Hello from Perth

[Alistair Cassidy]

Hi all,

Just a quick post to say hi. I live in Perth in Scotland. A couple of years ago I dug out my old mountain bike that I rode as a child and have been commuting around with it. I am now thinking about getting a new bike and thought I would bother you guys for some advice.

Right now I am just doing some simple commuting and cycling round the excellent cycle paths up here around Perth. I am hoping to cycle longer distances though going forward, inspired a bit by some friends who recently cycled from Glasgow to Cavan for charity. It is not always the easiest on the mountain bike though so popped into one of the local bike shops and was shown a 2012 Claud Butler Roubaix bike:

http://claudbutler.co.uk/cycle-range/range/claud-butler-road-touring/b2847

Does anyone have any experience with these bikes and how do you find them?

Many thanks,

Alistair

 

[Col5632]

to the site from Dunfermline

We have a ride happening round the forth this saturday, if you can make it along let us know by posting here

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/cc-ecosse-round-the-forth-ride-sat-15th-sept.108544/

 

[Alistair Cassidy]

Thank you very much. I can't make this Saturday but as and when I get my new bike and get used to the controls then I may very well be along. :-)

 

[Scoosh]

Alistair Cassidy and to CycleChat !

You may have noticed that CC Ecosse has quite a few members and we 'organise' [in a very loose definition ] occasional rides round our patch. We have done a great route out of Perth twice this summer year and, as Col has said, we/they're going round the Forth this Saturday.

You will be very welcome on any future rides, which all come with 3 'Rules' :

1. No One gets left behind
2. Any bike will do
3. There will be CAKE !

Looking forward to meeting you and riding with you.

 

[HLaB]

Hiya Ali,

I don't know much about claud butler but IMO you are looking at the correct sort of bike to do distance at speed.

 

[Alistair Cassidy]

Thanks. I am very new to buying bikes. As I said I am currently riding my childhood bike which is an Emmelle Lynx with 18 speed Shimano SIS gears. Can't really say much more about it. It also has the encouraging words "oversize" and "hyperglide" plastered across the frame. It is probably about 20 years old so whatever bike I get is likely to be an improvement. All the different parts are really gobbledygook to me although I gather from reading around on here and elsewhere that the Shimano Sora stuff is generally ok.

It is trying to strike a balance between getting a bike suitable for what I use it for just now - which is largely local commuting, perhaps little more than a couple of miles a day other than the odd occasional trip out - and what use I hope to make of it in the future.

 

[monkeylc]

hello from the midlands.

 

[HLaB]

I'm guessing 'oversize' refers to the size of the cassette its large for easier climbing; with a much lighter/ aerodynamic/ easier rolling road bike you can handle higher gears. Hyperglide is just the model of cassette I think. For a short commute I prefer a cheap bike (at the moment I'm on a cheap SS, no gears) but thats not really suitable for long leisure rides. My old sirrus (previously a flat bar) has sora and I' never had a problem with it on a longer commute. After it was retired from commuting it was converted to drop bar, with sora shifters and I never had a problem there either on longer/ faster leisure rides.

 

[Scoosh]

Things to consider when looking at bikes are:

• do you want eyelets for mudguards ?
• do you want eyelets for rack/panniers ?
• double compact (50/34) or triple gears (say 48/38/28) at the front (the chainring)
• as you have been thinking - what are you going to do with it/ what sort of riding ? eg 'heavy' touring (ie carrying tent etc) ; fast(-ish) , longer distance, day rides/ audax/ 'credit-card' touring (ie B&B/hostel/hotel) ; faster day rides (sportives) ; purely 'social'/ gentle pootling/doodling
• rear gears (cassette) can usually be swapped to what you want (depending on the sort of hills you want may have to do
• budget (usually of little consequence once you have found 'your' bike )

If you have never ridden a drop-bar bike before, I would highly recommend borrowing one from someone - anyone - so you can get the 'feel' of a drop bar bike - it is very different to an old MTB ! (much faster too ! [CC's TechMech lives in Perth too and might know someone of your size ...]
Have some idea of your answers, have a look around, ask loads of questions on CC (Bikes and Accessories Section is best), have test rides before you buy (a bike might appear perfect but just 'doesn't fit right' - much like a car/pair of shoes ).
Start saving now and let us know how you get on !

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Alistair!

 

[Fubar]

Hi and to the forum, again from Dunfermline! Look forward to seeing you on a future CC Ecosse Ride. Regards, Mark

 

[Alistair Cassidy]

Thank you all. I have had a few more bike recommendations from other folk and that post of yours, Scoosh was really helpful. I am not sure I appreciated the difference between a road bike and a touring bike. I certainly haven't ruled out the Claud Butler yet (or indeed another road/racing bike) but I have had a recommendation of the Edinburgh Cycling Co-operative's Revolution Country Traveller (http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-country-traveller-12) which made it from Glasgow to Cavan without any mishaps at all and seems to be an effective compromise between a racing bike and a pack horse. I will have a wonder into Edinburgh at the weekend to check it out.

 

[Scoosh]

<pedant mode on>
Strictly speaking and bike which is intended mainly for road use is a 'road bike'. Most people would take this to mean a bike with drop bars.

<back to what passes as 'normality' for me>
If you want to do the laden touring, which probably means a bike which can take front panniers as well as rear ones, I believe the Rev County Traveller has the eyelets on the front fork.

If you want to do lighter touring with a faster bike, with a rear rack and full mudguards, an 'audax-type' bike would be the thing. That is what I have and I have done longish distances on it (max thus far of 300km in a day) without too much trouble; pain - yes. Trouble - no

If you want to do fast day rides, carrying minimal stuff, a 'sportive'-type bike is the thing - and there are masses of them available.

If you are coming to Embra, check out the Edin Bike Co-op; Velo Ecosse, just down the road; Biketrax is not far from them either; The Bike Chain has some good kit (my nearest too).

If you can, have a good look around, test-ride some bikes, get a reasonable idea of what you want - and by then, next year's models will be coming in (Oct/Nov) and there are usually some good bargains to be had on this/last years' models.

 

[Alistair Cassidy]

Thanks again. I will try out a few different types of bike and try really hard not to go ahead and buy one yet. As you say it would be a shame to rush in right now if there is a bargain to be got in just a month or so. I have never really liked the look of bicycle racks but appreciate the practicality of them. The Country Traveller does indeed have the eyelets for a front pannier. I am not sure I would ever use them but can see myself using the back one from time to time. I must admit I do like the idea of doing a trip over a few days as the Cycle to Cavan folk did although I am nowhere near ready for that yet.​

 

[Alistair Cassidy]

Thank you all for your advice. On Thursday I picked up my Revolution Country Traveller from Edinburgh Bike Co-op. I took it out for my first proper cycle today, a solo 38 mile loop from Perth to Dunkeld and back. It was good fun (despite cycling into a brutal wind on the return leg) and I look forward to getting out again and just hope my legs are working in the morning.