I'm looking to buy/build a single bike which can be used for both road and light off road use. This bike will not be raced either on or off road, but will be used primarily on the road over bad surfaces (lousy concrete w/ lots of potholes) and snow a good portion of the year. Should I buy an allout road bike and try to run something like 27c tires on it, or should I get a cross frame with cantis which can accomodate even larger tires? If i go cross, will cantis give me adequate stopping power as many of the roads I ride involve some pretty fast mountain type descents? Thanks

Properly setup cantis provide more stopping power than calipers, which is why you generally see them on touring bikes, plus they're easier to maintain.

Personally I think cross bikes are the way to go. They're more versatile than road bikes and they can definitely take more abuse. Plus you get a lot of options with them. For instance if you decide one day that you want to do a group ride throw on some 23mm tires take off the fenders (or whatever) and head out. If it snows throw on some 38-45mm tires and have fun...or just go out and get dirty...lots of options. With road bikes you're generally more stuck with what you can do. Which is why I'm selling my road bike and building up a cross bike for commuting and general riding...I won't be racing, but I'll be doing some fast group rides.

Jared

If you are going to ride in snow, you should go with the cross bike- As far as I know, the narrowest studded tires you can get are 35s- there are not a whole lot of road frames that will hold 35s.

Rivendell makes a bike that will fit large tires with caliper brakes (the A. Homer Hilson:rolleyes: ) but that seems more like an attempt to avoid the easy solution (cantilever brakes) than a real option.

Nice thing about cross bikes is that there are a ton of options at most price points.

Good luck!

I'm looking to buy/build a single bike which can be used for both road and light off road use. This bike will not be raced either on or off road, but will be used primarily on the road over bad surfaces (lousy concrete w/ lots of potholes) and snow a good portion of the year. Should I buy an allout road bike and try to run something like 27c tires on it, or should I get a cross frame with cantis which can accomodate even larger tires? If i go cross, will cantis give me adequate stopping power as many of the roads I ride involve some pretty fast mountain type descents? Thanks
your looking for a Carl Strong "Dirt Road" bike.
He's done quite a few, do a search on Carl over in the Bikes, Frames, and forks forum.
I absolutely love mine. :thumbsup:

two more options... salsa casseroll (caliper brake roadie) and salsa la cruz (disc brake cx'er). rims brakes kinda suck in snow