In article
,
Maury Markowitz wrote:
Ok, the picture is getting much clearer now.
I visited Urbane and they have a Jamis set up for touring. Low-end
grouppo, but pretty much everything I'm looking for -- drop handles
with STI, standard sized steel tubing that could be cut for break-
down, and a nice head-up geometry. I'll live with the calipers for
now, although I've never been a fan of them. The only real concern was
the front crankset, which was 53-something-30ish. I'd definitely want
to take that down a step, perhaps with the Sugino crank. All this for
$1100, which seems like a steal.
The other option they had was a Richey frameset with built-in
breakdown points. It came with a carbon disk-read front fork, and a
little less wheelbase (which I like). The frame was $1000 though, so
it would likely run me 2k for the full buildout. I'll be trolling
craigs and e-bay and see if anything turns up though.
They also had a couple of the Huffy frames, but he said it would
basically be identical to the Jamis, and only recommended that I go
that way if I wanted to do a complete build-up. Of course at that
point I'd just go with the Richey for a few more bucks, but already
with the breakdown points.
Maury
Just checking into this thread after a few days absence...
Possibly a few points of interest to you Maury:
I've a 2001(?) Jamis Nova. I've toured extensively and commute daily
on it, all in all an excellent all rounder. My only complaint, which is
a minor, is that I'd prefer a setup with slightly longer chainstays and
greater wheelbase for touring.
Up-thread you expressed in interest in "breakable" bikes, that is,
frames with S&S BTCs installed. [
http://www.sandsmachine.com/ ]. I've
two bikes so equipped and both a hard and soft case for their
transport. You're welcome to come on and inspect the equipment.
The couplers DO NOT compromise the integrity of the frame nor adversely
affect the handling of the bike at all.
Jody Lee of Jester Cycles [
http://www.sandsmachine.com/bp_jst.htm ]
out of Welland retrofitted the BTCs to my frame (I bought the other
with them already installed).