Budget tourer

desweller

OK, OK, I know, I know. It's the 'bike' shop we love to hate, but...

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_712163_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

As far as I can tell, it has all the mounting points for muddies and rear rack; casting Halfords prejudices aside, can any of you more experienced tourers see anything wrong with this as the basis for a super-budget light tourer?

I'm gonna whiz over to the local branch to have a butcher's, any tips as to what I should look for from a touring perspective?

Cheers all,

Des

Marky

Hi Des.
That looks very good value indeed. Carrera bikes seem like practical decent machines.
So the value is tops. I guess just be sure it's not going to be limited with regard to your intended use. If you want mudguards and bigger tyres, maybe it would be not the best choice. But if it's just 'light' touring, could be right for you.
Ages ago I started using a road bike for touring - but it was limiting in that large panniers with a medium or heavy load could make the whole bike shimmy or wobble at speed, and sometimes my heels would rub back against the pannier bags, and that's a real disadvantage.
So just think about the sorts of loads you may want to carry. Most dedicated touring bikes are pretty sturdy, use stronger wheels and have longer chainstays / wider clearances in order to take aboard more 'stuff'. So they can be used as a pack-horse when necessary.
Good luck.

andymiller

Marky's right about things like chainstay length - it's definitely something to be aware of, but it doesn't mean that if you don't get a dedicated tourer that you will inevitably get heel strike.

At risk of telling you something you already know: the bike has only got two chainrings - most people tour with a triple because most of us need the lower gears to get a loaded bike up long climbs. Again, I'm not saying you can't tour with it, but it's something to consider.

If you have a very limited budget and you want a cheap bike to tour with you might actually find that a hybrid is a better bet (yes I know, The horror! the horror!). Alternatively try the secondhand market.

desweller

Chainstay length - will check, thanks, I wouldn't have thought of that! Likewise tyre width.

I've got a hybrid in the shed which is the incumbent touring candidate, but my hands go numb after about 30 miles or so. I might be able to swap the chainsets & BBs round if I get the Carrera as the hybrid has a MTB triple (48/38/28 I think).

Cheers for th advice,

Des

andymiller

DesWeller wrote:

Chainstay length - will check, thanks, I wouldn't have thought of that! Likewise tyre width.

I've got a hybrid in the shed which is the incumbent touring candidate, but my hands go numb after about 30 miles or so. I might be able to swap the chainsets & BBs round if I get the Carrera as the hybrid has a MTB triple (48/38/28 I think).

Oh the other thing to ask is what sizes they have - I wasn't sure whether it was just 58cm or if they had others - sometimes bikes get sold off cheap because the shop/importer is left with a few of the larger (or smaller sizes).

Combining MTB gearing and STI drop bars is a subject in itself!: it's definitely do-able but unfortunatelly it's mnot necessarily as simple as swapping the chainset and cassette.

As far as the hands and the hybrid are concerned. Have you considered:

- barends
- Specialized BG gloves
- ergonomic grips?

I'm not sure that going to drop bars are necessarily going to solve the problem (although they having extra hand positions has obviously got to help). Worst case (I'm speaking tongue-in-cheek from pure prejudice - they are very functional) you might want to look at 'butterfly' bars.

desweller

Butterfly bars? Like this?

Looks like I can use the trigger shifters that are already on the bike, is that right? Perhaps that would be the most versatile option...

My two local Halfords didn't have any of the Carreras in stock - seems there's no demand for drop-bar bikes in this neck of the woods.

Cheers,

Des

andymiller

Yep.

A couple more photos to suggest the possibilities:



I've never seen those brake lever extensions before



putting bar ends seemed a bit OTT at first but then maybe it's not such a bad idea. The turquoise bell to match is fashionably 80s-retro.

I think most (maybe all? - best to check) are designed to be used with MTB/hybrid kit.

Spa Cycles have a selection of three.

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s90p0

Give them a call if you need info/advice - they're touring specialists and know their stuff.[/img]

desweller

It must be said, they do look properly mad. Madder than mad.

I'll give 'em a ring.

Cheers,

Des