Horizon vs Galaxy???

[Tedx]

And much as I hate to say this, I think £600 is too cheap to buy a new touring bike. There will be too many corners cut.

I disagree with this. I bought my Dawes Galaxy second hand about about 2 years ago and used it as my main commuting bike as well as a touring bike. It got me from the UK to Barcelona with no problems and did a 14 mile round trip to work and back every week day. I also used to take it on short tours on the weekends. The only problems I had was on my last tour (3500 miles) of Europe when the chain finally snapped and the rear cassette and front derailleur needed changing. This of course is expected after at least 20,000 miles. That's without knowing what it had done before I bought it second hand.

 

[vernon]

Hi K

The rear mechs on those bikes are:

Horizon - Alivio
Galaxy - Deore
Super Galaxy - Deore LX

Alivio is a "leisure" spec, for want of a better word. Not sure i'd want to be doing any serious miles on one.
Deore and Deore LX are ok, but if i was doing any serious miles i would look to XT.

If you can afford a Galaxy i would go for it, you will enjoy your trip more, and get decent money if you ever want to sell it.

I had an Alivio mech on my tourer/Audax bike and it was still going string three years after installation when the bike frame snapped and I abandoned it in France.

 

[vernon]

And much as I hate to say this, I think £600 is too cheap to buy a new touring bike. There will be too many corners cut.

I have a Decathlon tourer bought in Orleans when my tourer's frame snapped.

It cost me £350 and is doing a great job.

It costs £299 here in the UK.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Galaxy - Deore

I have a Galaxy 2007 and it came with deare. It got me down th elength of Germany into Switzerland, back to the uk and then down to the med no problem. I have replaced the cassette now but th efront chainset is origional. I am happy with bar end shifters as well, simple and functional. Dunno about the £400 difference though..especially a si felt the need to upgrade my galaxy with a brookes B 17, spds and schwalbe m+s straight out of the box. Its a rock solid bike especially under a heavy load

 

[RedBike]

If your packings like mine you'll have enough to carry without spare shifters. STI's are highly reliable. Worst case is you'll get stuck in one gear front or back.

In theory 8spd is more reliable than 9. But in the real world how you look after your drivetrain / the quality of the parts will make far more difference than the number gears (width if the chain). I doubt you'll find 8speed offers any reliability advantages over 9.

In my experiance the two things that fail most often are the wheels (buckling / snapped spokes) and the tyres (punctures). yet nobody has mentioned the quality of these on either bike.

I would take a short section of spare chain + power links, patches + tubes and two or three spare spokes.