New to touring need a bike rec.

[citizensnips2008]

Well me and a friend are training for a nice un-timed tour around europe after our A levels, i ride regularly on the roads but nothing long distance so i have no clue about bikes really, he has a racer so id like to get one to that way we can train for the next year or so on them and we just botch some panniers on the back of em and off we go. Just wondering what people think of these:

http://www.holcroscycles.com/productdetail/23/1854/Barracuda-Cipressa-Road-Bike-(2008).html

http://www.holcroscycles.com/productdetail/23/1644/Dawes-Giro-200-Road-Bike.html

http://www.holcroscycles.com/productdetail/23/1714/Raleigh-Airlite-100-(2008).html

http://www.holcroscycles.com/productdetail/23/1822/Viking-Roma-Road-Bike-(2008).html

cant really go over £250 and any other recommendations are appreciated thanks everyone B)

 

[vernon]

All of the bikes that you have picked can sort of do what you want but a far more sensible choice would be the Raleigh Royal at around £340 - it's worth saving up for a bit longer to get one as it comes with a rack and mudguards and is a tourer. I've seen one close up and spent five and a bit hours riding with the owner of one who was full of praise for the quality of ride and comfort.

It's a pain trying to botch a rack to fit to a bike with no mounting points and for sheer peace of mind and comfort a touring specific bike takes some beating.

 

[citizensnips2008]

Thanks for the reply, so on that type of bike would i be able to keep up with my friend on his racer and is there a guide you know of, about putting panniers on a racer need to know for my mate

 

[vernon]

Thanks for the reply, so on that type of bike would i be able to keep up with my friend on his racer and is there a guide you know of, about putting panniers on a racer need to know for my mate

#
Don't fixate on one type of bike. A racer is not the best type of bike for touring. Speed isn't everything - fitness is. I thought that you said you were slow (un timed) touring.....

The chap that I was riding with had no problems keeping up with me. I was riding an Audax bike (a sort of racer) we both overtook riders on the their latest high bling carbon framed racers.

For touring, comfort is more important than speed.

 

[Cathryn]

Your mate on his racer will hopefully cycle along with you! Vernon's right, it's comfort you want when you're touring. Your speed is more dependent on your own fitness than the sleekness of your bike, although it does contribute.

 

[andym]

Thanks for the reply, so on that type of bike would i be able to keep up with my friend on his racer and is there a guide you know of, about putting panniers on a racer need to know for my mate

Make him carry the tent and cooking gear - that'll even things up ;-).

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

A European tour is going to throw all sorts of things at you. You need a bike that will handle LONG days in the saddle comfortably, carry heavy loads well and securely, is fast to ride but thats not the main thing.

I wouldnt tour on a racer bike, certainly not all around Europe. You will need to handle the odd off road stretch, deal with pavement hopping all the time in German towns, negotiate cobblestones in just about all old French towns ...you dont need a flimsey bike that will fall apart on those surfaces. Botching panniers to the frame is a mistake, they will fall off and trust me that is a PAIN IN THE ARSE on tour, especially because they will break on cold wet stormy days when you are 100 miles from the nearest bike shop which will likely be shut anyway.
You will also need the bike to carry extra weight you pick up as you ride, like food, water etc. On tour your bike is your home, if it breaks nobody cares who you are or if you are ok, you have to deal with it or walk ...so my suggestion is that you get a bike that is least likely to break and is designed for purpose , especially if you are carrying a camping rig.

As far as speed is concerned I can ride my Dawes Galaxy as fast as I can ride my Bianchi. On tour you wont be that fussed about all out speed, you will be concerned with comfort, reliability mixed with a reasonably speedy ride, touring bikes do that.

Thats me.
Having said that my mate rode the length of Germany with me on an Aldi El cheapo special MTB with tyres off a tractor!...He was in more pain than me though I reckon. I also met an American in France who was riding around Europe for 3 months on a Trek racer bike with a very aggresive position and four panniers and a tent....he was on 23 slicks and he had had over 10 punctures in the previous month...he had trouble keeping up with me on the stretch we rode together.

 

[citizensnips2008]

haha ok thanks for the replies is there anywhere i can get a tourer from for a about 250? i really cant go over that amount oh and that raleigh bike has eyelets so doesnt that mean its designed with paniers in mind?

 

[andym]

The Raleigh looks pretty good for the budget but it has its limitations for touring (tyres are 23mm and I suspect the gears are higher than is ideal for touring).

Have a look at:

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/com...revolution-country-traveller.htm&f_cardinal=3

at £400. Unfortunately I can't find it on the Edinburgh Bike Coop site - hopefully that's just because it's temporarily out of stock.

Alternatively:

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b1s21p893

at £460.

I know both bikes are out of your budget - but once you've changed the tyres for something wider and put on a rack the gap will have closed a bit. There's a phrase about 'buy cheap buy twice' - I'm sure you'd survive touring round Europe with the Raleigh,but you might ultimately find that its limitations are too much of a drag.

Your best bet might be to look around on eBay or locally for a secondhand one.

 

[citizensnips2008]

hmm i cant really afford that much what about a hybrid like this

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_272611_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

and just add some drop bars onto it for a cheap price

 

[andym]

hmm i cant really afford that much what about a hybrid like this

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_272611_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

and just add some drop bars onto it for a cheap price

You don't need drop bars - lots of people tour with flat bars (and actually changing from flat bars to drop bars - or visa-versa - is a lot more complicated and expensive than you'd think).

The main issue with that one is the gearing: the chainrings are 50 and 36 teeth. A typical tourer will have a third chainring ('granny ring') with 22 or 24 teeth on it - that makes a big difference if you need to hack your way up a long mountain climb with a load of gear. I know people claim to have gone over mountain passes with this sort of gearing, but I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending it to someone without much cycling experience.

 

[vernon]

hmm i cant really afford that much what about a hybrid like this

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_272611_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

and just add some drop bars onto it for a cheap price

Nope.

You need to add some drop bars that are not so cheap (£40). Then you need to add:

Handlebar tape. (£6)
A new set of brake levers. (£30)
Probably new brake cable outers. (£4)
A rack. (£40)
Mudguards (£30)
A triple chain ring to lower the gearing to something more suited to touring (£25-50)
A new front dérailleur mechanism (£18)
A new front derailleur gear lever mech. (??)

And your bargain bike will now cost a lot more than the £350 models suggested.

You need to believe the advice given to you. Although it is possible to tour on a cheap road bike - it will not be a totally happy experience. Although my very first tour was done on a road bike and was a fantastic experience, it was only for 2.5 days and I had to do a lot of pushing up hills because the gearing was unsuitable.

Beg borrow or earn the extra cash to get the Raleigh Royal or Edinburgh Co-op tourers. You'll have a far superior touring experience than your friend.

 

[xilios]

You can tour with most bikes, check out some pics at http://www.fullyloadedtouring.com/ and you definatly dont need drop bars. For tips check out http://bicycletouring101.com/index.html, our page below and also checkout some journals at www.crazyguyonabike.com
cheers

 

[elduderino]

Why not go down the second hand mountain bike route for a fraction of the price. There are plenty of ideal mountain bikes that go on Ebay for around the £100 mark.
I wouldn't recommend going overboard on gear for a first tour, afterall you may find touring isn't quite for you and then you haven't quite wasted as much of your hard earned pounds, that be the case.

My first tour was on a Giant mountain bike with front suspension that I hacked together as a tourer best I could with cheap gear, off I set into the North Sea winds with a £20 tent and no map. Good times.

Here is a somewhat workable tourer:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GENTS-CLAUD-B...14&_trkparms=72:1688|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

 

[citizensnips2008]

right well for now i think ill just do training with my MTB save some money like you all suggest been looking at road tyres for it would the size 26 x 125 fit my bike the off road tyres on it are 2x200

Also how can i tell if my mountain bike can carry rear panniers, it has two little metal nobbly bits halfway between the seat and the back gearing, but i cant see how else the rack would fit on thank you