Touring bike recommendations

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Comments

  • mikey_w
    mikey_w Posts: 3
    edited January 2009
    The Condor is appealing - its a great looking bike, and the one that you have gone for looks to be just about perfect - I guess a more traditional tourer than the Thorn.

    How about straight verses dropped bars - what do people feel about this?....having been off my bike for some time now recovering from a torn muscle (dont ask where!), straight bars somehow seem like they will be less hard work, but somehow dont seem quite right on a road bike!
  • meagain
    meagain Posts: 2,331
    "but somehow dont seem quote right on a road bike!"

    Simple blind prejudice IMO. Who cares what the nostalgia brigade thinks? You will of course be told that only drops give a variety of hand-hold positions. Drivel. Bar ends give just as many USEABLE positions for 95% of riders 95% of the time (other than racers, very few folk actually use the drops more than very occasionally). Flats give better braking and cheaper shifters!

    I'll go hide....
    d.j.
    "Cancel my subscription to the resurrection."
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    I'm not prejudiced against flats, I just find them uncomfortable, even with bar ends. My tourer is actually a converted mtb with flats and on long rides I get wrist ache, my hands naturally want to fall in line with my body, not across, as flats require. Whilst bar ends do provide a similar position, if I want to be close to the brakes I can ride on the hoods with drop bars, and my wrists are comfy. Not saying you will find flats a problem but it is for me. I am saving for a proper tourer so I can have drops, not really viable to put drops on the mtb (cost reasons mostly stem, bars, shifters, brakes, but poss geometry issues too). I find no disadvantages with drops, when buying a bike the extra cost of them is not as great as if upgrading to them, and I do use the drop in strong winds.
  • mikey_w
    mikey_w Posts: 3
    The last time I had a bike with flats it was a Raleigh 20 and I was 12 years old, so its a long time, so you will forgive my prejudice against.......its actually great to get the opinions as I was wondering if it would not give me a more comfy riding position than the drops - for me it would be a radical departure, but if i'm going to invest in a nice new shiny bike, then I want to get it right!....and i'd not realised the choice I have!.......when I got the Randonneur it was pretty high specc'd I seem to recall, but as i'd always wanted one, I did not really consider any alternatives - now Raleigh Special Projects are no more, and Raleigh have not manufacturing in the UK, then any loyalty I had to them has gone.

    I just want a good quality well made bike that will last - mainly for the road, and the odd commute to work. I'd prefer to support British Manufacturing and design too (call me old fashioned!), but I want a quality bike, so I hope that the 2 needs are not impossible to achieve!

    Having only ever had drops then its hard to imagine what the difference would be - I know that when tired I do tend to rest my hands on the lever tops, and as i'm not as a fit as I was tired is likely to be the order of the day for a while!!!

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