Which touring bike?

[Crankarm]

I looked at the Santos but it doesn't have disc brakes and Santos have no plans to make one. They prefer hydraulic rim brakes.

 

[steveindenmark]

Probably because if you are out in the bush and disc brakes go wrong they are harder to fix.

Your Santos is a lovely looking bike.

Another one on the list

 

[cnb]

Have to say,Thats a nice looking bike...I also have a Dawes ultra Galaxy(courtesy picton cycles who were selling them discounted)..Havent used it that much yet,But it seems a good bike..

 

[middleagecyclist]

I looked at the Santos but it doesn't have disc brakes and Santos have no plans to make one. They prefer hydraulic rim brakes.

I've no probs with disc brakes...they are great on my MTB and the way they are going I would certainly not dismiss them on a road bike in the future as well.

I bought the Santos with an eye on a possible future extended tour of several weeks through Europe and possibly into Asia or Africa. I wanted the bike to be as easy to maintain as possible so for me the availability of parts as well as ease of mechanical fiddling were paramount, hence the heavy duty frame, 26" wheels, Schwalbe Marathon tyres, etc. The Shimono XT rim brakes (non hydraulic) are easy to manage and stop the fully loaded bike with nae probs at all. In fact, the only 'complicated' essential bit on the bike is the Rohloff hub and that has such a good reputation I am willing to risk its possible failure balanced against the ease of maintaining it compared to standard gear set up. Just my thoughts and not to everyones taste i'm sure.

 

[P.H]

The most important thing about Surly LHTs and Surly cross checks, is that everyone that owns one seems to like them..Pretty much sums it up really...

That would be easier to accept if they didn't so regularly appear in the classifieds.

 

[P.H]

I have a Hewitt Cheviot SE, IMO probably one of the best off the peg steel tourers available. Though I think it's better suited to tarmac touring that expedition roughstuff. It's also a decent ride unloaded, I've done a few 200 and 300k Audax on mine and it was fine.
However, I bought mine eight years ago and things have moved on. Frame materials have moved on, Titanium has become more readily available and the price has dropped to the same or sometimes cheaper than quality steel. Both Spa's own tourer and the Sabbath Silk Route are available for just a little over your budget. The CTC mag review of the Spa tourer gave it a big thumbs up, the reviewer liked it so much he bought it!
http://beta.ctc.org.uk/file/member/201107062_0.pdf

 

[Crankarm]

Probably because if you are out in the bush and disc brakes go wrong they are harder to fix.

Your Santos is a lovely looking bike.

Another one on the list

And how do disc brakes go wrong? It is far easier replacing pads or rotors than trying to get a new wheel built. Doh!

I would suggest worn out or split rims using rim brakes are much more likely than disc brakes failing. But then again car and motorcycle manufacturers have got it totally wrong by changing from cable operated brakes to drum brakes to disc brakes ....................

The Santos above would look even nicer with disc brakes.

 

[Yellow7]

And how do disc brakes go wrong? It is far easier replacing pads or rotors than trying to get a new wheel built. Doh!

I would suggest worn out or split rims using rim brakes are much more likely than disc brakes failing. But then again car and motorcycle manufacturers have got it totally wrong by changing from cable operated brakes to drum brakes to disc brakes ....................

The Santos above would look even nicer with disc brakes.

Surely it’s not about ‘looks’ but performance, reliability & servicability, especially when in the middle of nowhere. Simplicity is the best design, disc brakes not being the case, especially hydraulic ones.

A car’s ‘braking-power to weight’ ratio is far greater than a mere loaded bicycle, so from an engineering point of view that’s an irrelevant comparison.

Today I've just collected my wheels after having new rims fitted (DRC MT19's again) of which after 18,000 miles (with rims brakes) were still running fine & never had a problem with them, although to minimise the possibility of wheel problems on the next big tour decided it time to have new rims.

 

[middleagecyclist]

The Santos above would look even nicer with disc brakes.

I think it's just dandy as it is. It does the job i want it to do with minimal fuss and is easy to maintain. If others want disc brakes on such a bike that's fine by me but it's not something i regret deciding against.

 

[Crankarm]

Surely it’s not about ‘looks’ but performance, reliability & servicability, especially when in the middle of nowhere. Simplicity is the best design, disc brakes not being the case, especially hydraulic ones.

A car’s ‘braking-power to weight’ ratio is far greater than a mere loaded bicycle, so from an engineering point of view that’s an irrelevant comparison.

Today I've just collected my wheels after having new rims fitted (DRC MT19's again) of which after 18,000 miles (with rims brakes) were still running fine & never had a problem with them, although to minimise the possibility of wheel problems on the next big tour decided it time to have new rims.

I guess you must be a Luddite.

 

[Crankarm]

I think it's just dandy as it is. It does the job i want it to do with minimal fuss and is easy to maintain. If others want disc brakes on such a bike that's fine by me but it's not something i regret deciding against.

A fair enough explanation.

I ride 12,000 miles a year. For the past 6 months I have been riding to work on my Kona Kula MTB kitted out for touring so full mudguards, rack and panniers. It has hydraulic disc brakes. I ride this MTB as my commuter bike, a rim braked Specialised Sirrus with 700C wheels was damaged beyond repair when I was knocked down jan 2011. On reflection I would not go back to riding a rim braked bike if riding a high mileage everyday unless I s'pose it was a road bike as the maintenance required is so much higher not to mention all the crud and muck generated by brake blocks helping to wear down rims. I have not had a single issue with disc brakes in just under 6k miles of riding except for whining/rubbing when I first started riding but which disappeared after a little thoughtful fettling. I stop just as quickly in the wet as the dry irrespective of load. The Kona's wheel rims are still like new.

 

[Nigeyy]

I'll chime in: being reliable enough.

I'll grant that disc brakes by comparison are relatively more complex, but that shouldn't really be the issue to focus on. STI's and Ergos, RapidFire, GripShift are all arguably more complex than the good old downtube friction shifter, but you won't see those shifters on any average road bike. That's because all of them are reliable enough to be used day to day (as well as offering other benefits, but let's not go there). Want another example? Goodness knows what cyclists in the 20th Century were saying about derailleurs ("far too complex, less reliable......" etc etc yet who would advise against using a derailleur now? Or even give it a second thought? And exactly how serviceable is a blown apart rear derailleur anyway? Taking this a step further, how serviceable is a broken rim brake anyway? And we haven't even touched upon an internally geared hub (now we can talk about complex!

FWIW, I've had more problems with traditional rim brakes than my disc brakes. I can see the point of saying a disc brake is more complex, but given other bicycle components and my own personal experience with them, I have a hard time agreeing to the old chestnut of saying they have meaningful disadvantages (assuming you have a good quality disc brake setup). It really depends. Yes, simplicity is a great design factor, but at the same time, it doesn't mean to say other more complex designs can't be reliable enough or offer their own advantages.

Anyway, you pays your money, you takes your choice!

Surely it’s not about ‘looks’ but performance, reliability & servicability, especially when in the middle of nowhere. Simplicity is the best design, disc brakes not being the case, especially hydraulic ones.

 

[middleagecyclist]

I'll chime in: being reliable enough.

I'll grant that disc brakes by comparison are relatively more complex, but that shouldn't really be the issue to focus on. STI's and Ergos, RapidFire, GripShift are all arguably more complex than the good old downtube friction shifter, but you won't see those shifters on any average road bike. That's because all of them are reliable enough to be used day to day (as well as offering other benefits, but let's not go there). Want another example? Goodness knows what cyclists in the 20th Century were saying about derailleurs ("far too complex, less reliable......" etc etc yet who would advise against using a derailleur now? Or even give it a second thought? And exactly how serviceable is a blown apart rear derailleur anyway? Taking this a step further, how serviceable is a broken rim brake anyway? And we haven't even touched upon an internally geared hub (now we can talk about complex!

FWIW, I've had more problems with traditional rim brakes than my disc brakes. I can see the point of saying a disc brake is more complex, but given other bicycle components and my own personal experience with them, I have a hard time agreeing to the old chestnut of saying they have meaningful disadvantages (assuming you have a good quality disc brake setup). It really depends. Yes, simplicity is a great design factor, but at the same time, it doesn't mean to say other more complex designs can't be reliable enough or offer their own advantages.

Anyway, you pays your money, you takes your choice!

That's my feeling with the Rohloff - complex but pretty reliable. On the other hand i think why use something more complex/harder to source parts for for when the simple stuff does the job fine? Saying that i am now considering disc brakes on my soon to be ordered Audax bike...

 

[cnb]

That would be easier to accept if they didn't so regularly appear in the classifieds.

I didnt know they appeared in the classified adds on a regular basis..When i first became interested in the LHTs and read up about them, all the information and feedback was positive.Ps Ebays full of Boardman bikes,specialized, trek etc and they are good bikes (some)..Horses for courses...

 

[Yellow7]

I guess you must be a Luddite.

Guess / Guessing: To assume, presume, or assert (a fact) without sufficient information.