pick me a bike…

[alecstilleyedye]

i'm doing a short 2-day tour (macclesfield, cheshire to bishop's castle, shropshire) in may and i'm in a quandary as to which bike to take. budget for new bits is about nowt, so i'm left with 4 less than absolutely ideal bikes to choose from. luggage isn't a big issue as there will be a car taking all overnight kit etc direct to the b&b.

the possibles are:

pros: nice set of low ratios, option of slick tyres, can take a rack, has mudguards

cons: heavy, suspension fork, drivechain and cableset in need of replacement, bit of a faux pas on a road club event

pros: how cool does it look, light

cons: where do i start… fixed wheel, rubbish brake, no mudguards or rack available, unlikely to get me up anything steep

pros: comfy 531 tubeset, now sporting a brooks b17, mudguards and can take a rack

cons: not the lightest bike in the world, lowest ratio of 42x25 can make any incline a struggle with 100m in my legs, headset a bit suspect

pros: lightest of all, triple chainset should see me right all ride long

cons: no mudguards and cannot borrow from other bike



i know the answer lies in buying some raceblades for the alu bike or lowering the ratios on the steel bike, but i don't have the budget, hence the compromise.

 

[HelenD123]

Is there any way you can transfer the drivetrain from number 4 to number 3 (I'm a technical numpty so know nothing about these things).

Borrow some raceblades from a club mate?

 

[Hacienda71]

Steel it's real You could get a slightly better ratio cassette for it say 11:28 (unless your rear mech won't take it) to ease you up those hills on your tour. Cheap cassette less than a tenner.

 

[HJ]

Go on take the the claud, you known you really want to...

 

[Coco]

The red one.

 

[rich p]

I'd take the Carrera if you're not carrying kit. Mudguards aren't crucial if you've got a change of clothes and you'll get up the hills at least.

 

[stewie griffin]

Do half a day on each.

 

[andym]

Whatever you do don't take the Carrera. Bad things will happen to you if you ride in May without mudguards: you could get a wet arse.

...and if mudguards really are critical surely you could fork out a tenner or so for a Crudguard?

 

[xilios]

The Carrera.

 

[andrew_s]

The 531, but borrow the chainset off the Carrera

 

[alecstilleyedye]

The 531, but borrow the chainset off the Carrera

if only 'twer so easy; that would also require swapping the front mech, lh shifter and forking out for new cables and bartape x2…

edit: and one bike is square taper and the other octalink…

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I'd take the red one. More importantly, don't forget to drop into the Three Tuns while you're in Bishops Castle.

 

[Tedx]

If you ride through muddy puddles with no mud guards, well... I'm sure I don't need to explain..

 

[Norm]

IMO, if you are riding in a group (which is not written explicitly in the OP but assumed from "road club event"), then you need a bike with mudguards.

You need proper ones as well, not the MTB ones on the Pub Bike which will do little to stop you spraying people around you.

Race blades are £20-odd. I'd put a set on the Carrera.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

What fitting is the mtb chainset? Even if you only used the two of the three rings you would get a better ratio than you currently have on the 531 one, and you would only have to lower the front shifter a nadge, if at all.

a good call, but for the fact that the chainset is in too poor a condition.