lands end to john o groats... best bike for around £700

dcvh007

doing this as a big charity ride next year.... very new to all this. have a mountain bike at the mo... so looking to get my first road bike... what would be my best bet? obviously comfort is important... as well as speed and efficiency. also do people recommend clip in pedals? if so presumably i need special shoes too?

thanks in advance... a newby!

ps i'm 6ft 4... so need a big 'un! 60cm sound right?

doug5_10

None of them if you're needing to take anything with you. Any will be fine if you've got a support car following but none will take panniers (i think, if they do, the rear wheel won't thank you) I probs go for a cube peloton, good kit and looks for the money, although the focus varaido with similar kit and good looks can be had from wiggle for £615.

dcvh007

What about if I am planning on taking things with us? Maybe in panniers? what sort of bike would be the best bet then? thanks

doug5_10

You would then be looking at a touring or hybrid style bike, preferably with drop bars so you can change your hand positions. Edinburgh bike do a good budget tourer http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... 155c002912
and also a posher one
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... 155c002912.
There are plenty others out there. As regards clipless, go for MTB shoes and pedals (you can get touring specific ones too) so you can walk in them and not have to take flip-flops as I had to. (I did my LEJOG on my fairly cheap bike co-op roadie with the lightest panniers in history and still broke 3 spokes!)
Oh, and post & search in the touring section too, u'll get alot more info

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Specialized Tricross Sport, perhaps? Full mudguards; pannier racks; looks different in a good sort of way

gabriel959

If you want a good tourer for about 700, this is a bit over budget but seems to do everything you want:

Orbea Arama

http://www.epic-cycles.co.uk/orbea.htm

You can find it at the bottom of the page.

FSR_XC

NitrousOxide wrote:

Specialized Tricross Sport, perhaps? Full mudguards; pannier racks; looks different in a good sort of way

Ditto

Coriander

NitrousOxide wrote:

Specialized Tricross Sport, perhaps? Full mudguards; pannier racks; looks different in a good sort of way

I have one of these and love it.

toshmund

Get onto BigDutch - he has a post up for a Tricross in a 58 (which is your size at 6 ft 4) with only 200 miles done from new.

toshmund

Found the topic from the bloke just returning from a bad accident (2 broken arms...ouch! That is bad :shock: ). Posted pic's up of his Tricross with Panniers and Mudguards.



http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/forums/vie ... =#14961598

andrewc3142

A Dawes Super Galaxy would fit the bill well. If I were to do something like that I'd use mine rather than my road bike). If you search around, are prepared to buy a prior year model, to haggle and accept they tend to come in fairly yukky shades of brown it may come in close to your target price. It'll probably come with flat pedals and really, really rubbish tyres, which would add a bit more, but not that much.

You may also want to see if sjs has a second hand Thorn for that price.