Flat-bar commuter or drop-bar tourer?

[KelOnWheels]

What about bikes with big French words?

Oh, there shall be Big French Words.

[TwoWheelsDC]

There seems to be a lot of Tiagra on my Hypothetical List

You'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between Tiagra and 105. The only reason I'd put 105 on a dedicated commuter is the internally routed cables don't block handlebar-mounted lights, but that's a pretty minor thing.

[dcv]

It comes with gears too. They should make a WSD version - Vive la Reine


I'm not a shill

[vvill]

I did like the spec for the Vive Le Roi when it first came out. Sliding dropouts, 1x10 shifting, disc brakes.

What do y'all think of this?

http://www.redlinebicycles.com/bikes...-metro-classic

I do not know these Redline bikes, but I see Bikenetic likes them.

Bikenetic doesn't carry them in stock though so you have to know you want it before seeing one. I actually wanted one of these originally and was convinced to go the Kona route. I saw a 2012 one on ebay in my size for $700 a week ago and was still tempted to bid I still like the aesthetic of the Metro Classic better than the Konas.

You'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between Tiagra and 105. The only reason I'd put 105 on a dedicated commuter is the internally routed cables don't block handlebar-mounted lights, but that's a pretty minor thing.

I agree. Even 9 speed Tiagra can be set up to shift super nice (I have it on my 1x9 folding bike). That said, I did spec 105 shifters on my CX bike for the internally routed cables.

[KelOnWheels]

It comes with gears too. They should make a WSD version - Vive la Reine


I'm not a shill

BIG FRENCH WORDS! woo!

[KelOnWheels]

I rather like the Vive Le Roi in the crazy limey green color

[DaveK]

There seems to be a lot of Tiagra on my Hypothetical List

Don't worry about it - current Tiagra is great. It's basically Shimano 105 5600 (the last generation), so it's 10-speed and fully cross-compatible with all the other 10-speed Shimano groups. You'll be able to find parts for it for a long time and the shift action is great. It doesn't have the style points of hidden cables, but that's about it.

[KelOnWheels]

Don't worry about it - current Tiagra is great. It's basically Shimano 105 5600 (the last generation), so it's 10-speed and fully cross-compatible with all the other 10-speed Shimano groups. You'll be able to find parts for it for a long time and the shift action is great. It doesn't have the style points of hidden cables, but that's about it.

Considering I'll be coming from riding 20-year-old Altus, I think I'll like Tiagra JUST FINE.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Considering I'll be coming from riding 20-year-old Altus, I think I'll like Tiagra JUST FINE.

I thought you'd have figured it out already...there's no such thing as "just fine" in cycling. It's "what'll keep me mostly happy until I can afford to upgrade, even though I don't need it." Sure 105 on my new road bike is a nice upgrade for me, but in the back of my mind I know I'll be itching to upgrade to Di2 or convert over to SRAM, or something....there's always something!

[KelOnWheels]

I thought you'd have figured it out already...there's no such thing as "just fine" in cycling. It's "what'll keep me mostly happy until I can afford to upgrade, even though I don't need it." Sure 105 on my new road bike is a nice upgrade for me, but in the back of my mind I know I'll be itching to upgrade to Di2 or convert over to SRAM, or something....there's always something!

No worries. I've already researched upgrading the stock Avid BB5's on the Redline Metro Classic I've never seen in person, test ridden, ordered or purchased.