I'm trying to work out if the Singular Peregrine is worth buying, which is a harder task than I anticipated. It's not a cheap frame but neither is it scandalously expensive, in the scheme of things.
It requires changing my wheelset as it only has disc-brake mounts, which is the most significant ball ache as I've only bought new wheels n tyres this year. Most folk seem to build these up with mtb wheels and tyres but I was hoping to use something a bit skinnier for my pending 18mile each way commute - does anyone know of a wheelset that could take both road tyres and slim mtb tyres??
And could I use my existing Sora STI levers with BB7s?
How much is the frame? Are the wheels 700c, how big do you want to go tyre-wise?
You'd need problem solvers unless your bb7s are the road version. I have a set of shimano road disc brakes, £30 or swaps for the bb7s. Maybe look at some 29er labeled wheels and then stick some nice fat slicks on, they won't be any slower than skinnier tyres.
Well I was thinking I'd run slick roadies for usual commute, maybe 32, and swap over to skinny small knobs (fnar fnar) for adventures. It takes 2" slicks with guards, which I'd prob use if touring. F&f is 565, don't have disc brakes or wheels for it though and you might tell me road cassettes are incompatible with mtb hubs so I might find myself with only saddle and bars to pull over, both of which I intended to upgrade ASAP! New bike time...? Or more realistically I ought to admit I would be better off getting a Thorn Audax mk3, but it only has clearance for 32 w guards. Oh, and its not as pretty. But I'd only need fnf so could probably justify the carbon fork ;-).
Have you considered a cross bike instead? The new 2013 Canondale is £850, mostly 105 components, carbon fork, rack and mudguard mounts and is the current object of my 'if I quite smoking I could afford it in x weeks' calculations.
Which Cannondale? I was told by the helpful folk at EBC that they've outsourced frame building this year yet keep the 'Made in USA' badge on the grounds they're lovingly hand-assembled there. Apparently they've had loads of problems already :(
But it seems you may be right, perhaps it's a cross and not a racer, nay, audax, nay, tourer, that I want. Bloody indecisive for someone who isn't anywhere near affording more than a tin of beans (smart price), eh no?
Yet Rob says mtb slicks wouldn't add much to the effort, so perhaps some cheap 2nd hand 29er wheels will come up at just the right time - i.e. between getting paid for a heap of engineering yet before it's eaten by car tax/bills/fixing house stuff, then I can pretend it only costs the frame price after all :-p
29er and 700c is the same innit. Slick mtb tyres would be the same as fat road tyres really, unless your on about sticking 26" in.
nah was thinking of rim width (ahem) - MTB rims wouldn't grip my 28mm Gatorskins (wouldn't touch the sides, hur hur) n 2" small knobs wouldn't fit inside road rims.
I think that really this Peregrine is actually a rigid 29er MTB painted to look like a classic road bike and with racks thrown on to make you think it's a tourer. Oh, and with an eccentric BB just to confuse things. It is in fact the EverythingBike of a few threads ago...
You have Bobi... HTFU and spend the money on beer.
A fifty year old bloke on an 80's MTB overtook Drew and I (on our lightweight alu road bikes) up a big hill in Goyt yesterday. Clearly there is something in what you write.
Stupid low gears is the name of the game. he was practically spinning up the hill
Neil was with you?
I thought Neil was having it in Ibiza or is he secretly training.