Commuting Frame and Fork Replacement

[rangersac]

So my trusty (or not so trusty) Orbea Aos frame has developed a lovely fatigue crack on the downtube just south of the steering tube weld. It would seem that it started on the edge of a breather hole and spread halfway around the tube before I picked it up. I guess I should count my lucky stars that a 6061 alloy didn't fail catastrophically rather than giving me a day's warning of creaks and groans! Anyway as I've only just recently replaced the drivetrain, headset bearings and seat, and the rest of the components are working just fine I'm reluctant to ditch the whole bike in favour of a new one, and would settle for a frame + fork replacement. The question is with what and is it economically sensible? A few salient points are:

1. I'm not small. 95kg, 188cm and regularly have 10+ kg on the rear rack
2. The frame/ bike gets a heavy workout on commuting duties. The daily run is 60km with plenty of uphill, downhill and choppy bitumen
3. The Aos was the first lighweight aluminium alloy frame I've used for daily transport. Probably unjustifiably I am now somewhat put off using 6061 again and am leaning towards a steelie for longevity purposes, although I am open to being convinced otherwise. I reckon the Aos frame had around 50,000km on it, in my book it should've managed at least twice that before heading off to bike heaven.
4. I prefer a flat bar road set-up for commuting, as in my opinion it's nicer for dodging traffic.

One obvious choice for a steelie would be a Surly LHT (fitted with flat bars), as it would be a pretty easy swap over of components to get back on the road. The other alternative is to get a new bike, swap out bits where necessary and flog off the surplus bits. I would definitely keep the wheels of the Aos as I replaced the stock ones with much stronger units, and as mentioned the drivetrain is practically new (although nothing super special being a mixture of Alivo and Sora components).

Budget wise a Surly frame, fork and headset will probably be around $700 so wouldn't be looking at going much more than that on any replacement bike or alternative frame and fork combo.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

[WestcoastPete]

On One?

Pompetamine, or perhaps an Inbred 29er.

[rangersac]

Yeah, OnOne is a good call, although unfortunately most of their frames in my size are out of stock. Dawes Galaxy is another UK touring frame that I admire, but it seems like getting them here is a PITA

[Nobody]

Soma?

[cobba]

http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/roadrat

The local distributor doesn't list this model but might be able to get one.
http://cotic.com.au/contact/
tom@cotic.com.au

[Chef]

Have you tried here for on one frames? http://www.raceworx.com.au/products/On% ... mpino.html

Looks like they have stock....

Cheers

[twizzle]

A Ribble Audax/winter frame plus fork and headset is about $350 delivered.


Sent from my iThingy...

[WestcoastPete]

Soma might ride a bit livelier than a LHT I reckon, and about the same price from the local distributor.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[silentbutdeadly]

Gemini's Vivente World Randonneur is available as frame and fork only in the bigger sizes for $650 and they have a Tasmanian dealer (Launceston)

http://www.viventebikes.com/main/page_p ... _list.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rangersac]

Thanks for the replies from all.

Have you tried here for on one frames? http://www.raceworx.com.au/products/On% ... mpino.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Single speed frame unfortunately and I don't rate bolt on derailleur hangers

A Ribble Audax/winter frame plus fork and headset is about $350 delivered.

I've always admired these frames, but I'm not sure if they'd be up for the full rack and weight duties day in day out.

All of the Cotic, Soma and Viviente look interesting and fairly easily accessible. Particularly the Viviente given the Tassie distributor, and inclusion of seatpost into the price. Given they have 2012 stock I might see if they can cut me a deal!

[cobba]

Single speed frame unfortunately and I don't rate bolt on derailleur hangers

You could cross the Cotic Roadrat off the list, it uses a chaintug with a derailleur hanger

http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/interfac ... echtug.jpg
https://www.cotic.co.uk/order/item/thum ... aintug.jpg

[rangersac]

Good call re: the roadrat, didn't immediately spot the bolt on hanger. Their cyclocross frame looks nice, but their general frame warranty leaves a bit to be desired IMHO.