Touche, 16T?

GibboGT

Hello,

may well have decided on getting myself a pearson touche. went to visit them today, lovely bike, weighs nothing!

the thing is, they seem to be out of 17T freewheel and fixed. I've ridden a bowery before and that was 46:17 which was fine climbing the huge hill to my house but a little slow on the flat for my liking. I wanted to ge for a 48:17 to improve things slightly.

Will a 48:16 kill me? I live up the top of a huge hill, am happy to go hell for leather up it everyday, but don't want it too be killer?

Not having much experience i'm a little unsure.

il_principe

First of all - top choice!

Freewheels are freely available online and are pretty cheap (for shimano ones). Go with the 48/17 and if you want to MFU then buy a 16 later. Remember it is also very easy to change the chainring on the front.

The Touche is fantastic so go for it and enjoy.

GibboGT

Cheers for the response, I've tried to be open minded about my choice of bike, but its tough when the touche gets such great reviews.

I would like the 17T, but Pearsons said they were out of stock? maybe things will change in a week when I actually go ahead with the order.

Can't wait!

Did look at the tricross given the price, but I don't ever want to take it off road, and the weight as a major thing is so different.

Infamous

a £600 fixed with a £40 crankset and generic alu frame? Seems overpriced imo.

GibboGT

Hopefully someone can justify the cost a little better than I can?

I'm getting it through cyclescheme so wont be paying that price.

I was also looking at the genesis flyer too which is £499, the Touche comes in at over 3lbs lighter I think.

Out of interest what would you recommend infamous?

I want a nice simple light commuter/city bike, review wise, the Touche is the choice to make!

karlmoreton

Would go for the specialized singlecross £275. Lifetime frame warranty and so versatile then buy some pimped up wheels with the £325 change.

Infamous

I'm not saying it's a bad bike, but I can't see why it's so expensive. You get the same cranks on a £300 fuji track.

You can get a dolan pre cursa for £540, all you need is some brakes. It's spec'd better (as far as I can tell) although it's fixed not SS, which is better anyway.

http://www.italian-solutions.co.uk/prod ... 281&page=1

Although you'd have to check first that the fork has been drilled for a brake, if it's a track fork then you'd need a road fork.

Then there's the charge plug for <£400:
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... ctID=14037

The specialized langster £439
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... gn=froogle

Giant bowery £340
http://www.cyclesurgery.com/1026656/Gia ... roogle.txt

have a look here:
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread9085.html

The pearson is no doubt a decent bike, but there are better options.

GibboGT

Cheers for the input guys.

The specialized tricross/singlecross is a nice looking bike, but compared to the touche is nowt special, it weighs a lot more, and I don't really want the versatility, I'll ride my mountain bike in the summer when I want to venture off road.

Looked into the bowery and langster, didn't really like the bowery geometry, I much prefer the longer touche. I think langster is very similar to the bowery, and so are any of the track designed frames.

Cheers for that list infamous.

Obviously one benefit of the Touche is also the fact that its a lot more than just an off the peg bike, its essentially a custom build. Obviously I could buy a frane and do it myself, but road bike wise I don't have a clue.

Infamous

it's not in any way a custom build. It just has the name of the shop on the side.

If you like it then that's all that matters i'm sure it's a decent bike, but i'm looking for a similar bike myself, and the touche isn't even in the top 10 choices, for me.

GibboGT

Cheers for the input. With my limited knowledge of road i'm going to have to trust a shop to some extent, I like the touche geometry and the reviews are good so i'm sure i'll be happy with it. Maybe something else would be better but...

Anyways, anyone got a view on riding 48:16? its nearly 3.1:1? most singles are around 2.6 - 2.75:1

Infamous

I was planning to use 48:16 (78.8 gear inches) as an every day training gear. will probably have to avoid the steeper hills though. Depends on fitness, type of riding, terrain and personal preference.

With SS you generally want to go a little lower than you would with fixed, because you can coast down hills. Get on a geared bike and see which gear you like to use

GibboGT

I've tried the bowery at 46:17 so which is 73.1 gear inches. I want to go higher than that.

The only other bike I can try is my mountain bike, but obviously rolling resistance is massive on that, and with the added weight etc its not going to give me an accurate representation as I ride that up the hill at something like 45-50 gear inches. the point of the ss is for training etc, and when riding uphill on the mb I don't give it much, stay seated etc. whereas on the road bike I will be going for it.

Cheers again for the input, Think i'll see if pearsons can get the 17 as there is no way i'm going for an 18. If not I'll give the 16 a go and replace it if not.

As it stands i'm getting 16 fixed and SS. I'd like to graduate to fixed as soon as I get used to the bike geometry etc.

Infamous

sounds like 48:16 would be perfect for you if you thought 48:17 was too small.

GibboGT

Sorry, that was a typo, was meant to read 46:17

i've edited it now.

Infamous

going on the gear inches, 78.8 still sounds about right.

GibboGT

Cheers again infamous, will give it a go, I'd definately rather it was hard going on the hills and fast on the flats so...