new to touring and in need of advice!

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jollycyclist

New Member
hi
i'm new to touring.... i have done a reasonable amount of road biking ( on my casati clipper), commute to work and ride most weekends 40-50 miles in the peaks.

my touring experience thus far (on an old MTB with slick tyres that weighed a tonne)
amalfi coast over 2 weeks
c2c 3 days
norfolk to port appin, scotland (625 miles, 6 days)

i'm planning to go to the south of france this summer ON A NEW TOURING BIKE! Very excited, but have no idea at all about the best one to get, was thinking of £500-£1000 for a decent 'entry level" bike. and are the women's specific ones a must for ladies or will a small men's one provide a similar ride?

possibly going on long (months) biking exped in a couple of years, so also something that is reasonably going to stand the test of time and many more miles!!

ANY help would be greatly appreciated!!!

thanks xx
 

TheDoctor

Europe Endless
Moderator
Location
The TerrorVortex
Hello! and welcome.
The best piece of advice I could offer is to try a few bikes. Dawes Horizon, Kona Sutra, Claud Butler Regent, EBC Country and Ridgeback Voyage are a few examples that would be worth looking at. Also, consider a Dawes Galaxy - there's usually plenty of used ones about. Plax and Arch (among many others) of this parish have Galaxies and will extol their virtues at great length, given half a chance...
 

Domestique

Über Member
Have a look at Byercycles. The website is a bit quirky, but the shop is great to deal with and the bikes are very competetivly priced.

Also the couple who run the shop ride/tour on the bikes they sell and can alter the bike to suit you.
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
TheDoctor said:
Hello! and welcome.
The best piece of advice I could offer is to try a few bikes. Dawes Horizon, Kona Sutra, Claud Butler Regent, EBC Country and Ridgeback Voyage are a few examples that would be worth looking at. Also, consider a Dawes Galaxy - there's usually plenty of used ones about. Plax and Arch (among many others) of this parish have Galaxies and will extol their virtues at great length, given half a chance...

Indeed. Mine is pretty old (well, 15-20 years or so), so I assume it's not a women specific frame, I think back then 'women specific' meant a dropped top tube...

Anyway, women are all sorts of shapes, so it really is best to try a few and see what feels best. You can of course adapt bikes to suit you - I abandoned drops, got a shorter stem, stuff like that. I'm still experimenting with some new bars. If you already ride a fair bit, you'll know what feels right for you.

625 miles in 6 days!:smile: Blimey...
 

HelenD123

Guru
Location
York
You don't need a women's specific bike, just one that fits. My boyfriend and I both have exactly the same bike (Ultra Galaxy) in the same size, but I put a longer stem on it to make it it. Touring bikes can be limited in their size range though so if you're small you may not have much choice. The best thing to do is to try some tourers, but unfortunately there aren't many shops which stock them.
 

HelenD123

Guru
Location
York
Arch said:
Anyway, women are all sorts of shapes, so it really is best to try a few and see what feels best. You can of course adapt bikes to suit you - I abandoned drops, got a shorter stem, stuff like that. I'm still experimenting with some new bars. If you already ride a fair bit, you'll know what feels right for you.

Arch - I've just fitted On One Midges to mine. The hand position is a bit more natural. I'll let you know how I get on.
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
I'm guessing you're short which may even put small sized mens bikes out of the comfort range. My wife of 5' ended up having one built after a mistake or two.
 

jay clock

Massive member
Location
Hampshire UK
Cathyrn will be along soon to comment I am sure! If you are under about 5'4" to 5'5" then a women specific bike might be a better fit. If taller then a men's might be fine. My partner rides a men's Specialized Sirrus and it fits fine
 

Cathryn

Legendary Member
Et la voila, morning jollycyclist.

Are you a shortie?? If so, I'd suggest that yes, a ladies' bike might fit better and be more comfy than a bloke's one. However I'd agree with everyone else that trying out different bikes is the best route forward!!!

Also, where are you?? If you're near Harrogate, SpaCycles do great touring bikes at good prices and would let you try lots out.
 
OP
OP
J

jollycyclist

New Member
wow....24hours later and loads of replies!!

thanks everyone.

i'm 166cm which is about 5'5" to 5'6".....based in sheffield

i popped into a shop today and the bloke was extolling the virtues of bar end changers rather than sti shifters.......any thoughts on that too?!

thanks and keep up the good advice!

xx
 

Cathryn

Legendary Member
You're very tall then! You should be okay on a small bloke's bike then, in principle. Just try loads and loads and make up your own mind. If you have an Edinburgh Bicycle Co-Op near you, check out their Revolution tourers which generally get excellent reviews and are well priced. One of my friends (loads of money) has just bought one because it was the bike that he liked best!

No thoughts on bar ends etc....sorry.
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
I know they're supposed to be better if things go wrong in deepest Diktatorstan but I personally don't like them.
 
I'm 5'6" and ride a 49cm Ultragalaxy - but I do have women's short reach bars on it and have the saddle quite far forward.

If I had my choice again (the ultra was a proper bargain which could not be missed) I would have a hewitt cheviot.
 
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