Help needed for first road bike or so

Sagi

Hi All

I have a problem which is only owning one bike it's a Surly Troll and I love it, it has carried me from Vienna to Bucharest in 2011 and from Bucharest to Istanbul in 2014, countless times to work and basically everywhere I wanted to go.

But it is a bit of a tank with it's wide and heavy 26" tyres, front and rear racks mudguards and so on it weighs in around 16 kg.

Now I'm looking at getting a 2nd bike that will be a bit livelier and more fun on the road. A bike that is not so much a transport vehicle used to carry myself and camping gear or weekly shopping around but rather one I will enjoy to take out for a spin just for he fun of it.
I'd propably go out for a spin once or twice a week 50 to 80 km maybe 100 if I feel like it, only on road, but rather on the backroads that are as everybody knows quite bumpy and generally painful to ride on.

So I'm not looking for a real racer, rather a comfy bike for the road, that is still fun to ride and that while it will not win races (in which I will anyhow not compete) will still be a lot faster than my Troll.

I'll be building the bike myself so I just want to purchaese the frame, I'll be buying though bike to work and I definetly want a steel frame so my selection is a bit limited

it will be either a Genesis Croix de Fer a Surly Cross Check or a Planet X Kaffenback 2 but I'm open to alternatives as long as a frameset is available at one of the bike to work participating shops and stays below 500€ for frame and fork


I don't really know much about Cyclocross or Road Bike geometry or components, so I'd be greatful for any kind of info I can get on these bikes, from what I see they are all rather comfy than racy which I would prfer anyhow. My plan would be to put 32c tyres in and go on the hunt for used components from ebay.

Is Shimano 105 comparable to the Deore from the MTB side (not the lightest but solid performance)?

Are the Shimano gropsets compatible to each other?

The Croix de Fer as well as the Kaffenback have disc brakes, do those work with STI Shift/Brake Combos? Are the shimao components compatible (for example 105 shifter with Ultegra derailler)

What Gear Ratio makes sense? tripple at the front?
As I said I'm a bit clueless regarding road bikes and components.

Thank you for your help

cdaly_

If you're fond of steel, you could consider the Thorn Audax at GBP425 or the Thorn Club Tour at GBP500 the club tour can take disc brakes and up to 40mm tyres. Of course, you are aware that you may only use the bike to work scheme to purchase a full new bike. If you want to do something with a frameset, you'll need to get a shop to buy and build it up to a new bike for you (with new components).

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/models.html

Sagi

My employer as well as the bikeshop said I could get the frame only Thorn makes beautiful bikes but I don't think I'll get my hand on it through the scheme

cdaly_

I reckon I'll be buying a Club Tour from them through bike to work. My employer will pay them direct and handle the salary deductions.

Your employer will be committing tax fraud buying a frame only as will the bike shop. Just something to be aware of...