best sub £1000 tourer

pabloweaver

Hi all ,

looking to buy a tourer for the first time and will probably take advantage of the ride to work scheme for it .

although the bike would only get used for commuting till next year, when it will then be used for northern central Europe touring breaks, it makes sense for me to get in now to benefit from the RtoWs with my current employer ( not sure what 2010 + plans are )

so.... I have seen Evans are doing the Kona Sutra for £749 and this had given me some idea of a benchmark ( my road bike is a 54 ..not sure if its going to be a like for like sizing ).

would prefer not to be spending/upgrading from the word go and would prefer something capable of lasting me years.

not sure if the classic style of the MTB influenced style is what I prefer aesthetically , but that the bit I will figure .

any ideas/recommendations/comments welcomed.

apart from ones like my partner gives .....she said..." why dont you put panniers on your planet x and save some money ........." ..yes she was serious ! :shock:

lets no go there !

regards

P

alfablue

My No 1 choice would be the Condor Heritage, a beautiful, Italian steel framed bike, red or green, with a variety of specs (you can specify virtually whatever you want), including some under £1k. They do Cyclescheme. The bike got a 9/10 in Cycling Plus last May, they said it was very stable, yet felt quite racey for a tourer.

pabloweaver

alfablue wrote:

My No 1 choice would be the Condor Heritage, a beautiful, Italian steel framed bike, red or green, with a variety of specs (you can specify virtually whatever you want), including some under £1k. They do Cyclescheme. The bike got a 9/10 in Cycling Plus last May, they said it was very stable, yet felt quite racey for a tourer.

great looking bike , cant get the website to work properly to get all the info I need !
tried to find the C+ review without joy so if you have any linky linky to it it would be appreciated .

alfablue

What is the prob with the web site? Click the tabs at the bottom to display specs and geometries (click the actual words). I don't think there is a review online, but I will see if I have the paper copy, could so something electronical with it . . . shhhh

starseven

Heres some for you to consider: Condor Fratello, nice steel frame cost you over 1k with 105, veloce or rival though. Trek 1.7, under 1k and a lovely looking bike or for something more sturdy how about a Specialized tricross £800 or £1200 depending on spec.

Good luck

pabloweaver

consider it shhhhh'd 8)

think its my browser, I click the links to store, brochure etc and get nothing but a white screen ...

the more I look at the green model the more I like it !

alfablue

pabloweaver wrote:

consider it shhhhh'd 8)

think its my browser, I click the links to store, brochure etc and get nothing but a white screen ...

the more I look at the green model the more I like it !

I'm loving the red one! If you email Condor they will send you an excel file with all the possible groupset and finishing kit options and prices.

Am looking for the review.

The site works for me in Google Chrome.

pabloweaver

managed to get link page working and have sent for brochure, got to get my head round mix and matching road and mtb gear systems ....its a while since i got rid of my mtb ...

..... think i prefer the idea Condor go with of sti shifters instead of bar end ..decisions ,decisions ..


busy spending sick leave planning to use this in northern France next year, at least I cant say I have prep time!

alfablue

Hi Pablo

I will be going for the mtb gearing, I have Achilles tendon problems and my main concern is getting up the hills with a load rather than outright speed (I have road bikes for that), and 25mph will do fine on the flat/downhill.

Drop bars are far more comfy for me, I have toured on a converted mtb and I get wrist ache holding the flat bars, although the bar ends offer some relief, often you need to hold the flats to cover the brakes. Holding the hoods on sti's feels much more natural to me.

Those are my thoughts, anyway.

Sorry, haven't found the review yet, will have another look.

andrew_s

alfablue wrote:

The site works for me in Google Chrome.

It doesn't for me.
A page will display OK at first access, but it won't redisplay until I've cleared the cache.

Looking at the info, the possible problem I can see is that there's no allowance for cantilever cable hangers. This is normal at the front, but separately attached hangers for the rear are all pretty much on the naff side. They also mostly use the seatpost pinch bolt, but this bike uses a separate collar.
No hanger means you've got to use V or mini-V brakes. V don't work properly with drop bar levers, and mini-V (as shown) restrict your tyre clearance a bit more than 57mm dual pivots.

They may have a decent arrangement for a rear cantilever hanger, but check first and don't let yourself be fobbed off with V type brakes.

pabloweaver

mmm ...dont like the sound of v brakes ...thought I'd seen the last of those moons ago, I knew this was never going to be easy.

will have a look at the spec. when it comes, the bike will prob spend 98% of its life in commuter mode and a few weeks away as a tourer ...part of me thinks I cant justify buying another bike based on that ....but tolls for the job etc etc .

I currently have a Specialized Allez Comp. thats been relegated to foul weather and commute bike that I considered " converting" , but having done a bit of looking around I'm not sure if its cost effective or even practical given the frame is relatively compact. ( is this opening another topic?? )

Doesn't help that there are no local stockists of tourers such as the condor/ Kona for me visit and see the bikes " in the flesh"


edit: just had an e mail from condor asking me what groupset i want etc , they need to know before they send out details .....forgive me if Im being daft....but i dont know! thats why I want a list of available spec!

or am I missing something?

alfablue

Well, ask them for infor on Shimano road, mtb, and Campag.

On the v-brake front, I think it uses regular canti's in Shimano guise, in Campag it is fitted with Campag linear pull brakes - these are mini-V's, they work with Campag road levers, but they are apparently better than most, and gained special praise for their effectiveness in the C+ review (which I still can't find :oops: ).

alfablue

I think the Heritage would make a very good commuter as well as a tourer.

andymiller

pabloweaver wrote:

I currently have a Specialized Allez Comp. thats been relegated to foul weather and commute bike that I considered " converting" , but having done a bit of looking around I'm not sure if its cost effective or even practical given the frame is relatively compact. ( is this opening another topic?? )

You could always consider buying a frame and some handbuilt wheels from someone like Harry Rowland or Spa Cycles and cannibalising the existing bike for parts might be another option.

You could always try ringing Condor in London and explaining that you want a mix and match approach - I'm sure that this must be used to people wanting this option. I'm not a condor regular but I've always found them helpful.

andymiller

pabloweaver wrote:

I currently have a Specialized Allez Comp. thats been relegated to foul weather and commute bike that I considered " converting" , but having done a bit of looking around I'm not sure if its cost effective or even practical given the frame is relatively compact. ( is this opening another topic?? )

You could always consider buying a frame and some handbuilt wheels from someone like Harry Rowland or Spa Cycles and cannibalising the existing bike for part. You'd could spend say £225 on a frame and a couple of hundred on wheels.

People do get mini-vs to work with shorter pull levers but they work best with something like DiaCompe 287Vs (or whatever they call them now) - alternatively you could fit a Travel Agent.

You could always try ringing Condor in London and explaining that you want a mix and match approach - I'm sure that this must be used to people wanting this option. I'm not a Condor regular but I've always found them helpful.

andrew_s

The red version, which I hadn't looked at before, is shown kitted out with cantilevers rather than mini-Vs. They seem to have a cable hanger off the seatpost collar bolt, which looks like the least naff version of the options I'm aware of ("proper" being a separate brazed on bridge).
Red is shown with Shimano STI & cantis
Green is shown with Campag Ergo and mini-V

With brakes, standard V-brakes need either special drop bar levers (Dia Compe 287V or Tektro RL520 - tektro better by repute), or a "V-dapter" double pulley. Neither of these give braking much better than normal cantilevers, and the 287V/RL520 option forces you into using bar end shifters.
The other hangerless option is the mini-V, where the arms are short enough that the cable pull of drop bar levers is enough. Unfortunately they are also so short that the cable linking the two brake arms won't allow for any more than 28mm plus mudguard.
Basically, if you want drop bars and the possibility of tyres much over 28mm, your best option is old-style wide profile cantilevers (frogglegs or tektro cr520/cr720).

pabloweaver

Cheers , thinks I've managed to get my brochure ordered now so hopefully I will be able to re read these posts and apply it to the group spec. that is available.

I didn't think this was going to be easy ..although TBH given my budget the range of good tourers is reduced and that will make it easier methinks!

Wooliferkins

One vote for the Tifosi CK 7 I have toured with mine, commuted all winter on it and even got around the Paris Roubaix sportive last year. I fitted mine with Campag, it has rack mounts and with a carbon seatpost and forks I love it. Not as good as my Cheviot but that's outside your budget.

andymiller

The Tifosi looks good, but I'm a bit confused as to why an alloy frame would need an anti-rust coating....

Wooliferkins

Probably a google translation somewhere I fear. Read corrosion

tebbit

Pablo,

If your in the Newton-Le-Willows in Merseyside, how about taking a trip up to Hewitts at Leyland only a few junctions up towards Preston

nicktheluddite

Condor have a very good reputation (pricy?) but it's going to be a bit hard to get little tweaks done/check fit unless you go to London lots. Since fit is the most important bit of any bike (especially a tourer?) I'd recommend going to a more local bike shop.