Touring bike build ?s

I've been in the market for a new bike. About 80% of the time I'll be
using it for fitness rides of 20-65 miles on pavement. The rest of the
time for fully loaded touring, both paved and dirt roads. I've been to
the lbs and ridden a Bianchi Volpe and a Surly Xcheck, both of which
fit me well in a size 58.

Now, for the ?s...

They also have a couple of 2002 Jamis Aurora frames-a 57 and a 59. I'm
thinking of buying a frame and building it myself. They want $125 for
the NOS frames. First of all, will an Aurora fit my needs? Secondly,
am I better off getting the slightly smaller 57 or the larger 59?
Thirdly, I'm wondering if I can build the bike for less than I can buy
the new Volpe, Xcheck or a Long Haul Trucker. I would want 105 sti
shifters with deore or lx competing the (8sp) drivetrain, 36 spoke
wheels and the rest with whatever I can find cheap. I'm thinking about
$550 for the build. Does this sound reasonable? Am I close in my
guess? Or do I buy the 2003 volpe for $700 or one of the Surlys for
$850?

Lastly, can I even use the 9sp 105 shifters with an 8 sp drivetrain?

Thanks for any help.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article ,
Yellowstone Yeti wrote:
I've been in the market for a new bike. About 80% of the time I'll be
using it for fitness rides of 20-65 miles on pavement. The rest of the
time for fully loaded touring, both paved and dirt roads. I've been to
the lbs and ridden a Bianchi Volpe and a Surly Xcheck, both of which
fit me well in a size 58.

Now, for the ?s...

They also have a couple of 2002 Jamis Aurora frames-a 57 and a 59. I'm
thinking of buying a frame and building it myself. They want $125 for
the NOS frames. First of all, will an Aurora fit my needs?

_ If a Volpe or CrossCheck works for you an Aurora should be just
fine if not better since it has more of a touring geometry than
a cyclocross one. I suspect it would be a better choice for
what you want to do.

Secondly,
am I better off getting the slightly smaller 57 or the larger 59?

_ IMHO, you are better off getting the tallest frame you can
stand. Mostly because this allows you to get the handlebars
high enough. There is no advantage to a smaller frame. You
should also check that they are both measuring center to center
or center to top.

Thirdly, I'm wondering if I can build the bike for less than I can buy
the new Volpe, Xcheck or a Long Haul Trucker.

_ Highly unlikely, unless you already have the parts in your
garage it is almost always cheaper to buy all the parts together
already on the bike and replace the one or two things you don't
want with the ones you do.

I would want 105 sti
shifters with deore or lx competing the (8sp) drivetrain, 36 spoke
wheels and the rest with whatever I can find cheap. I'm thinking about
$550 for the build. Does this sound reasonable?

_ Not really. The brifters alone are going to be $200. Crank and
BB $100, wheels at least $150, deraillers $50, rear cassette $25,
chain $15, tires $40, headset $30. Those are all pretty low
guesses and you still don't have brakes, saddle, pedals, seatpost
and bar and stem.

Am I close in my
guess? Or do I buy the 2003 volpe for $700 or one of the Surlys for
$850?


_ Those are both pretty good deals IMHO, does the LHT come as a
complete bike now or are you talking about the X-check? Just
go to someplace like www.bikeman.com, put all the components
in a shopping cart and check the price. You can't get the
components on either of those bikes for anywhere near the
retail price of the whole thing.

_ Building bikes is fun if you enjoy that kind of thing and it
allows you to get exactly what you want, but it doesn't save
money. If you just want to get out and ride that $700 volpe
is probably the best deal.

_ Booker C. Bense

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.2

iQCVAwUBQYp6Y2TWTAjn5N/lAQGouQQAvKSAN0jyEjwCURckAKX3zzb+DLZjIj3M
LhWii+AND7MEwckqMP9Xt7VEL7NQLjaHJd4BJRGAQC253DvmnP NIG9Im6FvSMnL1
SgDZ7fXHTvPGhX1Konm0BaS9F/W+sqhznwEGH7C0ME07UbZibrLrhmph7LBQ5Rgs
o5dFTJmQjlA=
=qa+A
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 07:34:48 -0800, Yellowstone Yeti wrote:

They also have a couple of 2002 Jamis Aurora frames-a 57 and a 59. I'm
thinking of buying a frame and building it myself. They want $125 for
the NOS frames.

I have a 2004 Aurora (purchased fully-built-up) that is fabulous.

First of all, will an Aurora fit my needs?

I'd say yes, definitely.

Secondly, am I better off getting the slightly smaller 57 or the larger
59?

My take on this is that you should get the larger one, given that the 58cm
in the other brands fit you. If possible, perhaps you could try built-up
Auroras in the two sizes (might double-check the geometry hasn't changed).

AFAIK people typically buy bikes that are too small.

Thirdly, I'm wondering if I can build the bike for less than I can buy
the new Volpe, Xcheck or a Long Haul Trucker.

Depends on your source of parts. Are you doing the labor? Are you sure you
won't make any mistakes in purchasing or building (expensive)?

8 speed is probably not worth the savings. Just go 9sp.

Big caveat: Typically it is a bad idea to build a bike from parts to save
money. There are too many ways that it can backfire. If you're building it
from parts because you want to build it from parts, then by all means
proceed. But don't do it just to save money.

Any good shop will swap parts if you want to upgrade before buying (e.g.
you wanted 105, but the Auroura comes with Tiagra (which is just fine
IMO)), typically for the difference in part cost unless it's a complicated
swap.

HTH

Reid

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article ,
Booker C. Bense . stanford.edu wrote:

Secondly,
am I better off getting the slightly smaller 57 or the larger 59?

_ IMHO, you are better off getting the tallest frame you can
stand. Mostly because this allows you to get the handlebars
high enough. There is no advantage to a smaller frame. You
should also check that they are both measuring center to center
or center to top.


_ One thing I forgot to mention is that you should check
the top tube dimensions closely as well. If the 59 has
a significantly longer top tube than the 58 you're
comfortable on, then you'll have a hard time getting
a good fit. Really, top tube length is probably more
important and much harder to correct after the fact
than seat tube length. I doubt there will be much
difference between a 58 and 59, but it's something
to check.

_ Booker C. Bense

P.S. You might check around some, I've seen new
built up Aurora's for as low as $600 on the web.


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.2

iQCVAwUBQYrKU2TWTAjn5N/lAQGFVwP+MqarJwHK+NPigPWGNdqgVHBSB3OUNV0E
G7iYbvi1suKjCF3yuaSP7+elICFMX+qYDdWLWUJYNEt2Qengva ZGbZe0bgjoHglr
o3S+6AsDMO5DrjZ5BW1jxZrSbCm/XsiblLblGM7EXrcelDXAVbdhDsmQtvG09HS2
0uMH3/ABmi8=
=pF6c
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----