Paris to Rome

ohara227

Hi,

As part of a charity fund raiser my cousin and a few others are thinking about cycling from Paris to Rome. I appreciate I best get a lot of practice in before July next year.

I have a full suspension bike (2008 Giant Trance X2) which I do not reckon would be ideal with panniers etc. Can anyone suggest a good ride sub £400 which would suit road cycling with panniers etc? If its a definate go I would like to buy the bike before the end of the year (perhaps in the sales) so I can get used to it, in the mean time I think ill change the tyres on the trance and get out in these light nights.

Anyone done this route, or any routes to suggest?

Cheers in advance

ohara227

I like the look of this, I do have a Land Rover and hopefully the bike is built the same (some would say hopefully not!)

Are they any good?

http://www.bike4it.co.uk/Land-Rover-Tow ... e.tpl.html

lae

Would you buy a car built by Raleigh?

Only joking. It doesn't look like too bad a bike, but really it's a city bike, not a touring bike.

It's overkill. You don't need a suspension fork on paved roads at all, it's just added weight. Same with the dynamo lights - unless you plan on cycling at night, it'll suffice just to take some small light battery lights just in case.

Furthermore the handlebars won't give many hand positions, which is what you want on a tourer. Drop handlebars, or butterfly bars, give the most hand positions. And the frame is aluminium - steel is preferred for touring bikes because it's springy and therefore more comfortable.

The geometry (the shape of the frame and therefore also the rider) might not be right for a touring bike either. Being a city bike, it looks a bit too upright, and whilst a long seatpost could cure it, it probably won't be as good as a purpose-designed touring bike.

And whilst I do like hub gears, I'd be concerned that they weigh too much. And I'd check the gear range too - generally on a touring bike you want lower gearing to get you up those long hills with luggage on the back. That said, your top-end gearing doesn't need to be very high at all so you could change the chainring/rear cog to bring the whole range down a bit.


Personally if I was after a tourer for sub £400, I'd look for something like the (legendary) Dawes Super Galaxy, secondhand through a bike shop or forum or on ebay.

ohara227

Great response and tips, I shall investigate further.

Cheers!