Serious touring on a Dawes discovery 401?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

rm90

Member
Older discovery 401, maybe 8+ years old, been professionally serviced and bought from a good bike shop.

So I was wondering about doing some serious touring, maybe from Dover to Germany and further, ideally Istanbul. What would be the drawbacks for this bike, it looks very sturdy as you would expect from a Dawes, how would it compare to a Long Haul Trucker for example, just no comparison at all, would it be a weight thing, a rideable/speed thing, a breakdown thing or what would be the main differences.

It has straight handlebars just now, would it be worth getting drop bars, or the the side smaller end straight bars? Thanks for any tips.
 

Nigeyy

Legendary Member
Would be good to see a photo of it. I know Dawes seem to be a pretty decent brand, so I'd expect it to hold up quite nicely.

To answer one of your questions: it's usually a low value proposition to change to drop handlebars -you'll need new brake levers*, shifters (unless you have downtube shifters which based on the age you mentioned is unlikely) and quite possibly a new front derailleur. Add in incidental costs such as bar tape, brake and shifter cables and housings and you can see the costs soon add up. A simpler solution would be to get butterfly or trekking bars (you should be able to keep all your current brake levers/shifters etc, though you will probably need a new stem to go with it). Another simple solution are bar ends; I toured across Europe with straight bars and bar ends with no trouble (I think this is what you are referring to).

All said and done, unless you have your heart absolutely set on drop handlebars or find they are the only bars you can ride with for long distances, I'd say keep the straight bars and add bar ends -or look up trekking handlebars. Good luck!

*if your bike has linear pull or "v" brakes and you want to keep them, you'll be more limited to drop handlebar brake levers -admittedly there are "travel agents" that allow for the use of short pull levers with v-brakes, but I'm far from sure they are worth it, let alone the additional cost, efficiency and complication. Keep in mind if you do have v-brakes, then certainly having STI type shifters at the levers will require you to use travel agents -well, that is if you can find them or something similar. Another alternative then is to use canti brakes -which can be used with v-brake bosses and go with short pull levers -but now you're onto a new brakeset......again, costing more money!)
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Velo Orange or Soma Fabrications do some drop bars in 22.2mm diameter which means you can keep the levers but you may find it changes the reach, so it may be more comfortable to get some porter or trekking bars and put them on upside down to get a dropped position.

Another option is curved dropped bar ends from SJS. http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/origin8-pro-pulsion-road-ends-drop-bar-bar-ends-black-prod18606/ or I've read many good things about the ergo stick bar ends which SJS also stock.
 

MarkF

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
I've toured and still own a 9 year old 501, across France, Spain, around The Netherlands and the C2C. I once bought a Dawes Horizon tourer to replace it but found the 501 comfier for longer. It is an excellent tourer IMO.

I have good quality shaped bar ends (v.similar to what mjray suggests) and couldn't do long distances without being able to shift hand positions and body weight, they are a must. Drop bars, only once did I wish I'd had them, fighting a week long horrible headwind, but that was unusual weather.

At the same age our frames should be the same but doesn't the 401 have suspension? Can you lock it out?
 
OP
OP
R

rm90

Member
I've toured and still own a 9 year old 501, across France, Spain, around The Netherlands and the C2C. I once bought a Dawes Horizon tourer to replace it but found the 501 comfier for longer. It is an excellent tourer IMO.

I have good quality shaped bar ends (v.similar to what mjray suggests) and couldn't do long distances without being able to shift hand positions and body weight, they are a must. Drop bars, only once did I wish I'd had them, fighting a week long horrible headwind, but that was unusual weather.

At the same age our frames should be the same but doesn't the 401 have suspension? Can you lock it out?

Yes the 401 does have suspension, why would that matter, I think most standard front rack won't fit in that case, I know, but I am not even sure I need front panniers and I think you can get custom front racks?

Also I am looking at aerobars, or 'straight middle bars' I couldn't imagine me cycling upright without some kind of bars for all that time.
 
Top Bottom