Yes, I love my Croix de Fer, but it's 4 years old and I want a new shiny!
Super Commuter
- Thread starter benb
- Start date
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Yes, I love my Croix de Fer, but it's 4 years old and I want a new shiny!
BrumJim
Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
- Location
- Selly Oak, Birmingham
That's very nice. I'm now rethinking my steel frame criteria, as there seem to be a lot of decent alu ones.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Well that is an option. Triggers, bar, stem, hydro brakes & levers. Would be cheapest!
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
One I've looked at and admired is the Decathlon Nework 700:-
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/nework-700-city-bike-id_8245154.html
doesn't tick all the boxes but at £600 and with a frameset lifetime guarantee - it's got belt drive 8 speed Alfine, guards, can take a rack - comes with mechanical disc brakes I don't know much about but you could flog them as new and pick up a good set of Shimano hydraulics on Merlin and still be no more than a £750 total.
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/nework-700-city-bike-id_8245154.html
doesn't tick all the boxes but at £600 and with a frameset lifetime guarantee - it's got belt drive 8 speed Alfine, guards, can take a rack - comes with mechanical disc brakes I don't know much about but you could flog them as new and pick up a good set of Shimano hydraulics on Merlin and still be no more than a £750 total.
mcshroom
Bionic Subsonic
- Location
- Egremont, Cumbria
That's the setup on my 2011 Trek 4th District
I keep musing about belt drive on it but it would involve changing the sliding dropouts, chainring and rear wheel.
Shiny!That's the setup on my 2011 Trek 4th District
I keep musing about belt drive on it but it would involve changing the sliding dropouts, chainring and rear wheel.
Hi benb,
I recently asked a similar question and some of the recommendations that other posters kindly suggested for me included the following. I'm not sure if either or both will fall down in the looks departments because that's very subjective completely in the eye of the beholder but they do tick a lot of the spec boxes of yours which are very similar to my own.
Cube Travel SL RF
http://www.cube.eu/uk/bikes/tour/travel/cube-travel-sl-rf-anthrazit-green-2015/
VSF Fahrrad Manufaktur T500 (there's some info on this bike on the following two websites. The first is a blog but the person sells these bikes. The second is a link to the German manufacturers website and my German is non existent however yours might be better than mine but even if it isn't you can get the idea of the spec or use an online translator to help. On the manufacturers website I think that you can ignore the photo of the step through frame as it's available in both versions).
http://blog.chrisbikes.co.uk/2014/02/vsf-fahrrad-manufaktur-t500-alfine-8.html
http://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/katalog/trekking?product_id=673
However if I can just dream of winning the lottery for a minute then I'd take one of these:-
Shand Stoater Rohloff
http://www.shandcycles.com/bikes/stoater-rohloff/
I hope that the above helps because your requirements spec wise are very similar to mine and apologies if non of the above are of interest to you.
John
I recently asked a similar question and some of the recommendations that other posters kindly suggested for me included the following. I'm not sure if either or both will fall down in the looks departments because that's very subjective completely in the eye of the beholder but they do tick a lot of the spec boxes of yours which are very similar to my own.
Cube Travel SL RF
http://www.cube.eu/uk/bikes/tour/travel/cube-travel-sl-rf-anthrazit-green-2015/
VSF Fahrrad Manufaktur T500 (there's some info on this bike on the following two websites. The first is a blog but the person sells these bikes. The second is a link to the German manufacturers website and my German is non existent however yours might be better than mine but even if it isn't you can get the idea of the spec or use an online translator to help. On the manufacturers website I think that you can ignore the photo of the step through frame as it's available in both versions).
http://blog.chrisbikes.co.uk/2014/02/vsf-fahrrad-manufaktur-t500-alfine-8.html
http://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/katalog/trekking?product_id=673
However if I can just dream of winning the lottery for a minute then I'd take one of these:-
Shand Stoater Rohloff
http://www.shandcycles.com/bikes/stoater-rohloff/
I hope that the above helps because your requirements spec wise are very similar to mine and apologies if non of the above are of interest to you.
John
Hi benb,
Further to hour message I'd agree with you that the Cube comes with a chain as standard but the Cube website also says:-
"This light bike for athletic touring and everyday use can be updated with a belt drive instead of the standard chain."
I don't know how you get one with a belt drive but the website makes it sound like an optional extra and so maybe if you talked to a bike shop which sells Cube bikes they might be able to tell you if they can get one with a belt drive and say how much extra that would cost.
I also like the look of the Milk Bikes RDA but sadly this bike is out of my price range and would also blow your £1,000 budget.
http://www.milkbikes.com/rda/8-rda-the-commuter.html
Good luck with your search
John
Further to hour message I'd agree with you that the Cube comes with a chain as standard but the Cube website also says:-
"This light bike for athletic touring and everyday use can be updated with a belt drive instead of the standard chain."
I don't know how you get one with a belt drive but the website makes it sound like an optional extra and so maybe if you talked to a bike shop which sells Cube bikes they might be able to tell you if they can get one with a belt drive and say how much extra that would cost.
I also like the look of the Milk Bikes RDA but sadly this bike is out of my price range and would also blow your £1,000 budget.
http://www.milkbikes.com/rda/8-rda-the-commuter.html
Good luck with your search
John
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
If you're re-thinking steel then there's the Whyte R7 range or the Ridgeback Flight range to consider
To resurrect this thread, I'm going to sell my Genesis Croix de Fer to part fund a new flat bar commuter bike.
Current list to consider:
Saracen Urban Clever Mike (£899.99)
Ridgeback Flight 04 (£899.99)
Scott Sub Evo 10 (£1,399.99)
Focus Planet 1.0 Plus (£1,099.99)
Cube Hyde Race (£799)
Cotic Road Rat (£969)
Avanti Inc 3 (£715)
Charge Grater 3 (£749.99)
Canyon Urban 7.0 (£1,199)
I've decided that belt drive is a nice-to-have rather than a must-have, likewise the steel frame, given how good alu frames are these days.
So, how to whittle the list down?
I think I should probably exclude the Scott: it just seems way overpriced compared to the others.
The Ridgeback looks fab, but chain not belt.
It absolutely has to have proper rack bosses - it looks a bit like a couple of them rely on just mounting the rack by the eyelets by the wheels (the Canyon for example) but I need to check those as the bosses might just be hidden.
So, dunno really.
Current list to consider:
Saracen Urban Clever Mike (£899.99)
Ridgeback Flight 04 (£899.99)
Scott Sub Evo 10 (£1,399.99)
Focus Planet 1.0 Plus (£1,099.99)
Cube Hyde Race (£799)
Cotic Road Rat (£969)
Avanti Inc 3 (£715)
Charge Grater 3 (£749.99)
Canyon Urban 7.0 (£1,199)
I've decided that belt drive is a nice-to-have rather than a must-have, likewise the steel frame, given how good alu frames are these days.
So, how to whittle the list down?
I think I should probably exclude the Scott: it just seems way overpriced compared to the others.
The Ridgeback looks fab, but chain not belt.
It absolutely has to have proper rack bosses - it looks a bit like a couple of them rely on just mounting the rack by the eyelets by the wheels (the Canyon for example) but I need to check those as the bosses might just be hidden.
So, dunno really.
Last edited:
Booyaa
Veteran
- Location
- South Staffordshire
Some nice bikes on your list. I would have suggested the Revolution Courier disc Race as it offers some of what you are looking for. I do like the look of the Road Rat though.
