Soma rant

My all aluminum Fuji road bike isn't really the right bike for my 17 mile
commute (round trip). Wanting something w/ a steel frame and wider tires, I
thought I'd get myself a SOMA Double Cross (631 Reynolds steel) and put my
Fuji components on it. The SOMA Double Cross seemed like a good choice at
$325 & $23 shipping. Then I noticed that the chain stays are only 16.7
inches long. Heck, my Fuji has longer stays than that (17.6)! I'm pretty
sure that the back of my shoes would hit my panniers due to the shortness of
the stays. It really baffles me that SOMA didn't take this in
consideration... after all they advertise that it can be used for commuting
AND loaded touring. Anyway, can anyone recommend me a Company that sells
frames at a comparable price? Not Surly.. they uses 4130 steel. Too heavy
as far as I'm concerned.

Glenn,
The Soma DoubleCross is a cyclocross bike. A lot of people use cross bikes
for commuting and touring, but they usually don't have really long
chainstays.

The Soma Smoothie ES would be a better choice.

The current Fuji touring bikes have 17.3 inch stays. What model is your
bike?

What's the difference in weight between 4130 CrMo and 631?

The frame you need is a Rivendell Atlantis. Just buy it and be happy, to
hell with the $!


"Glenn Civello" wrote in message
...
My all aluminum Fuji road bike isn't really the right bike for my 17 mile
commute (round trip). Wanting something w/ a steel frame and wider tires,
I
thought I'd get myself a SOMA Double Cross (631 Reynolds steel) and put my
Fuji components on it. The SOMA Double Cross seemed like a good choice at
$325 & $23 shipping. Then I noticed that the chain stays are only 16.7
inches long. Heck, my Fuji has longer stays than that (17.6)! I'm pretty
sure that the back of my shoes would hit my panniers due to the shortness
of
the stays. It really baffles me that SOMA didn't take this in
consideration... after all they advertise that it can be used for
commuting
AND loaded touring. Anyway, can anyone recommend me a Company that sells
frames at a comparable price? Not Surly.. they uses 4130 steel. Too
heavy
as far as I'm concerned.