Looking to pickup a new bike that would be primarily used as:
1. Urban commuter in Nyc…shitty roads, bumpy bridge crossing, bad weather (have fairly secure bike parking)
2. Bad weather training bike
3. Some gravel adventures out of the city
My current commuter is an old \~2008 carbon racer won’t fit wider than \~25mm tires or fenders, and I want to be able to commute every day without thinking about the weather
Also, I have a new carbon roadie that I don’t like riding when the streets are wet/salty/muddy, so I’m hoping this can also double as a winter trainer when it’s gross out and take on some fun gravel rides out of the city….so something not super heavy would be ideal
Requirements would be:
* Clearance at least like \~40ish
* Mounts for fenders like the [PDW](https://ridepdw.com/collections/fenders/products/full-metal-fenders-29-x-2-5) ones
* Budget is flexible around \~2-3k
* Mounts for a rack could be cool, but not required
I’ve floated back and forth between a carbon gravel bike with entry-level components (like the Aspero’s on sale – but they don’t have fender mounts) and a full steel rig. Atm, I’m kind of thinking about picking up a nice steel frame with a carbon fork. Something in this direction:
* [R+E Cycles](https://rodbikes.com/profiles/profiles.php?tag=single)
* [All City Nature Cross](https://allcitycycles.com/bikes/nature_cross_geared)
* [Otso Warakin Stainless](https://www.adrenalinebikes.com/shop/gravel-bikes-and-frames/steel/otso-warakin-stainless/#)
* [Bombtrack Hook](https://www.bombtrack.com/complete-bikes/hook)
Open to being convinced that full steel is the way to go. I love the look of these [Omnium CXC](https://www.reddit.com/r/whichbike/comments/xuscnw/looking_for_a_bike_like_the_omnium_cxc_usa/)’s. But I’m thinking a carbon fork might put this in the range of something light enough to bring on a gravel group ride with the right wheels.
Thoughts on 1x vs 2x chainrings for this kind of thing?
by kinetic_hq