Choosing bicycle help:for first time tourer.

[Robdoo]

Hey Guys, really informative site here and its great for information for people just getting into touring, cycling etc (aswell as veterans i'm sure)

I am looking for some help in choosing a bike for a tour from Athens Greece - England (home). Obviously i will need a reliable bike, sturdy enough for about 15-20 kgs of luggage which i suppose will go in rear panniers, and myself 80kgs for a total of 100kg.

I was originally going to equip a 2 year old GT aggressor for the journey, but consideringh it would cost £160+ for the wheels, tyres, ergo handle bars and rack. I felt it was best just to buy brand new.

Well my budget is about £300-£350, could possibly squeeze to £400 if the bike is equipped with rack and good sturdy components.

My choices that i have seen are:
The Dawes Giro 300, only a few of these left now. I guess this is an out an out road bike with high gear ratios. Also would need rack (can panniers be fitted? and would need new peddles.(£300 basic) plus 50-60 for peddles and rack.

The Dawes Vantage: More of a tourer: should be a bit sturdier than the giro. And has a rack (albeit a cheap alloy one), and peddles seem okish. Gears are a bit more tolerant for the hills and luggage, etc. (£370 ish)

The Revolution Country Explorer: Top end of budget but seems to have necessary stuff like mudgaurds, rack, etc. (£399ish)

Giant FCR 4: Good reputation for frames, seems good, but short wheel base and no rack, guards, etc (£370ish)

I know bugger all about bikes really, i've had a gt aggressor for commutes and did'nt take care of it much but it held up well.
I had my heart set on the Giro 300, but now i've been reading on here about gear ratios and road bikes not being good for long tours i'm unsure.
The Vantage is looking like the best one now....Confused!!

If anyones got first hand experience with long tours i expect to be on the road for over a month (will get trains when necessary), so need reliability and fair amount of comfort.

Me, i'm 80kg, 25yrs old, male, novice riding abilities.

Thanks for any help, suggestions.

 

[Bodhbh]

I would at least consider keeping the aggressor and converting it, suppose depends how much you like messing. Any money spent on decent touring racks, tyres, etc. is not wasted as can be fitted to another bike later on. I've done most of my touring so far on a converted rockhopper and it's been fine. Only serious problem was the back wheel pinging spokes, but after had a touring wheel handbuilt (Spa Cycles) it's not been a problem.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Turning your MTB into an ATB can be fun (+1 on the done it with a (steel) 'Hopper Bodhbh)

Adventure Cyclists of the USA have some good guidance on bikes here. I did short tours on my ATB for years, have a dedicated touring bike (EBC Country Explorer which is like a shop built drop bar-ed disc braked racked and guarded ATB imo anyway) now, can go further, faster, more comfortably on it.

 

[Robdoo]

The Gt aggressor is a great bike for the money.

To equip the aggressor:
Rack
Dropout hanger
Wheels
Tyres
Ergo handlebars (a necessity i would think)

Would total, app £170, and thats with a fairly cheap wheelset.

Pluses for that is that it has a very good solid frame, slightly heavy though. I could spend more on better components for the aggressor, like touring wheels, etc. But as i dont know much about bikes it would be a shame to buy all that and not have the bike ticking over as it should.

Defo some food for thought...I may have another good look at my GT, and see if the suspension can be locked.


Narrowed my search.
Aggressor convert or Dawes Vantage.
Its a shame that theres hardly any reviews or owners of the vantage about. It seems really like a good piece of kit.

Thanks for that ACA site link...i'll check that out later.

Thanks for the ideas/guidance.

 

[Dave Davenport]

Why do you need new wheels? Must be quite a lot of the £170, if they're not knackered and are usable with a bit of fettling the money might be better spent on some rigid forks.

 

[HelenD123]

The Vantage has only been out a few months which is why you can't find any reviews or owners. I wouldn't discount the EBC Country Explorer. It'll be ready to go and I've only heard good things about it. Do you have a preference for either flat or drop bars?

 

[Robdoo]

Why do you need new wheels? Must be quite a lot of the £170, if they're not knackered and are usable with a bit of fettling the money might be better spent on some rigid forks.

Well they both have spokes missing and are fairley buckled.
Its possible they could be fixed, i shall ask my local bike fixer and see what he thinks, i reckon he could do with the business anyway.

The Vantage has only been out a few months which is why you can't find any reviews or owners. I wouldn't discount the EBC Country Explorer. It'll be ready to go and I've only heard good things about it. Do you have a preference for either flat or drop bars?

I cant actually find the country explorer. on the EBC website they have a country traveller '09, this may be the model formely known as the explorer, not really sure. @£399 its at the top end of my budget but i would consider it.

Also i have no real preference for handlebars but they need to have some variation as having the arms/hands in one position will cause real discomfort after a while.

I suppose its donw to the bike shop in tomoro to have a chat with them about my aggressor. Then weigh up the options.

 

[PpPete]

EBC Country Traveller looks like an excellent tourer for the money.
Better frame material than the Dawes Vantage, and it's got Cross-style interupter brake levers on as well as the STIs. Rear rack is probably slightly better too. My only question mark on it might be the saddle.... review describes it as too soft. Oh and check out the spoke count, spec says 36, image shows 32. I'd always go for 36 but at 80kgs that probably isnt so important for you as it would be for me.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Traveller = touring bike with rim brakes
Explorer = same bike with disc brakes and no interrupter levers.

Here's my Explorer up some mountain

 

[HJ]

I don't like the look of the saddle on the Dawes, it looks a bit like one of those soft squiggy thinks which are fine when you first get on the bike, but after 10 miles they are agony to ride on.

I would go with the EBC Country Traveller...

 

[Brains]

I'd seriously look at getting a 2nd hand quality bike for the money if you can.

The 'benchmark' touring bike is the Dawes Galaxy. They are about £1,300 new at the moment, but I have seen them go from about £200 2nd hand. There are 4 on E-bay right now.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dawes-Super-G...ZViewItemQQptZUK_Bikes_GL?hash=item2a044add51

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Brains; wouldn't a £200 quid galaxy almost certainly need that much spending on it again? I looked at three (local ish) ebay Galaxy's and gave up. Old, worn, or had sat in a damp shed/garage for years after the sponsored bike ride the dude had bought them for

 

[HJ]

Depends on where you get it from, if you can find one from a bike recycling scheme then you can get a fairly decent bike...

 

[PpPete]

Brains; wouldn't a £200 quid galaxy almost certainly need that much spending on it again? I looked at three (local ish) ebay Galaxy's and gave up. Old, worn, or had sat in a damp shed/garage for years after the sponsored bike ride the dude had bought them for

If they are that bad...£100 tops and you've got yourself a decent frame that can be powder coated and equipped with modern running gear to suit your needs. Potentially £300 worth of additional spend ...... so your total is similar to a new bike...., but high quality british built steel frame instead of taiwanese aluminium. Plus you'll have learned how to maintain it in the process of resurrecting it.

A decent(ish) Galaxy on Ebay goes about £300, a really nice one £400+. Trouble is you'll still spend a bunch on those "upgrading" them to suit you.