I want a a touring bike, a packing bike and winter road bike but I only have space for one.

What one bike will do all that?

I all already have a full susser and a carbon roadie so it's doesn't need to cover those duties.

Don't want to spend a fortune so doesn't have to be brand new and would like to build it myself.

Perhaps a 29er with drops? I've been thinking along the lines of an Inbred or Scandal but I keep reading they're a bit long on top tube when run with drops.

Something like this maybe?


Not really up on rim and tyre combos, what skinny tyres could I fit for road work and what could I fit for off road on the same rim?

Would like rack bosses, discs and gears.

Thoughts please

For a road / cross orientated solution perhaps
singular peregrine
surly straggler
Genesis croix de fer

For slightly more wierd / mtb ish (I think) perhaps a Singular Gryphon?

I think theres a few people have things like this on here, I'm sure someone will be along to assist more soon


Additionally, CX tyres or touring tyres will fit thin mtb 29er wheels no problems. I've used 42C conti Xkings on a straggler on Stans arch rims

I run a Haro Mary frame in Monster Cross guise, requires a short high rise stem but works really well.

A salsa Fargo?



I'm still debating keeping this, or selling it.

I love it, but, well, I think an ECR would have been a better choice for me.

Dunno, Only had it since April, so should really give it a bit longer I guess?
Its just not the instant love affair that I got with my Vaya.

I must admit I'm erring towards the "slightly more weird" / monster cross type thing.

Fargos and Gryphon look great but not the budget end I was looking for.

Can you go thinner than 42c?

Got any pics of your bike Stu?

Got any pics of your bike Stu?

Now running P2 forks and woodchippers rather than the WTB Dirt Drops but pretty much the same as the pic.

I'm also looking for a bike like this (don't tell the misses) the Fargo allways looks nice

I won't if you don't ;-)

So I've been thinking a bit more about this and come up with a plan b.

I've got a Cannondale Trail SL2 29er which was supposed to be my do it all bike but it doesn't quite work as I never really got on with it for one reason and another. It's not a bad bike so it seems silly to lose £££ selling it and starting anew. It's good in one respect in that it's pretty beefy. This helps when I take my daughter touring as I tow her bike(!) and the combined weight of two bikes and all our camping gear would see a lot of bikes crumble under the strain. That same attribute also means It's fairly weighty.

Plan A was to sell it and use the cash to help fund a another build. After spending the day stripping and cleaning it ready to sell I decided to try a plan B. It's going on a weight loss programme and going to be drop barred. All to be done on a budget so I've been scouring the online shops for as many bargains as can be had.

Going to have to replace the brakes for cable discs but can't bring myself to shell out for road STIs so it's going to get Tekro v levers and trigger shifters. I fitted triggers to a flat bar tourer that I converted to drops a few years ago and it actually works really well. It will also be getting new tyres, tubes and maybe a few other bits a bobs.

Hopefully it won't turn out too fugly!

Hopefully it won't turn out too fugly!

I actually think they're meant to be a bit fugly

I gues you're right to a degree but I'd hate to give birth to anything like this

Yuck!Yuck!Yuck! that's sooo so ugly it made me laugh... I think I'm going to turn neurotic.
Poor poor Lawwill...

Build one of the Singular options, upload the picture - remedy the neurosis
please...

Be interested to see how it turns out.

If you still want alternatives I'm loving the look of the Cotic Escapade atm.

Perhaps a 29er with drops? I've been thinking along the lines of an Inbred or Scandal but I keep reading they're a bit long on top tube when run with drops.

Something like this maybe?

Around a year ago I was in a similar position to you. I very nearly build my inbred up with drops, but in the end decided I would rather have something that could be ridden harder off-road, and thus went with wide flat bars. Picture of the build below. I also have a 3*10 XT drivetrain which goes on for the road touring stuff and a 1*10 option, too.



Last week I finished JogLe on the bike, with few modifications (it was running 3*10 for it, and I added some touring tyres and some bar ends). One thing that I am grateful for now is that I didn't opt for drop-bars. The front would simply have been too low for me. However, I do have the option of more builds in the future so when building this I knew it would not be used long term as a road touring bike.

As it stands I'm even more grateful I chose the flat-bars in the end simply as my full-suss was stolen shortly after this was built… and thus I now only have one bike for on road and off (however, with luck, I'll be building two more in the near future :D)

Obviously, this is a personal thing, and you could have more stack height than I do… but the fork was 2nd hand.

One thing to think about if you are just going to bung a set of drops on a normal mtb is that you'll end up very stretched out. Fargo's have near cyclo cross length top tubes (ie short) and they work great with drops. An on-one inbred would give you a stretch like a pro road bike, even if you used a short stem.

Inbreds do have a long TT but not every mountain bike frame does ... I've got long legs / short body and the fit of my Haro is very similar to my crosser. Something from the earlier mountain bike years might be a better option for fitting drops,

Daniel, funny you went to flat bars after your jogle, I went to drops from flat bars a few weeks after doing it.

Looking at you bike your saddle seems quite high in relation to your bars/stem. I had to change a much loved roadie last year because it was causing me quite a bit of lower back pain. It was fine 10 years ago when i got it but as the years have rolled past I guess my body decided it was new bike time, at least that's what I told my wife ;-)

I've had a look at the effective top tube size of the fargo, inbred and my cannondale and mine is significantly longer. Funny thing is when I'm sat on it the cockpit feels quite compact so I think it should work out Ok.

I've ordered the bits and they are on the way but we're off on holiday tomorrow so no progress for a week or so. I'd be quite happy to take the bits with me and build it on holiday but I don't think that will go down too well!

Daniel, funny you went to flat bars after your jogle, I went to drops from flat bars a few weeks after doing it.

Looking at you bike your saddle seems quite high in relation to your bars/stem. I had to change a much loved roadie last year because it was causing me quite a bit of lower back pain. It was fine 10 years ago when i got it but as the years have rolled past I guess my body decided it was new bike time, at least that's what I told my wife ;-)

I only really opted for flat bars as I didn't want further saddle -> bar drop, nor did I want to buy new brakes and shifters. The saddle is quite high, but that frame is a large and I'm about 6' 3". I have had back pain in the past on bikes, of various shapes and sizes, but have actually found that changing rucksack fixed this. It was the last thing I expected to deal with it.

I built up a 2014 Fargo frame I bought off eBay. Knew it was ok for drops so wanted to try flats, Mary Bars in fact. Worked out great. A medium has 565mm ETT which is the length I rode years ago and suits me much better than the much longer top tubes of today's mtb frames.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

I like this 2014 frame a lot, so versatile, I already have a Rohloff dropout for it.

Brian
Apologies not sorted URL copying on ipad.

Bomb Pop blue

Thanks for putting that up for me. Yes, love the Bomb Pop Blue!

It's just so comfy, combines all the comfy bits from my other bikes, Ti Brooks, Thudbuster, soft set Fox forks converted from 80mm to 100mm, Mary bars, it's own high stack and correct top tube. Not ridden any other of my bikes since building it.

So from my experience, if building a one bike must do all, starting with a drop bar design such as Fargo, or Gryphon, works with flat bars too, make sure it can take SS, IGH, Rohloff and derailleur gears plus anything from 2.4, tyres down, 3" if possible up front.

Brian

@ johnnystorm.

Lovely bike!

Solo wrote:@ johnnystorm.

Lovely bike!

Just in case you hadn't noticed it's Brian's. My Fargo is dark blue.

johnnystorm wrote:

Solo wrote:@ johnnystorm.

Lovely bike!

Just in case you hadn't noticed it's Brian's. My Fargo is dark blue.

You expect me read, look at pics and understand!

Nice bike Brian

Thanks.

Odd really, not really planned, it just happened. I have a large Fargo that I really needed to swap the frame to a medium, and I had a Kona Big Unit covered in lovely bits that was just a bit stiff at the back end for my back issues. Whilst I was planning other things the medium 2014 Fargo frame turned up on eBay. Hoped I could get all the bits over from the Kona and that worked out, plus the superb Brooks Ti B17 and Thudbuster from the Fargo. Another set of Mary Bars which I find so comfortable and as soon as I rode it I could not believe how comfortable it was, no soreness anywhere.

So perhaps sometimes just trying a build is the way to go.

Brian