Some thoughts / advice on a bike?

[crazyclimber]

Hi all, first post so I'll also introduce myself, I'm Ioan, I'm 23 and from mid Wales. Hello!
I'm completely new to cycling; learned to ride a bike as a kid obviously but that's about it. I was planning on walking LEJOG for a couple charities this summer (actually prob JOGLE) but due to time constraints it got to the stage where I'd have had to practically run it, so, thought I, why not bike it.
What I'm really after (to start with anyway) is advice on a bike. I visited my local bike store earlier and the gent suggested a Trek 7200 or Trek 7.2 FX plus panniers, racks, mudguards, etc - both around £350, heading towards £500 by the time they're kitted out which is the kinda price I can manage. They're a hybrid bike apparently that'll do well both onroad and light offroad? I'll prob use various sustrans routes most of the way so can't imagine myself needing anything too bombproof, just as long as they'll last the distance. Hopefully longer too since I think I could get into this cycling!
Do you reckon they're suitable? will they last the trip OK? I don't plan on doing serious mileage every day, I plan on stopping quite a bit too, so I'm counting on around 3 weeks for the trip.
Any thoughts or ideas very welcome. Thanks!
Ioan

 

[Andy in Sig]

Have a look at Edinburgh Bikes website (it might be Edinburgh Bicycles or Cycles). Their own brand tourer, fully specced, might be in your price range and will certainly do what you want. It's had good reviews.

Just out of curiousity, how do you pronounce your name?

Welcome, by the way.

 

[HJ]

I think Andy is talking about the Revolution Country Explorer '09, which is Edinburgh Bike CoOp's own brand tourer...

Unless he meant the Country Traveller which seams to have been dropped for 09...

 

[willem]

Or get yourself a decent second hand or even new Dawes Galaxy. Just shop around a bit.
Willem

 

[Andy in Sig]

I think Andy is talking about the Revolution Country Explorer '09, which is Edinburgh Bike CoOp's own brand tourer...

Unless he meant the Country Traveller which seams to have been dropped for 09...

That's the one. Thanks.

 

[andym]

I used to have a Trek 7200 (my 'Trusty Trek' I used to call it). It's a decent bike and you could definitely do LEJOG on it. The Revolution bike is also pretty good but it's not the bargain its predecessor was.

You might want to have a look at this one:

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s21p893

 

[willem]

That Dawes Horizon is a real bargain for a steel touring bike with drop bars, and far more attractive than the Edinburg bike with alloy frame and disc (grrr) brakes.
Willem

 

[crazyclimber]

Thanks very much, had a look at them all on the various sites, I especially like the Horizon. As an aside, the experience was a bit of an eye-opener! If you'd told me you could buy £4000 bikes a few days ago I'd have told you April fools day was in a fortnight!

A few more questions though (again 'scuse the ignorance on these)... Willem, what's the problem with alloy frames, and what don't you like about disc brakes? I would assume that an alloy will be lighter than steel, and since motorbikes use disc brakes I'd also assume they're pretty effective?
Also, Shimano Sora ST-3300 - the brakes on the Horizon seem to be brakes and gear shifters? How does that work? Front/back for brakes and side to side for gears? A quick google informed me that they don't have flight deck buttons (?!?! lol) but not a lot else. If so, very clever! Oh and do you think curved handlebars are much of an advantage over straight ones? I can see they might be better for uphills, or for less drag racing, but are they more unconfortable for longer periods?

Cheers!
Oh and almost forgot - Andy - Ioan is the 'yo' from yo-yo and the 'an' from and. Very Welsh my last name is Jones too!

 

[Andy in Sig]

I don't know what Willem's got against disc brakes: my bike is fitted with them and the advantages are:

a. They stop you loads quicker and more effectively.

b. Their performance doesn't deteriorate in the wet.

c. You don't have to change the pads very often.

d. Changing the pads is child's play and you don't need to spend three weeks realigning them and ending up getting the bloke in the bike shop to do it.

So it looks like Ioan Sebastian Bach was a Welshman after all!

 

[andym]

what's the problem with alloy frames, and what don't you like about disc brakes? I would assume that an alloy will be lighter than steel, and since motorbikes use disc brakes I'd also assume they're pretty effective?

Alloy is lighter but more bendy - so you have to use more of it - so the end result is about the same. The frame on the Trek 7200s isn't light!

Most people (me included) prefer steel because it is better at absorbing bumps. But that's a bit subjective and as with anything cycling-related there will alsways be someone who swears the complete opposite.

I agree with what t'other Andy says about disc brakes, but the reality is that rim brakes do the job perfectly well. So either type of brake would do what you want.

 

[willem]

I think discs are great for playing in the mud with mountainbike, but not for a tourer. They simply can get knocked too easily on trains planes etc. The comparison with car or motor bike discs is irrelevant, as those are very much heavier. They also cost more than a simple Shimano Deore V brake that will brake very well. If you are on a tight budget, there are better places to spend your money.
Alloy frames are not, or hardly lighter. Steel is indeed three times heavier than alloy, but it is also at least three times stronger, so a designer needs to use less of it. In order to use alloy most reliably, the frame needs to be very stiff (ie, the material must be used to increase tube diameter). Springs are made of steel, and not of alloy (it will fail). So the frame may be responsive, but relatively incomfortable. I don't like them, and many long distance riders agree (but not all).
I much prefer (curved) drop handlebars, since my hands are in a more natural position, and since there are more positions to choose from (I mostly ride with my hands on the brake hoods). I guess some 99% of all super long distance riders (audax style races like Paris Brest Paris in less than 90 hours) have drop bars. That must mean something. Straight bars give more control on rough off road stretches, however.
Willem

 

[Andy in Sig]

I don't see a danger with disc brakes or the pad housing getting knocked to the point of being damaged. I've heaved my bike in and out of many a train, up steps etc with no problems and the discs themselves are extremely robust. They are more expensive and while they are not essential, the much better performance and low maintenance factors mean IMO opinion that money spent on them is money well spent indeed.

 

[Davidc]

My experience isn't vast, but the brake/gear levers are a single unit containing both controls, and in consequence you generally need the same series levers, brakes and gear mechanisms from the same manufacturer for the whole thing to work.

The bike manufacturer sorts that out.

Some of the gear lever operations are a bit odd, but take all of 3 minutes to work out and another 5 doing a circuit of the local park to perfect.

Drop or straight is a matter of preference unless your competing. My preference is drops, and I'd have bar end gear shifters - (but I'm what Will Carling called an old fart and really I preferred non-indexed down tube shifters ...)

 

[chris667]

I've done a lot of touring, and I can tell you this - I'd consider disc braking a poor choice for a touring bike.
I had an On-One once, a brilliant bike but not for me. It had awesome Avid Juicy 5 discs, which could stop you at the speed of thought.
They were a pain. I ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere once because the rotor was bent. With a V-brake, you can do all the repairs with an Allen key. Not so of discs.
Really, at that price, you are better getting something secondhand. £300 will buy you something amazing, with quality in a different league to anything you can buy new.
Join your local CTC group, and ask to put a wanted up in the local magazine. You'll get something very, very special at a bargain price.

 

[HJ]

Thanks very much, had a look at them all on the various sites, I especially like the Horizon. As an aside, the experience was a bit of an eye-opener! If you'd told me you could buy £4000 bikes a few days ago I'd have told you April fools day was in a fortnight!

A few more questions though (again 'scuse the ignorance on these)... Willem, what's the problem with alloy frames, and what don't you like about disc brakes? I would assume that an alloy will be lighter than steel, and since motorbikes use disc brakes I'd also assume they're pretty effective?
Also, Shimano Sora ST-3300 - the brakes on the Horizon seem to be brakes and gear shifters? How does that work? Front/back for brakes and side to side for gears? A quick google informed me that they don't have flight deck buttons (?!?! lol) but not a lot else. If so, very clever! Oh and do you think curved handlebars are much of an advantage over straight ones? I can see they might be better for uphills, or for less drag racing, but are they more unconfortable for longer periods?

Oh £4000 for a bike is relatively cheap, if you have the money you can pay up to £10,000 for a top end Ti bike, and people still think that cycling is only for poor people .

Alloy frames, tend to be stiffer and therefore said to give a harsher ride, personally I haven't found it a problem. As for disc brakes, most of the opposition seems to come from people who don't like change. There are a lot of advantages to using disc brakes, not least the increased stopping power when fully loaded and the lack of fade on long descents. I am considering upgrading my bike to disc brakes.

The advantage of curved handlebars (either drops or butterfly bars) over straight ones (flat bars), is comfort, they give you far more options. On long rides flat bars can become very uncomfortable.