40-50mm)
- Wide-range drivetrain with sensible gearing - either a triple or sub-compact double that mere-mortals can actually make use of
- Sub-"cutting edge" drivetrain standard - such as 8 or 9sp
- Bar-end or downtube shifters
- Less-mainstream component choice to suit the above using smaller brands such as Microshift
- Many attachment points for guards and load-carrying such as front and rear racks, bags etc
Examples of such bikes include the Crust Romanceur:
... and the Soma Grand Randonneur:
The two companies above offer a wide range of steel frames on similar themes and they all look fanastic.
There are a few champions of this format of bike, a few I occasionally dip into being path less pedeled (youtube channel) and Ronnie Romance of UltraRomance fame.
What I love about this niche and the mindset of two guys above is that it unashamedly, unapologietically embraces what works - be this "old tech" such as bar-end shifter and 8sp, or genuinely beneficial newer developments such as disk brakes and through-axles.. with the cynical marketing-driven tripe greeted with the dismissal it rightfully deserves.
I find it increasingly frustrating to have my choices dictated by fashion-driven constructs of marketing dickheads, and it's refreshing to see a little enclave of resistance to this commercially-driven whitewash that ultimately does few of us any favours.
I think for me these bikes represent the pinnacle of what can be achieved for the "average" rider - capable, versatile, fun, resiliant and authentic. It saddens me that there's seemingly nothing on offer of a similar vein this side of the pond, but I find encouragement in the fact that such bikes exist at all and hope that my "journey" continues to bring me closer to this ideal
I'm sold - what does everyone else reckon?
So far my ideal seems to sit somewhere around the gravel / touring / utility area; although nothing off the peg really seems to scratch that itch completely.
As little time as I have for the yanks it seems they've been quietly filling this glorious little niche for a while; with a number of offerings from boutique brands seemingly ticking all of the boxes.
As usual there's always waggle-room on spec, however it seems these bikes typically don't stray too far from the following format:
- Traditionally-styled steel frame with horizontal top tube
- Proper lugged, curved steel forks
- Discs
- 650b wheels with fat tyres (typically 40-50mm)
- Wide-range drivetrain with sensible gearing - either a triple or sub-compact double that mere-mortals can actually make use of
- Sub-"cutting edge" drivetrain standard - such as 8 or 9sp
- Bar-end or downtube shifters
- Less-mainstream component choice to suit the above using smaller brands such as Microshift
- Many attachment points for guards and load-carrying such as front and rear racks, bags etc
Examples of such bikes include the Crust Romanceur:
... and the Soma Grand Randonneur:
The two companies above offer a wide range of steel frames on similar themes and they all look fanastic.
There are a few champions of this format of bike, a few I occasionally dip into being path less pedeled (youtube channel) and Ronnie Romance of UltraRomance fame.
What I love about this niche and the mindset of two guys above is that it unashamedly, unapologietically embraces what works - be this "old tech" such as bar-end shifter and 8sp, or genuinely beneficial newer developments such as disk brakes and through-axles.. with the cynical marketing-driven tripe greeted with the dismissal it rightfully deserves.
I find it increasingly frustrating to have my choices dictated by fashion-driven constructs of marketing dickheads, and it's refreshing to see a little enclave of resistance to this commercially-driven whitewash that ultimately does few of us any favours.
I think for me these bikes represent the pinnacle of what can be achieved for the "average" rider - capable, versatile, fun, resiliant and authentic. It saddens me that there's seemingly nothing on offer of a similar vein this side of the pond, but I find encouragement in the fact that such bikes exist at all and hope that my "journey" continues to bring me closer to this ideal
I'm sold - what does everyone else reckon?
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