Which Bike Should I Buy…….?

dkryan

dkryan

Joined
Apr 11, 2003
Messages
2,720
Location
Cincinnati
I want a new bike that I can ride a couple of days a week on mostly paved bike trails. Having ridden a Specialized Crossroads hybrid for years, I want to stay with a hybrid bike. I’d take a Cannondale Quick 2, but good luck finding one.

My research has me seriously considering a bike from Detroit Bikes or from Roll Bikes.

The difference in what I am looking at seems to come down to frame material, hydraulic versus mechanical disc brakes, and internal cable routing.

Take a look at the links below and kindly give me your constructive opinion. Thanks.

https://detroitbikes.com/collections/bikes/products/2022-cortello-preorder?variant=39962754187447

www.rollbicycles.com

A:1 Adventure Bike

Any adventure, road or trail, rough or smooth, wet or dry, high or low... we designed it to be beyond versatile. It’s the bike we’d always wanted that we could never find, so we designed it and we built it. Custom built with all the essential components. It’s lightweight and fully adaptable.
www.rollbicycles.com www.rollbicycles.com

P.S. - Roll is promising delivery in mid-August; Detroit says October.
And note the price on the Detroit is for a pre-order deposit; MSRP starts at $949.
 
I'm not familiar with either brand but I'd pick the Roll A1. The quill stem and old school headset on the Detroit would be enough to make me look elsewhere. The Roll is claimed 5 lbs lighter and for your intended use mechanical disc brakes are perfectly fine and easy to service and adjust. The Detroit with the steel frame and fork looks like something you'd buy at Walmart, the Roll aluminum frame and fork looks like a bike you'd buy from one of the major bike brands like Specialized. The Roll doesn't have a terribly low gear with a 42x36 but if you don't have any steep hills it would be fine. Clicking on the "specs" button for the Detroit leads to a 2020 Excel doc that I couldn't open. Hmmm.

Internal vs external cable routing is aesthetics. And the Roll is less money.
 
I don’t have any bike suitable for pavement riding at the moment. I keep considering a Surly Bridge Club.
 
Thanks for the reply, AZ!

If you click on the Detroit link and scroll down, clicking on “specs” should open the spreadsheet.

Educate me on your comment re: the headset and quill stem, please.

Also, Roll offers an upgrade from the 700x40mm Kenda K1152 Flintridge Dual Tread tire to a Ramble or Cannonball 700x38mm tire. Why would I consider that upgrade?

Also, I need a bike rack. A hitch-based rack for the Santa Fe limits me to using that vehicle versus a trunk mounted rack for the Altima. Opinions?

Thanks.
 
dkryan said:
If you click on the Detroit link and scroll down, clicking on “specs” should open the spreadsheet.

Educate me on your comment re: the headset and quill stem, please.

Also, Roll offers an upgrade from the 700x40mm Kenda K1152 Flintridge Dual Tread tire to a Ramble or Cannonball 700x38mm tire. Why would I consider that upgrade?

Also, I need a bike rack. A hitch-based rack for the Santa Fe limits me to using that vehicle versus a trunk mounted rack for the Altima. Opinions?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

My old laptop won't open an Excel spreadsheet.

A quill stem sticks down into the steerer tube and tightens using a wedge. This is ancient and IMO has no place on a $1000 bike of any kind. Also the headset bearings are adjusted with 2 big nuts that screw onto threads on the steerer tube. You need 2 wrenches big enough to fit the nuts and it's a fussy adjustment, again, ancient low end parts found on big box store bikes. If you're not familiar with the threadless system of headset bearings look at these: https://bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.com/2013/10/threadless-and-quill-stems.html

Threadless and Quill Stems

A blog about bicycles and bicycle riding. Emphasis on vintage and classic bikes, with lots about old vs. new technology.
bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.com bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.com

The tire upgrade is probably to lighter tires with a higher thread count. They're a bit narrower at 38mm vs 40mm. Probably not needed for a casual use bike.

I've never used or trusted trunk mounted racks and just don't like how they mount with hooks and straps on the edges of the trunk lid or hatch. I'm sure there are good ones and it's just my own unfounded bias. You'll have to trust product reviews on that. Both bikes have a traditional diamond frame so there shouldn't be any problems with a trunk style rack. Lots of different hitch mount racks. I prefer the kind that captures the tire and doesn't grab the frame somewhere but again that's a personal choice. Don't cheap out on a rack for a $1k bike, get a known brand.

That Roll is pretty sweet, I'd have a hard time picking a color and would probably go with the polished components just to be different. Get a bike and be a kid again! (y)

2021 Specialized Fuse on the left, 2000 Litespeed Pisgah titanium on the left. Both high tech in their day and still ride the Litespeed. Just did 26 on the Fuse.
fuse&LS.jpg
 
Roll is “just up the road” from WKRP in Columbus . About 100 miles.

I’ll have them build it, then drive to one of their stores in the Columbus area and pick it up. They are saying mid-August for a delivery.

That way I can ensure the fit and related adjustments are correct, pick up some accessories, then head home.
 
My original thought was to go with British racing green and add an upgraded brown seat and brown grips. Something different.

Then I thought, “nah, I don’t own an MG, and if I go with that color setup, I’ll end up with fluid leaks and the electricals will go haywire within the first year.” 😎

I actually like that solar orange color and will likely go with that choice. White or matte silver as 2nd and 3rd. Black components with the orange or the white colors.

And I’m going with a very similar bike from Roll; the City:1, versus the Adventure:1.

www.rollbicycles.com

C:1 City Bike

We designed and built this bike specifically to make the everyday ride far more than just an everyday ride. Custom geometry was essential to make the our City Bike supremely comfortable, whilst swift and extremely agile.
www.rollbicycles.com www.rollbicycles.com

I can only find a couple of differences between the two: the handlebar on the A:1 is: 6061 Aluminum A:1 Adventure bar, 710mm wide, 20.0° sweep, 5.0° rise, versus the C:1 with a 6061 Aluminum C:1 City bar, 660mm wide, 15.0° sweep, 30mm rise. I think I’ll like the rise and sweep better in the long run (ride) on the C:1.

The other difference is the tires:

A:1 = 700x40mm Kenda K1152 Flintridge Dual Tread
C:1 = 700x35mm Kenda K1067 Kwick Tendril.

I have the option to upgrade to a 38mm tire, though I need to determine the
difference other than 3mm.
 
Click that Custom Cit link, scroll down to the bottom, and click on c1: custom builder.

Pick whatever gets you to the wheel/tire selection. I know automotive tires, but I have no clue as to which of those choices, if any, would be better than the standard 35mm tire.
 
It looks like a Teravail Cannonball is a gravel tire with more tread than the stock tire, and the Teravail Rampart is almost a slick. They'll have a bit more volume and might be a bit heavier.
https://www.amazon.com/Teravail-Cannonball-Bicycle-Sidewall-Multiple/dp/B08JP7715Y

https://www.amazon.com/Teravail-Rampart-Bicycle-Terrain-Sidewall/dp/B08JSKFGVY

I have some arthritis in my wrists and can't ride a normal bar with 6-9 degrees of sweep. I've been riding carbon bars with 20 deg of sweep on the new bike and they're great, a more natural position for the wrists. You probably wouldn't notice the difference between 15 and 20 degrees.
 
dkryan said:
Also, I need a bike rack. A hitch-based rack for the Santa Fe limits me to using that vehicle versus a trunk mounted rack for the Altima. Opinions?
Click to expand...
I have This and it works fine. Prone to rust so I remove when not in use, keep whatever size wrench it needs in the trunk. Holds bike secure, doesn’t care about bike fenders.
 
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