What to choose for Spain?

[Aerostat]

I have just recently got back into cycling, and I am planning my first European cycling adventure for next year. It will be my first major ride and I have to buy everything that I will need, starting with a suitable bike as the one I have is a bit of a nail that I picked it up secondhand (an Al Carter Sidewinder if that means anything to anyone) but haven't really used it much as the gears are very difficult to change. I was going to refurbish the bike with new chainset, seat, brakes etc but I now think it would be cheaper and easier to just buy something off Ebay. The question is, what to buy? Should I be looking at a mountain bike, tourer or hybrid? I will be buying panniers and lights, what else should I be looking at?

 

[MarkF]

Buy whatever you like, though I can only see any negatives with the MTB. I have used hybrids to cross Spain, a Dawes Discovery 501 and a Specialized Sirrus Sport, the latter was bought from Ebay for £200 and sold on it's return for a profit, so you don't need to spend much money.

 

[MichaelW2]

How much load will you be carrying? Std camping, ultralight camping, cook/no-cook, B&B credit card style?
The roads are good but there is some great off-road to enjoy. Any tourer/hybrid can cope.
I have toured N Spain camping/no-cook with 2 panniers and a barbag. Touring bike is good. For hybrids, I recommend Euro-style trekker with butterfly bars for variety of handholds. Given the issues integrating modern road levers with touring transmission requirements, I would be tempted to use trekking bars, for simplicity.