All City Macho man? Kona Rove? other?

[spaced_ghost]

Kona Rove, All City Macho Man Disc.

anyone ridden these bikes for longer than a test ride and have any input? I'm looking for an all-arounder. Urban commuter on terrible roads and long rides out of the city at my own pace. which is usually pretty fast but not race pace. fenders are good. rear rack would be nice, but not essential. moving to tennessee soonish, so gravel grinder capabilities are in the mix. I'd like to say I'm going to race cross, but it isn't likely.

buying a complete because i sold all my bike stuff a while back. I'm leaning towards the Rove, but I hate Apex alot, and dont want to have to upgrade soon. Hence the Macho Man. 105 mix. both are steel, but the Rove headtube would give me the option to go modern carbon fork later. Dont have the option to test out the Macho Man, but I really like the Rove on test ride.

Other option would be go AL with a Jake the Snake or Specialized Crux. I like the snappiness of AL in sprints, but prefer the ride quality of steel, so it's kind of a toss-up on that for me, with a leaning towards steel.

Thoughts? Do I go Rove and just bite the bullet in a few months and upgrade the group (prob just to 105), or go All-City and take the penalty on no modern forks later? or say screw it and go Jake the Snake, which would give me 105, larger headtube, but no steel ride quality?

[PJN]

All city has 1-1/8" headtube.

Problem solved.

[spaced_ghost]

i didnt mean that kind of modern, I mean tapered steerer modern

[EDS]

i didnt mean that kind of modern, I mean tapered steerer modern

I think the all city with the tapered head tube is in the works. There are photos floating around the internet. You could also check out the Bikes from Salsa (warbird) and Co-motion (klatch) amongst others, though those are aluminum.

[benb]

So hard to believe a tapered fork or even a carbon fork is going to make much of a difference on these bikes.

[scho74]

Not sure why you would want an oversized head tube on an all around bike. Those steel bikes are pretty burly and you most likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference between an oversized and regular 1.125 head tube. I say get a Raleigh Roper and save a few hundred bucks.

[JAGI410]

Salsa Vaya? Raleigh Tamland?

[spaced_ghost]

Thanks for the suggestions. Ill look into those.

Tapered headtube isnt the most important thing. Would def like to add a carbon fork at some point.

But Perhaps i should rephrase the question. I really like the Kona Rove, i liked the brakes, but i hate Apex, primarily because the alternate cable routing recesses in the hoods dig into my hands no matter what bars I use, what wrapping style, what angle, etc. I dont have any other parts to swap, and i wont have the money to upgrade the group for a while. I will be riding this bike every day a minimum of 1.5 hours commuting for several months in whatever complete build it comes to me with. Is it dumb to consider a different bike because it has 105, which I like?

I test rode the straggler and it wasnt bad. I test rode the jake and actually liked it quite a bit. Stiffer ride than the rove, but better sprinting (altho that could just be the smaller tires). I havent had a chance to test the macho man and probably wont. I could prob manage to hop on a Crux. The upcoming macho king is out of my range (if i could afford that, id get a Ti rove anyway).

[Admiral Ackbar]

buy the kona, sell the apex, buy a 105 group?

[spaced_ghost]

Maybe so.

[josephr]

Vaya, CrossCheck, All-City Macho Man...all similar bikes from QBP...the Kona is nice to that as well...can run up your budget a bit to switch up from Apex to 105 (or anything) as you get a better deal with a bundle. Soma Double Cross Disc comes with Apex, but at least you get a Sugino crank.
Joe

[stien]

Am I the only one thinking used?

[spaced_ghost]

I would normally go used, and have bought every bike I have owned (20+) used. but right now I'm getting a deal on a new bike. I've also never had a new bike, and am looking forward to that aspect. However, even though I'm getting a deal, I'm moving across the country, changing jobs, etc. in the near future and need to watch my money. I used to be a mechanic and dont mind wrenching at all, but I will probably be stuck with what I get for a while. I bought a Blue Norcross last year with Apex and learned two things: I hate Apex and it doesn't resell very well. so upgrading to 105 would be necessary and a little pricey.

[KonaSS]

I like this one. http://www.transitionbikes.com/2014/Bikes_Rapture.cfm


Potential build kit here: http://www.probikekit.com/cycling-groupsets/kinesis-crosslight-disc-build-kit/10787991.html


Can usually find 15% off coupon for Probikekit.

[spaced_ghost]

that is pretty sweet, no dealers anywhere near me, though.

[commonguy001]

All City has the Macho King coming out which has the oversized headtube, tapered carbon fork and is made of 853 reynolds.
Price will be up there but it'd make a really killer everyday commuter.

[spaced_ghost]

All City has the Macho King coming out which has the oversized headtube, tapered carbon fork and is made of 853 reynolds.
Price will be up there but it'd make a really killer everyday commuter.

yeah, i saw it. it's super awesome. it's also super out of my price range.

[kevinvc]

I was looking for the exact same type of bike a year and a half ago and got the Soma ES with a 105 build. It is everything I wanted and more. On weekends I go on club rides and can keep up with the paceline. I've ridden it on dirt and gravel. I've done a few centuries on it. I've commuted with full coverage fenders on some pretty broken up streets. It's behaved admirably through it all and, in my opinion, the feel of riding steel over aluminum is dramatic.

Note- I have no financial interest in Soma, so if I sound like a pitch-man it's only because I freakin' love this bike.

[spaced_ghost]

Sounds awesome, but im limited to kona, raleigh, specialized, surly, all city, bianchi, and masi.

[KidWok]

Soma makes a great bike for the money...check out the double cross disc. Here's mine with canti bosses taken off, custom powder coat, and 35mm tires for Seattle commuting.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c151/TaiLee77/IMG_44304955248813_zpsdnf4mbcx.jpeg

Tai

[josephr]

Sounds awesome, but im limited to kona, raleigh, specialized, surly, all city, bianchi, and masi.

how so? this is the day of the internet...anybody can sell you anything.
Joe

[jr59]

Soma makes a great bike for the money...check out the double cross disc. Here's mine with canti bosses taken off, custom powder coat, and 35mm tires for Seattle commuting.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c151/TaiLee77/IMG_44304955248813_zpsdnf4mbcx.jpeg

Tai

Hey, I know that bag! Pretty sweet ride too!

[EDS]

yeah, i saw it. it's super awesome. it's also super out of my price range.

Fyxation Quiver? Not disc but looks like a solid commuter option.

[spaced_ghost]

how so? this is the day of the internet...anybody can sell you anything.
Joe

long story. just take my word for it.

[spaced_ghost]

Rode a Macho Man disc, and it's pretty awesome. feels a lot like my old poprad, which was my favorite bike ever.

also rode a Salsa Colossal. That's a pretty awesome bike. doesnt make much sense for my "needs," but I liked it alot.

[macaroon]

A couple more to consider:

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adventure/multi-sport/croix-de-fer

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXKAFF2TIA/planet-x-kaffenback-2-shimano-tiagra-road-bike

[dawgie]

Soma Saga, Gunnar Crosshairs are other nice options

[morrisericd]

I have a Kona Rove size 59 with the original fork and a carbon fork from Nasbar that I'm really not riding enough to justify owning. Completely stock with the extra fork. Really great bike I just find myself on my Seven more. PM me if interested.

[spaced_ghost]

I would be interested, but it's too big for me. GLWS