touring bike

escape m1

i'm intending to do a tour of europe later in the summer for charity and am wondering if anyone can help me decide what bike to get? i had intended on just using a mountain bike with thinner wheels but decided i miss drop down handlebars. also don't want to spent too much money as i want to be able to make as much of a donation as possible.

penexpers

How long is the tour?

I would recommend having a look at the Surly Long Haul Trucker.

blorg

I think drops are a good idea for touring all right. How much do you want to spend exactly? Surly LHT could be a good option, this comes as a frame so you would have to spec it up and get someone to build it. You could also consider something like a Planet X Kaffenback or a Specialized Tricross, or something from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-Op - in particular the Revolution Cross, Revolution Country Traveller or Revolution Country Explorer. Country Traveller and Country Explorer are specific touring bikes and look like very good value.

escape m1

the tour is about 2500km.

escape m1

the most that i would like to spend of my money is 500 but that is ontop of what i get from selling my other bike to try add to the budget. so 850 or 900?

penexpers

blorg wrote: »

I think drops are a good idea for touring all right. How much do you want to spend exactly? Surly LHT could be a good option, this comes as a frame so you would have to spec it up and get someone to build it. You could also consider something like a Planet X Kaffenback or a Specialized Tricross, or something from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-Op - in particular the Revolution Cross, Revolution Country Traveller or Revolution Country Explorer. Country Traveller and Country Explorer are specific touring bikes and look like very good value.

You can get the LHT as a complete bike now.

blorg

That is a long tour- how long are you going to take?

I'd try to get as good a bike as you can afford for those sort of distances.

Might stretch the budget a bit but a Bob Jackson World Tour Frameset is £389, beautiful looking bike in Reynolds 631 and cheaper than a Mercian (15 different frame sizes and you get a choice of around 40 or 50 different colours on this bike too, not bad for an "off the peg" price: )

escape m1

i'm giving it 2 and a half weeks but we're taking 3 weeks out just in case we have any mix ups.

Morgan

escape m1 wrote: »

also don't want to spent too much money as i want to be able to make as much of a donation as possible.

You could always sell the bike afterwards and donate that amount too (if you don't think you'll use it much after).

As well as the Surly, the Dawes Horizon might also fit your budget.

blorg

2,500km in 2 and a half weeks is very hard going, especially loaded. That is just under 150km a day, without rest days. Have you done these sort of distances before? What route are you taking?

For that sort of distance at that sort of speed, I'd put as much money as you can into the bike and travel as light as humanly possible. I would probably look at Audax bikes rather than out and out tourers.

escape m1

i've done long distance stuff before but only around ireland. i was on a racer for three days and was on about 210km a day. i think that this distance can be done seeing as we have nothing else planned but cycling all day. 20kmph is a pretty attainable speed i think, even with bags.

blorg

20 km/h is more than attainable, even loaded, it's more the length of time in the saddle and that there is a cumulative effect if you are doing it day after day. Will you have mountains- if so get as light as possible and make sure you have sensible gearing. If it is flat weight doesn't make so much of a difference.

If you can do 630km in three days on a racer I'd say you'll be OK. What's the route?

I'd go for an Audax type bike, Bob Jackson do a frame you could build up at £360 but that might be a bit much.

Kona Jake might be another option and there are other ones mentioned on that review on BikeRadar too.

escape m1

hi guys. i just got a claud butler regent. seems lovely and is pretty light.

blorg

Good luck with the tour, sounds great- what is the route!

Be sure to post with photos when you get back and let us know how it went.

barrabus

I got a trek 520 in the states a few years ago.

Good solid touring bike. Might push your budget tho