What Bike...Tourer for under £400

[logicalzombie]

Have been on a specialized sirrus for my commute for the past year or so and looking to do some touring over the summer, as student loan won't extend into galavanting abroad, and am seeking advice on a good first tourer. This will also be used hopefully as a daily ride too and maybe bring my sirrus out to play during the winter months. Budget is quite good I feel as getting some parental assistance so £400 for the bike and any repairs I may need to carry out on it. This last sentence does reveal i'm looking at second hand bikes in particular and have been looking at some old Dawes Galaxy s on ebay but have also looked up the revolution country traveller. Vital stats are: 5"11, inside leg of 31 and weight of 14 stone. My current frame size is a 54.5 but have had to increase the seatpost length to get more comfortable on the sirrus so more realistically a frame size of 56 or 57. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Hydra]

I gave the Country Traveller a test ride and it was pretty nice. Comes complete with a decent rack and mudguards too, so that's something less to pay for.

I'm hoping to go travelling by bike at some point in the next year or two, and I'd definitely consider the Traveller as the bike for the job.

 

[david1701]

I'm quite tempted by the CX revolution bike, with rack and guards added it would be <500 and a good light tourer and road bike and off road bike

or the bigger brother to the traveller looks LOVELY with disks and all the fun stuff but is well over my budget at 675

 

[logicalzombie]

Thanks, is the possibility of buying an old dawes or raleigh off ebay and maybe upgrading some parts with the money saved, from buying a second/third/fourth hand bike that's as old as me, a good idea? I really like the shape of the old reynolds frames but am worried they may be a bit excessive in weight.

 

[david1701]

its what I was going to do, but a friend warned me that different era bikes have different fittings so it might all end terribly :s

 

[Wobblers]

Thanks, is the possibility of buying an old dawes or raleigh off ebay and maybe upgrading some parts with the money saved, from buying a second/third/fourth hand bike that's as old as me, a good idea? I really like the shape of the old reynolds frames but am worried they may be a bit excessive in weight.

I have a twenty year old Super Galaxy. It weighs 12 kg, on a par for most of today's tourers, not excessive at all! It's mostly my commuting/utility dog's body but will happily do longer distances. Galaxies built in the 90's are specced with mtb parts - Deore LX in my case meaning getting new parts for them is not a problem. But if in doubt, check first before parting with any money for an old tourer. Look for tourers with a rear wheel OLN of 135 mm (the mtb standard), 700c wheels and Deore level components and you won't go far wrong.

The Claud Butler Dalesman is another old touring bike which has a good reputation - worth looking for if you go down the second hand route.Tourers quite often come up for sale on the CTC forums at reasonable prices without the ebay premium.

The EBC range has a good reputation. You might also want to look at Decathlon: they're also good value.

 

[mcshroom]

If you are after new then the Dawes Vantage comes in £20 over your budget here.

It is an Alu frame but seems comfortable enough (mines 2200 miles old now).

Otherwise if you can find a second hand EBC Revolution Country Explorer that looks a very nice bike.

 

[logicalzombie]

Thanks again, been looking at this, do like the new vantage too, will try that out if I can arrange a viewing with my lbs back in London. What are the upper bounds in price for a good condition dalesman or super galaxy?

 

[tbtb]

Have you considered touring on the Sirrus, either camping or hostelling? You could buy the peripheral items you'd need anyway with a "proper tourer" (rack, panniers and - if camping - tent, mat, sleeping bag) and see how they do loaded onto the Sirrus.

If it seems okay, pedal to Dover and sail to France for £25 or whatever it costs.

If you have London accommodation you could rent it out for the 2 weeks and come back in profit.

I just suggest this cos you mention being a student and some of my best cycling memories are of summers pedalling around France on a commuter bike in those "18-30" years when I was old enough to consider holidays alone but young enough to think it an adventure to explore wildest France in a cheap tent with no cooking facilities. I mean, it never stops being enjoyable but I wouldn't necessarily want to swap one of those early trips, and the memories, for a secondhand Dawes Galaxy.

Of course if the Sirrus is knackered or just too small I take it all back.

 

[logicalzombie]

You've pretty much summed up my plan for the summer, albeit without renting out my london accommodation as i'm not sure how my mum would feel about having a substitute son around the place.

I would tour with the sirrus, indeed i've already got a rack on it for the obligatory trip to the shops, however it's just a bit small for me. The frame is a medium 54.5cm and i'm nearly 6ft, i've already raised the seatpost to the limits of the bike's stability with my weight on it but I still find I get really bad pains/cramps in my quads (especially where the quad meets the top of the kneecap).

I was going to put this up on the health aspect of the forum but i've always assumed the cause of this top of the knee pain has been my leg not being allowed to extend fully and a frame which doesn't afford me a seating position further back from the pedals. In any case, i'm looking to upgrade from the sirrus as a result of these knee pains as I plan on doing longer routes with some more hills and I think that doing that on my current frame size is a bit of an ask endurance wise.

I'm reasonably fit as well, have played sports all through school and play for my uni team in a position which tests my quads a lot, so i'm not just making a spur of the moment decision based on a couple of weeks of growing pains.

To be honest, if I could just swap my sirrus for one that fit perfectly I probably would but i'm not sure why anyone would do it and selling it for a ton seems less value than just keeping it for the daily commute and winter riding. I've also grown quite attached to it and would like to later on pass it onto someone who really needed it rather and would appreciate it than some faceless ebayer.

 

[tbtb]

Well, I see the logic in the tourer. If you're attached to the Sirrus, pick the tourer well cos you'll be attached to it too after a tour or two! One option is to focus on getting the best frame possible (seeing as it's the only part you're emotionally stuck with in a decade!) and put the Sirrus parts on it. If your budget is just for the frame you have some very nice frames to pick from.

 

[logicalzombie]

yeah was thinking that, any advice on frame? Was thinking an old dawes and strip, clean and replace.