Lejog help

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OP
OP
nickg

nickg

Über Member
I personally would of thought that the bike would be fine. Ditch the knobbly tyres and get some decent road tyres on. If you are only riding lightweight that should be fine.


Hi, yes I think your right. The bike is light anyway so I might get some new wheels and tyres for road use so I can just swap over for when I go out with the kids or maybe buy a cheap 2nd hand mtb to knock around with the kids.
 
I personally would of thought that the bike would be fine. Ditch the knobbly tyres and get some decent road tyres on. If you are only riding lightweight that should be fine.
The gearing is totally inappropriate, and the geometry would make it a massive ball ache ( quite literally) on a LEJOG. You could get round on it, but I really wouldn’t fancy it.
 

Paulus

Started young, and still going.
Location
Barnet,
Hi all, long time for me posting. But I'm considering taking on lejog in 2020.

Now currently I have a cyclocross bike, merdian 500. I bought it 18mnths ago and done 50miles on it. So I'm thinking would you advise doing lejog o this bike with slick road tyres on or would it be better to get a dedicated road bike for this event?
Since there are some here who say the bike is not suitable, what gearing do you have fitted, ie, chainrings, and rear cassette?
 

snorri

Legendary Member
Since there are some here who say the bike is not suitable, what gearing do you have fitted, ie, chainrings, and rear cassette?
The OP has not specified intentions regarding time he is allocating for the trip, this makes it almost impossible to advise regarding suitable bikes, tyres and gearing. Little wonder there are differences of opinion from those offering advice.
I completed LEJOG on a Raleigh Jaguar hybrid in comfort and without great effort, but these bikes may not be available nowadays..
 

Paulus

Started young, and still going.
Location
Barnet,
The OP has not specified intentions regarding time he is allocating for the trip, this makes it almost impossible to advise regarding suitable bikes, tyres and gearing. Little wonder there are differences of opinion from those offering advice.
I completed LEJOG on a Raleigh Jaguar hybrid in comfort and without great effort, but these bikes may not be available nowadays..
That's my point, on a straight road bike with highish gearing it would/might be hard work. With cross bikes, the gearing is a little lower and so would be suitable for the ride.
It doesn't matter if you take 10 days or three weeks to do the ride. Unless you are a hardened rider the lower gearing would be a help.
 

Rocky

Hello decadence
The gearing is totally inappropriate, and the geometry would make it a massive ball ache ( quite literally) on a LEJOG. You could get round on it, but I really wouldn’t fancy it.
I think the gearing is likely to be 36 x 28 (on the rear cassette), which from my experience should be fine - but as @Paulus hints a 32 cassette would be easy to fit. As to the geometry - provided the bike fits and the OP is able to build up his mileage in training beforehand - that shouldn’t be a problem either. I’ve toured extensively on my Brompton - which with 20” wheels and ‘interesting’ frame is hardly the ideal bike for long distance hilly tours......but it is my bike, and I love riding it.

Of course we are all correct here - everyone’s opinion is equally valid. We can only advise what we would do.
 

mcshroom

Bionic Subsonic
It depends on a lot of things, including how far you are travelling, whether you have support, how quickly you intend to travel, and which bike you actually have for example. With the trend for wider tyres and gravel bikes, that there are much better options for road bike tyres in larger sizes. A 32mm road tyre like the Continental Grand Sport Race should fit your frame, and be significantly quicker than knobbly CX tyres.

When I rode from Dungeness to Thurso last year I used my touring bike, which has nice low gears, a comfortable steel frame and a slightly more upright position. However I was carrying some luggage as I was unsupported, and even though I was using hotels I maxed out at 100 miles a day.
45054590151_4b8c78507c_c.jpg


For that sort of tour, a gravel-bike style CX would be not to dissimilar to my tourer. I actually also have a Genesis Vapour now which is supposedly a CX bike but is rather more relaxed than a full racer, and I would be perfectly happy using that for the tour I did last year (though I've lowered the gearing to give a 34x34 bottom gear). A race based CX, however might be rather uncomfortable over long distances.
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
I completed LEJOG on a Raleigh Jaguar hybrid in comfort and without great effort, but these bikes may not be available nowadays..

Not available new, sadly, but plenty around on the secondhand market, like this 1997 model in my Nottingham-made Raleighs fleet.....
Pioneer Jaguar Offside (2).jpg

6 x 3 transmission, 28/38/48 front, 14-24 close-ratio on the back. Mudguards & rack are original factory-fit, tyres are 38mm Marathons fitted by me. Comfortable, stable, and bomb-proof, much like a rigid 90's 26" MTB running on touring tyres. Pioneer Jaguar riding position is actually slightly more upright than MTB, gives better view of the road/scenery.
 
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