Koga Miyata?

[Turbo]

Hello everybody,

I am thinking about purchasing a touring or 'trekking' bike i think they are called and as you can probably tell don't really know what to look for.

I not exactly new to cycling but i am to the touring/trekking scene.

So basically straight to the point im wanting a bike that can carry a fair amount of gear and i saw the bike ridden by Mark Beaumont was a Koga Miyata im just wondering what they are like and if the value for money on them is good and where they can be purchased from etc.

It doesn't necassarily have to be the Koga but if it can go round the world in one piece if must be pretty good right.

So if anyone can tell me a bit about them and what i should be looking for or if anyone knows of some better bikes for carrying quite alot of luggage with the front and back paniers please let me know.


Thanks, Turbo

 

[rich p]

As you say, they must be pretty good. I have no experience of them personally. MB had a Rohloff hub which probably isn't standard.
Others to consider would be the Dawes Galaxy range, Ridgeback Horizon or Panorama, Surly Long Haul Trucker, Edinburgh Co-op Country Revolution or custom made Paul Hewitt. To name but a few of the popular ones.

 

[HelenD123]

Rich has listed pretty much all the touring bikes available in the UK. You could also look at Thorns if you have plenty of cash to splash. If you want to have a look at the Kogas Cyclesense in Tadcaster stock them, although there maybe somewhere even closer to you. You're not that far from Paul Hewitts and his bikes are good value and custom fitted for you. Don't forget that there's no substitute for actually riding a bike and seeing whether you like it.

 

[jags]

the one thing could be a big problem with koga is the headset ,if it goes wrong your in trouble .i read on other sites how people had major problems with the headset seem's you need a specialist dealer to fix it.
my own bike is the thorn sherpa excellent bike especially loaded solid as a rock really well built ,so take a look at thorn site and check out the top build on the sherpa .

 

[Muddyfox]

If i was buying a brand new tourer and money was'nt a big issue i would have a Santos Travelmaster which is available in the UK from MSG Bikes and you can spec the Rohloff hub and belt drive

Simon

 

[rich p]

If i was buying a brand new tourer and money was'nt a big issue i would have a Santos Travelmaster which is available in the UK from MSG Bikes and you can spec the Rohloff hub and belt drive

Simon

Is that the one James Bowthorpe rode?

£3000 default price

http://www.msgbikes.com/acatalog/Santos Travelmaster 2.8 cromo Rohloff Custombuilt.htm

 

[Muddyfox]

£3000 default price

http://www.msgbikes.com/acatalog/Santos Travelmaster 2.8 cromo Rohloff Custombuilt.htm

It is a bit pricey is'nt it Rich ... does look nice though does'nt it

Although without the Rohloff and belt drive they start at about £1600


Simon

 

[mcfcbird]

I've never been a great fan of Alu touring bikes to be honest, but If I could afford a KM Traveller I wouldn't hesitate, personally. Especially if I was looking for a quality, reasonably priced expedition bike. A lot of people have ridden these machines all over and all around the world and rave about them and I had a brief ride of one fully loaded and loved it.

 

[Muddyfox]

I've never been a great fan of Alu touring bikes to be honest, .

The Santos is available in steel

simon

 

[jags]

so what's the big deal about them.

 

[bauldbairn]

the one thing could be a big problem with koga is the headset ,if it goes wrong your in trouble .i read on other sites how people had major problems with the headset seem's you need a specialist dealer to fix it.

Mark Beaumont had problems with his in last weeks TV docu.
Although he did manage to get some local bike mech's to bodge a repair for him - to get him back on the road.

 

[bauldbairn]

...Others to consider would be the Edinburgh Co-op Country Revolution...

...or the EBC Revolution Country Traveller, EBC Revolution Country Explorer(now built with a Reynolds steel frame).

There's plenty of recent threads on here(CC) about the Explorer and the Traveller.

Here,
https://www.cyclechat.net/

...and here, particularilly GregCollins review(post #8)
https://www.cyclechat.net/

Both have 15% off in the Easter Sale - till midnight Monday!

 

[bauldbairn]

If i was buying a brand new tourer and money was'nt a big issue i would have a Santos Travelmaster which is available in the UK from MSG Bikes and you can spec the Rohloff hub and belt drive

Simon

That is one very smart(if expensive) bike.

 

[Andy in Sig]

You might want to consider the Off Rohler made by Idworx. It's just won the Dutch national cycling organisation's annual award for touring bikes. Idworx is a small German bike make which is known for high quality. Koga Miyata are OK but overpriced IMO.

 

[bauldbairn]

You might want to consider the Off Rohler made by Idworx.

That's a nice bike too - looks like it's built like a tank.

There's also the; Ridgeback Voyage, Ridgeback Panorama that are dedicated tourer's and the Genesis Croix de Fer which is a bit of a cyclecross bike that's recomended for touring. (all available from EBC with 15% off )