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Hey all,
Im looking for some suggestions for getting a second bike. I currently ride a Felt F4C road bike but would love to take advantage of the long, crushed limestone paths near my house. I would like a similar ride to the road bike (not completely upright/comfort ride, keeping the cadence and mph up) but components that can tolerate the limestone. Im looking to spend around $600 (or less!) and I would definitely be willing to buy a used bike too.
Thanks for any suggestions!!
Jen
While the racers might shudder....cyclo cross bike. The tires are a little fatter, but it is still pretty much road bike is geometry with drop bars.
I toyed with the cross solution and ended up building up a Surly Pacer frame (road frame, not cross, but with room for fatter tires). With fenders I can run 28mm which gets me through winter slush, grit and most limestone trails. If I was going to ride the limestone trails more, I'd probably switch to 32 or 35 for the summer and take the fenders off.
Oh, and welcome to the boards!
Why would the racers shudder at the thought of a cross bike? I believe I've heard somewhere that people race on their cross bikes! Whoodathunk! :D
A cross bike is an excellent suggestion. :)
Cyclocross bike is my suggestion as well. My husband just got a Kona Jake for commuting, I think it was only $850 new. A used one might be in your budget, but if you are short good luck finding a Cyclocross bike. :(
Any bike that takes a fat tire would be good. A touring bike for instance. Many bikes made by Surly or Rivendell.
is the limestone caustic? In other words are you concerned about more than tire slippage?
Limestone should be just the opposite of caustic! I would think dust and grit would a be a big problem though.Quote:
Originally Posted by mimitabby
I got a Surly Cross Check to ride on the Katy Trail. (limestone). I have a wheel set with road tires (25mm) and a wheel set with tires just for the trail and gravel. (38mm). I can go from the road to the trail in about 5 minutes. The Cross Check is absolutely perfect on limestone. A mountain bike was definitely overkill. In the past, I rode my Trek 7.2fx on the trail. It is also good on it and is under $500. The limestone is really dusty, so your bike will get a lot dirtier than on the road.
Here is the Trek7.2fx I used to ride on limestone. It is more like a road bike than a mountain bike. No suspension, but has the straight bars. You can put fenders on it which helps with the dust somewhat. I think it was $459. It was really comfortable on the trail. The tires were bombproof too. It's also available in wsd, baby blue.
+1 on the surly. My husband has a steamroller and loves it, and pretty much all their frames can take fat tires. And they're not terribly expensive new - the steamroller was $600 (but it's a fixie, I think the cross checks are a bit more but still under $1000). I would imagine you could get one used within your budget.
I'm riding my new (last years model) Trek 7.2 on dirt paths this year and loving every minute of it. Close-out sale price $350 :)
The road bike sits sulking in the front room :(
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