Best touring bike / winter bike for around £1000

willharris10

I'm looking for a racing bike that'll happily take rear panniers and allow me to comfortable and quickly ride LEJOG in the summer. Something I can use in the winter and when it rains, something I can stick slightly fatter tyres on, like 32s if I want to ride the Thames pathways and basically something I don't have to worry about as much as I will my Ribble, when it arrives.

I've been thinking of getting a Specialized Tricross Comp second hand. But I'm reading a lot of people writing that this wouldn't be a great bike to do LEJOG on, and so I'm wondering about spending more and getting a new Condor Fratello.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? I would like to keep it below £1000 but I don't want Shimano Sora as I don't want the thumb shifers. I need a triple with a wide ranging cassette and ideally a good solid, fast, comfortable bike.

Any and all advice accepted!

keef66

My requirements were very similar to yours, except the fat tyres. Makes the shortlist very short indeed. I ended up with a Kinesis Racelight TK, now available with a better paint job as the TK2.

Slightly cheaper is the Racelight T2, a bit dearer is the Gran Fondo.

Got mine as a custom spec from Epic Cycles; have a look at their website to see what Kinesis bikes they are offering

willharris10

Thanks Keef. Will take a look!

Guess there's also the Ribble 7005 Audax/Winter Training bike too. Cheaper than the Condor, but can't try before you buy! Hmmmmmmm.

willharris10

Well, a Ribble with 105 groupset in a triple will set me back about £910 delivered. Small number of spec'd parts. Doesn't appear to be anything available anywhere that'll touch that at that spec and capable of carrying panniers.

blorg

I don't think you will get 700x32s onto the Ribble. It says:

"Designed to accept 57mm brakes and tyres up to 700x28mm"

Doesn't specify if that is with or without mudguards.

Looks like a good option if you are happy with that restriction.

The Tricross is a very nice bike and very versatile but it is also pretty heavy. I have it fixed and friends have it geared. I have something similar in a way, a Van Nicholas Amazon, as my tourer. Very flexible, can stick massive tyres on it, but these bikes are certainly far away from a road bike in terms of "nippiness," I can only imagine that an audax is a bit closer.

The Condor looks nice but obviously is much more expensive. If you were going in that direction you might consider something like a Bob Jackson.

To be honest if you want to do a quick LEJOG and have a road bike consider doing it on that with a large saddlebag. I did the Raid Pyreneen this way. Then it is shorter and hillier than LEJOG. Probably warmer for your clothes to dry each night too

If I could only have one bike I would have an audax bike... as it is however I have bikes effectively either side of it (a road bike and a tourer.) Wanted the wide tyre option in case I do something like the Camino de Santiago again (used 700x35, c.25% off-road.) Or for that matter loaded on white roads in Italy where 700x25 proved not up to the job.

mroli

Will - my missus has a Fratello and is very happy with it - I have ridden it a couple of times and despite the fact it is completely the wrong size, it felt pretty good - I enjoyed the ride. As you (and others) have said - you can buy online and take a punt and get something with bells and whistles for the same money as something more basic from Condor (eg groupset etc), but then they will size you, give you a free first service to smooth out any initial teething problems and you can drop the bike off with them easier for servicing/if there are any problems etc.

I see benefits in both, but for something like a LEJOG, I would like to be as comfortable as possible, so the measuring would swing me possibly. Also, I'm sure that the Frat would take a better groupset if and when you wanted to upgrade.

APIII

Kinesis Crosslight 5T has the rack mounts and clearance for bigger tyres (being a cross bike!). I've got one and can say it's certainly quick enough and comfortable enough. I've been riding mine since October while the best bike hibernates. Kinesis are good people to deal with too.

blorg

APIII wrote:

Kinesis Crosslight 5T has the rack mounts and clearance for bigger tyres (being a cross bike!). I've got one and can say it's certainly quick enough and comfortable enough. I've been riding mine since October while the best bike hibernates. Kinesis are good people to deal with too.

I have a Crosslight too albeit the EVO3 so not even bottle bosses never mind mudguard mounts... Lovely bike to ride, almost as fast as my road bike. Incomparably lighter to the Tricross incidentally. Have friends with Kinesis too and they like them, would be a good option if you are going for a wide-tyre option.

One thing to bear in mind with the wide-tyre/drop bar bikes is that braking is compromised compared to a road bike if you are using STI levers. It is OK, I wouldn't say let this put you off, but it is a bit of a hassle and a pain. I've tried low-profile cantis, wide profile cantis, mini-Vs. Wide cantis or mini-Vs are better, which depends on the application. If you are using bar end shifters this shouldn't be an issue as you can get brake levers with a different cable pull. Normal Vs with appropriate drop bar levers work excellently.

rokkala

For what it's worth, I got a Fratello a month or so ago for a winter bike and it is great. Steel frame, it's been a very comfortable ride, even for longer distances.

Geometry is all very similar to their steel framed race bikes. Basically the head tube length is about 1cm longer, and longer chainstays.

As with all Condor though, it is slightly overpriced.

willharris10

Yup, that appears to be the issue. Gorgeous bike otherwise and I know the service would be fantastic.

Samson1

Tifosi CK7?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Tifos ... 360045766/

Plenty left over to upgrade levers etc.

Stanuel

Hmm, I read this post with interest given that I'm currently weighing up similar options...

All I have around at the moment is my Brompton for commuting but now that my lovely girlfriend has agreed that yes, it is perfectly reasonable for me to keep a bike in the kitchen I am on officially shopping for another bike!

I used to ride offroad a lot so am not looking for a 'summer/sunday best' bike but something for the road that is solid, comfortable and still fairly quick. Solid and comfy are more important as I'm looking at doing LEJOG at some point and a few centuries here and there but NO racing... I'm quite taken by the idea of discs and having something that will do bridleways and some bumps if needed but not been smitten by any of the CX bikes I've tried so am more on the touring/commuter path now.

Options are: Genesis Croix de Fer, Salsa Vaya or Casseroll, Kona Honky Inc or perhaps a Surly Cross Check. Oh, or a Condor Fratello. Basically the max budget is about £1400.

The Kona is ridiculously pretty but not sure how solid it would be and how well it would work with panniers given the short chainstays and high rack mounts (i.e. above discs).
The CdF looks sweet but have read it might be a bit of an anvil, the Fratello is also gorgeous but don't know how it would cope with fire roads or bridleways tbh. The Surly looks good but not sure if it would be that sprightly on tarmac with some slicks on it.

As you can see I've got a pretty long shortlist and am driving my better half loopy by talking about bikes so all input gratefully received!

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willharris10

Condor Agio would be a better bet and a better bike. Take a wider range of tyres so you have your bridlepaths covered. My Condor Bivio which is a cyclocross bike is superb and would also fit the bill. Good luck choosing, there are very few race geometry frames that can take panniers, fat tyres and remain suitable for LEJOG.