Well it looks as though the mountain bike I've been using with slicks and fenders has served me well, but it's time to upgrade!
I was looking at building up a wheel around an internal hub because I'm just tired of having to adjust and worry about a derailer. Also the idea of shifting when stopped is pretty appealing.

I took a look at the Raleigh One-Way as a candidate, but the ride was a bit too sluggish and even their smallest frame (a 50cm) was too close for comfort. Next came the Kona Dew which in a 52cm fit surprisingly well with double the clearance of the Raleigh, but still not quite the ride I'm looking for and only one set of braze ons in the front and back.

I happened to stop by Free Range and finally rode a Kogswell! The ride was amazing and how they had it built up with drop bars and bar end shifters felt great and ready to ride out the door right then and there. But those odd ball wheels...

After looking around I started to rethink my plan of attack.


I'm wondering about picking up an old frame with track ends or horizontal drop outs and building it up with a front rack so maybe a touring fork?
Is this a possibility? Any ideas on this?

Any leads would be great and ideas for building up such a bike.

Thanks!

That's actually what got me thinking on it! :)

Thanks for the post!

I road both of those (the raleigh and the bianchi) and the one way seems seriously solid.

My project is more to make a travel bike. I want to cut the One-Way, add S&S couplers and put it in a Ritchey suitcase to avoid the $75 each/way costs. With the internal gear options I don't have to avoid the hills.

When I last asked for a quote to add S&S couplers to a current steel frame I was surprised by the cost. I think it was 400+ to add the couplers. I forget if re-painting the frame was included in that or not. If I ever decide I really need a frame with S&S couplers I'll probably just opt for a custom and get it all done at once.

I am fighting the same battle. The issue is that the couplers themselves cost about $200, so a 400 retri-fit isn't an issue. I have a couple friends who are framebuilders, but unless you are an "approved builder" - s&s won't sell to you. It pretty much means if I want to get an s&s custom frame I'm looking at well over 1k since all the "approved builder's are expensive. Last I heard Davidson will S&S with "simple" paint for $400 on steel. That may be the beast.