Quote:
Originally Posted by mhespenheide
I had originally thought to stay "modern" and to stay away from steel, just for the "lightweight" criteria. But does anyone want to suggest any vintage classics? I'm hearing rumors of some early 80's Puegeots with Vitus 980 tubing that might be candidates.
I've already got a lugged steel Trek that fits 35's, but the chainstays and wheelbase are a little long for it to fit what I'm explicitly looking for here. And it's a few pounds heavier than I'd like.
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I was just going to suggest an early 80s Trek converted to 700c. Not exactly lightweight, but they do make really nice gravel beaters. I've got a 2011 (first gen) Domane Classics that I've fit w/ 32mm cross tires, but the rear was awfully tight unless you have a really laterally stiff wheel-- 30 mm would be fine. It definitely has more clearance than the regular production Domane from the same era. That said, I'm not really a fan of cramming tires any more. For pure utility I'd personally go with a modern cross bike-- they're more like road geometry nowdays, plenty light, and you can probably get a rim brake frame cheap since everyone seems to be going disc. On the other hand, boutique steel with large tire clearance speaks to the heart!