Touring Bikes and Summer Trip

tbutterworth

I ride road alot anyway but am planning a ride in the summer to Spain with my girlfriend. i have a road bike but need to get my hands on a decent touring bike each. But i have little knowledge on what i should be looking for any how much to spend?

Not planning on getting anything new and not too expensive. Anyone give me any advice on what i should be looking for?

Gadge

I suppose the standard advice would be to get a Dawes Galaxy second hand on Ebay.
You should get a decent pair for £500 and should be able to resell them easily afterwards.

This is where you tell me that although you haven't mentioned it in your original post you have a phobia of drop handlebars and she can only buy bikes from manufacturers with no more than four characters in their name. Only kidding .

But seriously.....first decide whether you will be credit card touring. If so, maybe you already have a suitable bike although you will still need to fit a rack on it unless you want a hot sweaty back all day long from a rucksack.

Bear in mind that if she is not a very experienced cyclist, she may feel safer on an MTB with flats and easy to find brakes.

tbutterworth

Actually, i road race and she's a triathlete, we just neither know much about touring bikes and where to get a good deal. I've read a lot of reviews and Dawes galaxy does seem like the ones to look for.

Defiantly panniers, hate riding with a backpack it sucks.