Touring Bike.....advice???

godihatedehills

I'm trying to get my hands on a touring bike to do a few miles around New Zealand and my eyes are starting to cross with all the options available. I thought now that I've learnt what a derailleur is that I knew my bull bars from my drop bars, but it seems I was mistaken! If anyone has a bit of spare time please help....it'll be much appreciated!!

Options at the moment are as follows:

One of the Giant Transends
Pros: the cheapest new bike option, it looks like it'll get through anything you throw at it and it looks like it won't call on my questionable mechanic skills....
Cons: It looks like it would be hard work, not to mention it's daaaamn uuuugly

A Marin Ravenna aluminium women's road bike with panniers added
Pros: Drop bars, skinnier wheels
Cons: would the wheels stand up to the weight of the panniers?

Orrrrr something second hand like this avanti montari with panniers
Pros: It's been tried and tested, it's cheap
Cons: It has a lot of miles on the clock, it might be a bit big.

.........and lastly, what about a cross bike?

Thanks a bunch.

thebouldwhacker

I know there are many more experienced tourers about and what I gotta say may not be popular, but such is boards.
My name is thebouldwhacker and I tour on a converted mtb!

Gearing:
Depending on your cycling strength and the hills you'll be tackling I reckon mtb gearing is better than road gears. When I tour I'm on hols, I'm not trying to impress anyone by hauling 20kg, up a 5km climb with a solid 5 degree gradient on a compact chain set. I want to cycle up and along with a healthy pace and without cramping up on day 3. But thats just me.

Bars:
Drop vs flat is one of the longest debates in touring bikes, quote myself When I tour I'm on hols I want to cycle up and along with a healthy pace and without cramping up on day 3. Drops (for me) are for racing etc, a flat bar with a decent set of bar ends, bull bars or some kind of figure of 8 set up are comfy, give many hand positions and allow you to sit up and enjoy your spin without having to use drop brakes/ gears. I will say though to ensure the grips you use are soft as some mtb grips can be 'sharp' after a few hours.

Front shock:
I went mental before going out this year as the bike I was using had a front sus. I was thinking this thing is gonna be too heavy etc etc, I failed to buy a replacement fork so the shocks stayed on. I was actually happy I let them on, their damn comfy:), they do make the bike heavy but no more than I'd notice tbh.

Tyres:
Road bike tyres are too thin imo, I used 1 inch and they worked great as I was able to head off road when I wished which was really nice, also made the road really soft. I am happy averaging 20kmph per day fully loaded so them scrubbing off speed wasnt an issue for me

Rims:
I kept the mtb rims and they are perfect, when things get hard I know they can take any extra load I relieve my gf of.

Seat:
Get a comfy one, brooks prob are best but I use a well padded racing saddle from Lidl:eek: I know shocking but it has yet to disappoint:eek: its shaped like a road bike saddle with about a 1/2 inch of gel this allows you to shift weight on your bum more than solid saddles do, I was amazed when I used it first but if something works.....

Pedals
Personal choice really isn't it

This is really to get the conversation going rather than answer your questions, best of luck and check out 'crazy guy on a bike' great site for bike touring.


P.S. its great to see threads like this, it makes the winter seem shorter!!!

feck sake lads

well i ride a thorn sherpa ,i bought the frame from sjs in the uk great company to deal with .i built up the bike myself well me and my son ,;)
i put all shimano xt groupset on it got sjs to build a great set of wheels ,the bike rides like a dream it aint no racing machine ,but as the bouldwhacker said i'm not out to impress anyone on how fast i can ride.
but do yourself a favor buy the best you can you wont regret it .
best of luck.

kincsem

Are you looking for women's touring bicycles?

I bought Cycling Active magazine November 2010. It has an article on Touring bikes: Pearson Compass £1,200; Claude Butler Dalesman £1,074; Dawes Galexy £1,150; Ridgeback (World) Panorama £1,250.

The Ridgeback and Pearson got the best ratings, but are not cheap. The article did not give the gearing. The Ridgeback is 48/36/25 front, with a rear cassette 32/11, has better climbing gears. Ridgeback have a (World) Voyage model for £800.

These are men's models I guess, but am not sure.

A cheaper Dawes is the Dawes Vantage £550 is "for a tourer on a budget" with choice of 43, 48, 53, 58 cm frames.

That second-hand Avanti Montari Touring 2009 looks good.

Civilian_Target

I accidentally ended up with a sort-of touring bike, which I use in the USA. It's a Kona Honky Tonk ( http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=65803121&postcount=16 ) but I added mudguards, a back rack and a more serious front wheel with dynamo. Its got drops, so it's still fast to ride, but the 28mm tyres and steel frame are more tourer. And now that it's too late, I really regret that I didn't buy one of these

http://www.surlybikes.com/bikes/long_haul_trucker_complete/

The price worked out pretty similar for what I got, and I tried one this evening... the ride is nice, it's stable, and I'd bet it would last.

serendip

feck sake lads wrote: »

well i ride a thorn sherpa ,i bought the frame from sjs in the uk great company to deal with .i built up the bike myself well me and my son ,;)
i put all shimano xt groupset on it got sjs to build a great set of wheels ,the bike rides like a dream it aint no racing machine ,but as the bouldwhacker said i'm not out to impress anyone on how fast i can ride.
but do yourself a favor buy the best you can you wont regret it .
best of luck.

I recently got a Thorn Sherpa too. I've been more than delighted with it.

There are lots of choices out there, but the main thing I think really matters is the comfort of the ride. A steel frame and wider tires really smooth out all the little bumps along the way. I'd also agree with the comments above about looking for a less aggressive setup than that of a typical road bike -- although that doesn't have to mean flat bars.

godihatedehills

Thanks a mill guys. I always find when my eyes start crossing with confusion that posting it here helps a bunch. I came up with a plan D which involves a much cheaper rental bike.....I guess I may well spend the balance on cahmois cream but sure I'll let you know how it goes......

DirkVoodoo

Good luck with it GIHDH, hope the trip is going well

Oh, and clearly the answer to your original question is: Planet-X....this is boards after all.

thebouldwhacker

No bother, post up a pic of the bike you get and let us know how your getting on.......... very jealous:)

Civilian_Target

serendip wrote: »

There are lots of choices out there, but the main thing I think really matters is the comfort of the ride. A steel frame and wider tires really smooth out all the little bumps along the way. I'd also agree with the comments above about looking for a less aggressive setup than that of a typical road bike -- although that doesn't have to mean flat bars.

I totally agree with that sentiment. I'm glad I got drops, and whatever criticism I can level at the componentry that came with my bike, the ride quality is very good - and I wouldn't underestimate the importance of that. Not having ass-blisters after the second day of a tour definitely worth a few hundred euro!

blorg

If you specifically want to tour a road bike is a very bad idea; it can certainly be used as a light tourer if that is what you have but if starting off without a bike I think you want the flexibility of wider tyres if you will carry any load. Light touring on paved roads you can get away with 28c tyres, or even 25c, but wider is optimal and frankly no slower. I have used as little as 23c in the past but use 35c now and it is much better and much less hassle with punctures, wheel damage, etc. Easier to inflate to correct pressure too. To be honest I would even prefer wider than 35c (and 26" wheels) when touring outside Western-European style countries; you need more cushioning and 700c spare parts (even something as simple as a tube) are next to impossible to find outside N America/W Europe/Australia/NZ. For NZ 700c would be fine.

If you are running 28c+ tyres I am of the opinion that frame material matters not one jot to comfort; any difference will be dwarfed by the cushioning of the tyre. Aluminium, steel or titanium will, IMO, be indiscernible on a wide-tyred tourer. Aluminium in particular is not to be sniffed at; it makes a lighter bike for the money and the likes of Cannondale make a very nice tourer. Plenty of people do very rough long-distance (continent-crossing) touring on alumnium mountain bikes. Steel is a nice material and looks good but it is in no way necessary or even beneficial (IMO) for touring. That is not to say don't get it- parts of me regret going for a titanium tourer over a nice lugged steel Bob Jackson or Mercian. Loaded touring is one of the places where the steel weight penalty doesn't really matter a lot, and you can end up with a classic-looking bike that you will love.

Far more important is that the bike fits you. If you are used to a road bike and can ride one for long distances racing, on audaxes, etc. I would get something with a similar position for touring; you do NOT need a more relaxed position and indeed if you get something more relaxed it is less likely to suit your riding style.

Personally I could not imagine touring on flat bars; the lack of hand positions would drive me mad and leave me very uncomfortable (I have this issue with any long spins on a flat bar bike.) Having said that I have met several people who are cycling around the world with flat bars. But as I know you are well used to drops I would suggest that you get something with them.

DirkVoodoo

What are those funny bars Mark Beaumont had on his round-the-world bike? They seemed fairly upright but plenty of hand positions.

blorg

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

What are those funny bars Mark Beaumont had on his round-the-world bike? They seemed fairly upright but plenty of hand positions.

I think he used butterfly bars. A good option if you like and are used to flat bars but want more hand positions. If however you are used to doing long cycles with drops there is no good reason IMO to go with anything else.

Butterfly bars will also take a Rohlhoff hub gear control while drops won't (you need to mount it on a flat protuberance somewhere other than the bars.)

A significantly more upright position is NOT more comfortable if you are used to a racing position, it will put excess pressure on your bottom and you will have problems with your saddle. Slightly more upright- like you might on a cross bike- is not such a bad idea.

The only place where someone used to drops might want to consider flats (or variants) would be where there would be a lot of off-road... the wider bars would give you better control there.

HuD

Does anyone know where in Ireland I can buy Butterfly Bars?.I have them on my bike and they're great for both commuting and touring.

My girlfriend recently bought a Ridgeback with touring in mind but the straight handlebars are a real problem. She can't use drops because of a neck problem so I think butterflys are the way to go.

I've asked around in Cork shops, but I'm just getting funny stares. It's like you're speaking a foreign language,

feck sake lads

no idea about ireland but sjs (thorn) cycles in the uk are brilliant .

HuD

Thanks for that.

feck sake lads

HuD wrote: »

Thanks for that.

no bother you could also try spa cycles and check out the comfort bars on sjs site, i use drop bars myself double wrapped the bartape lovely job;)