What's the best touring bike for the money?
ricktabor1
Posts: 272
Hi everyone,
I've been looking at touring bikes recently. I've done a couple of short tours over the past two years and i'm looking at doing a bit of a tour, incorporating the C2C Hadrians wall route into it, this year.
I was wondering if there is a general concensus on the best touring bike. I like the Kona Sutra but the Cannondale Touring Classic / Tessoro Classic is nice too, then there's the Dawes Galaxy option......mmm too many nice bikes not enough money!
What does everyone think?
I've been looking at touring bikes recently. I've done a couple of short tours over the past two years and i'm looking at doing a bit of a tour, incorporating the C2C Hadrians wall route into it, this year.
I was wondering if there is a general concensus on the best touring bike. I like the Kona Sutra but the Cannondale Touring Classic / Tessoro Classic is nice too, then there's the Dawes Galaxy option......mmm too many nice bikes not enough money!
What does everyone think?
Got to get up to get down
0
Posts
I'd consider a custom option.
Carbon 456
456 lefty
Pompino
White Inbred
I'd start by working out exactly what you're looking for by considering broad questions: how long are you going to be on the road for; how much luggage; will the bike be used for other purposes?
Any recommendations on a decent stock frame?
I'd prefer aluminium. I know it's not great when you need a weld and you don't know how to say 'MIG welding' in the native tongue! I like the weight aspect. Could be persuaded otherwise if I knew of a light weight steel frame though.
Your main initial decision should be on wheel size, 700c or 26"?
Weight, in the raw bike sense is a non issue with tourers - steel is absolutely the way to go. The only time weight rears its head is as a result of frame stiffness: put too much luggage on a frame that's not stiff enough (i.e. not heavy enough, but that's a non issue as ralex says, a few hundred grams is literally nothing in the grand scheme of things!), and you'll have an unpleasant ride. Conversely, an un- or lightly- loaded expedition tourer (i.e. a heavy bike) will not be particularly sprightly and may feel too stiff. Getting the right frame for your intended usage is the key. Again, you've really got to ask yourself, exactly what are you going to do with the bike, where are you going with it, what will you be carrying?
In terms of off-the-peg frame ideas: Hewitt, Bob Jackson, Mercian, Ellis Briggs, Thorn to name a few. If you're looking at a full custom frame (which, if you've got the cash, you should, because fit is really important!), you could also include Roberts, Dave Yates in that list, but there are others too.
I've seen some of the Thorn frames and I've looked at Mercian bikes in the past. I've never really checked any of the other listed out. Looks like I've got some serious net surfing to do.
The seat it came with was bog standard but I guess that’s because it’s the first thing people change as it’s a very personal thing, but for me its been an incredible machine.
Good luck and I hope you find the right bike for you.
Every item in the build can be specified to your choice. I got one with a Tiagra/Deore setup with Campag Linear Pull brakes.
Typical English club-touring bikes come with room for 32mm , maybe 35mm tyres. This is fine for most European riding and I've taken my 32mm down some MTB trails fully loaded. US-style or expedition tourers have more generous clearance, useful if you plan to head further afield.
A lot of off the shelf tourer come with road triple chainsets which may be too high for loaded touring.
Typical English club-touring bikes come with room for 32mm , maybe 35mm tyres. This is fine for most European riding and I've taken my 32mm down some MTB trails fully loaded. US-style or expedition tourers have more generous clearance, useful if you plan to head further afield.
A lot of off the shelf tourer come with road triple chainsets which may be too high for loaded touring.
I've always bought frames and done my own custom builds. But a pre-built bike can offer a very good deal as opposed to buying components singly - so do your sums before you decide. You can always sell bits that you don't want on eBay (unused bits fetch very good prices).
I have just bought a Condor Heritage frame and built it up myself. I found that for about the same money you can pick the exact spec you want and get a much better bike than getting some good components and making concessions in other areas of an off the peg built bike. i.e. handbuilt wheels (very impressed by the ones I got), really good tubus rack and the odd deal like the ultegra 9 speed/triple shifters for new with cables etc for £110!!!
I assume a 10Kilo racing bike is quite capable of carrying a 16/17 stone rider long distances. If you are say 14 stone, that gives 12kilo of luggage allowance. A lot! You can buy a good almost new modern bike for £400 off e-bay. Stick a bigger rear tyre on if needed and a wider range cassette, plus a rack=£50ish. If you want a stronger rear wheel? Ok. Another £50 tops. Away you go.
I disagree with the "weight doesn't matter" approach and frankly there is nothing wrong with aluminium for a tourer. Every extra 500g hurts and I take a lot of care in only packing the minimum I need. Others may not be so concerned with weight and load up. My lightest tour was the Raid Pyrénéen and I got my racer and luggage in at around 11kg (7.5+3.5.) That is the weight of my touring bike unloaded. I am glad I did it this way; an extra 4-5kg would have hurt up the mountains.
This is absolutely not to rule out steel, great material for the application and often not actually that much of a weight penalty (most is actually in the fork), but nothing wrong with aluminium either and indeed it may be a better choice for you if you are concerned about weight which is a perfectly valid concern.
With large tyres you are not going to notice any supposed harshness out of the frame material. I notice frames on 700x23c racing tyres. Not on 700x28c or larger. I have toured on a steel city bike (long time ago), aluminium hybrids, drop bar aluminium (absolutely fine) and currently, titanium (a Van Nicholas Amazon.)
Also agree with bigjim, unless you are really getting into it you can tour on anything. I know a bunch of guys who cycled to China on aluminium Trek hybrids. They were fine. I have done short tours (800km around Ireland, the Raid Pyrénéen) on my racer with a saddlebag. It is titanium but I'd be as happy using carbon and know at least one Thorn owner who uses his carbon bike for light touring up mountains.
I also don't think custom built is particularly necessary; my own tourer was the VN frame+the group off a road bike which I crashed. I did change the wheels and add mudguards and the rack. Custom gives you the choice to specify whatever you need but as Andy says you can often save money with a package and the likes of the Cannondale spec seem all round very sensible, you would have to look at it and ask yourself what if anything on that bike needs changing. Looking at it myself I think I would prefer wide-profile cantis and if that is a suspension seatpost I would dump it for a rigid one. But again that is all personal preference. The only big issue with that bike is whether the road triple gearing with 30-27 minimum is sufficient for your needs. It is for me, just about, but may not be for others; I have certainly had moments going uphill on a long loaded tour when I would have preferred MTB gearing.
There is no best touring bike. What is good for one rider is an absolute no no for another. You have to do your research making sure the bike meets the needs for which you require it. A touring bike suitable for travelling the flat and mountains of mainland Europe maybe not be suitable for taking you and your belongings the length of the Andes or through the Amazon in South America or through the depths of Africa.
Think how stupid the average person is.......
half of them are even more stupid than you first thought.
just leaving on wed morning to do the northumberland round 220 miles fully loaded, can,t wait
dawes karakum, does exactly what it says on the tin.
regards
I'd take care with your wheels though, I got my back wheel built at hewitts, Campag record hub on open 4CD, it's just done it's third tour and it's still perfect.
http://americanbicyclegroup.wordpress.com
The more clicks I get the higher it creeps up the google radar
There are some great off the peg tourers available but as has already been said, if you build up your own there is no compromises on anything
Simon
I have been riding a Thorn XTC since 2004, several thousand miles and can't fault it, superbly smooth and comfortable . Thorn even replaced the stem for a 10 mm shorter one 18 months after I bought it -- excellent customer attention and advice.
That said two friends ride a Ridgeback Voyager and an Edinburgh Revolution County, again they have both accompanied me on many rides, had these bike for some time and they are also very good bikes at a lesser price. If it's a touring bike you want then get one specific to your requirements and budget. With a decent frame you can always upgrade everything else as the original parts wear out.
I've just done C2C and back - Reivers and HCW - on a bog standard Giant Defy road bike. I really don't see the point of buying a tourer unless you are planning some really heavy stuff, e.g. North Sea Route. My bike can handle most things other than nasty off-road, and was just as well behaved fully-loaded with panniers as it is on a Sunday sportive. If you're planning a C2C, you don't need a tourer.