What touring bike to buy?

Hi all,
This is my first time posting on the site and I am very new to the biking world so forgive my ignorance.
So anyway here's the story. A few of my buddys have planned a cycling tour this summer in Spain from Barcelona to Madrid and they have asked me to come along. Problem is I am starting from scratch and dont own a decent bike yet.
They all went last year for their first long tour from Paris to Munich and bought new bikes. Two of them bought Trek 1.2 with a granny cog, rear bags and handle bar bags. One had a heavier touring bike. I am leaning towards the Trek 1.2 type bike with a similiar setup becasue I feel I would get more day to day use out of the lighter bike when i return from the trip.
So basically I am looking for some advice on what to buy. A few things I would need is the ability to carry bags on the back and handlebars aswell as a tent and a few camping bits. I also need to be able to keep up with the more experienced bikers!!!! hahaha but i suppose that is more down to my fitness than the bike. The cheaper the bike the better but the max I can afford to spend on bike plus bags and bits is 900 euro (800 pounds).
Any suggestions would be a great help.
Thanks
This is my first time posting on the site and I am very new to the biking world so forgive my ignorance.
So anyway here's the story. A few of my buddys have planned a cycling tour this summer in Spain from Barcelona to Madrid and they have asked me to come along. Problem is I am starting from scratch and dont own a decent bike yet.
They all went last year for their first long tour from Paris to Munich and bought new bikes. Two of them bought Trek 1.2 with a granny cog, rear bags and handle bar bags. One had a heavier touring bike. I am leaning towards the Trek 1.2 type bike with a similiar setup becasue I feel I would get more day to day use out of the lighter bike when i return from the trip.
So basically I am looking for some advice on what to buy. A few things I would need is the ability to carry bags on the back and handlebars aswell as a tent and a few camping bits. I also need to be able to keep up with the more experienced bikers!!!! hahaha but i suppose that is more down to my fitness than the bike. The cheaper the bike the better but the max I can afford to spend on bike plus bags and bits is 900 euro (800 pounds).
Any suggestions would be a great help.
Thanks
0
Posts
I also extended the gear cable outers so they don't interfere with her bar bag.
The bike seems pretty stable with a pannier load of about 10kg-12kg, I wouldn't want to go much more than that. When we tour I take the tent and heavy stuff.
For general road riding when not touring, I fitted some Planet-X model B wheels and some lighter tyres and tubes - saved about 1kg on wheel weight and the bike flies!
If you need to take a heavier load I would go for a proper tourer that has front rack ability and space for fatter tyres with mudguards, and which has 36 spoke wheels, but if you travel light-ish the Trek should be great.
If you want a dedicated tourer then Edinburgh Cycles Country Traveller and Country Explorer are probably the best budget options, otherwise look at Spa Cycles for good prices on Dawes models like Karakum, Horizon and Galaxy.
Get the lightest rack you can get and I’d recommend waterproof panniers, saves you having to stop and pull over the cover every time you get caught in a shower. Also get the lightest tent possible and a sleeping bag you can make as small as possible, we got most of our gear from Decathlon great quality and reasonably priced. You won’t find a French campsite that isn’t full Decathlon tents.
As for gears I ended up with a double cog at the front but would recommend a triple had a couple of times where I wish I could have dropped into a lower gear especially in the Alps and Pyrenees.
The other thing I would look out for is the strength of the wheels and quality of the parts. My mates went for Giant FCR’s and went through loads of spokes and a bottom bracket each, only reason I can think of is poorly built wheels and low quality parts. I’m still to break a spoke or replace any major parts on my Specialized after three long tours. Always carry spare spokes and a spoke key even if you get to a bike shop you’re not guaranteed they’ll have the right ones.
Hope that helps, Jonny.
Twitter: http://twitter.com//ChallengeJonny
Several things to bear in mind:
Only the Brits seem to be fixated on drop barred touring bikes. Most of the tourers I see in France are flat barred. Don't exclude them from your considerations.
Having a triple ring does not in itself make a good tourer, the size of the granny ring and the largest rear sprocket on the cassette determines the ease of making it up hills with minimal effort. The Trek will probably need a change of rear mech, cassette and granny ring to add to the cost.
Lightweight gear would be helpful but this comes at a price.
A good starting place would be to look at Spa Cycles www.spacycles.co.uk
A Dawes Vantage costs £600 there. Has everything apart from lighting.
Decathlon sell the Riverside tourer - well appointed including racks mudguards and hub dynamo lighting for £600. I have a close relative of the bike which I bought in France when my Dawes Galaxy snapped its frame. I have been pleasantly surprised by its comfort and versatility. I ride 100km Audaxes on it as well as tour.
Edinburgh Bike Co-operative sell the Revolution Country traveller at £500. Has everything apart from lighting.
Fitting a bar bag can be problematic on drop bar bikes because they can get in the way of cables.
After the bike you only have £200-£300 left for the panniers, tent and sleeping bag. Decathlon could be your friend as they have a decent two man tent - (always buy one man's worth more than you need for comfort) Quechua T2 for £80
Panniers - have a look around I still have some cheap Halfords ones that served me well for three tours. They are tatty but would do another tour.. I now use Carradice canvas ones but they cost £100+. Decathlon are likely to have some and you might get a sleeping bag while you are at it.
Lightweight bikes can let you down through broken spokes and a feeling of unease when the frame flexes - I've been there. Getting something to meet your primary need i.e. touring is a better bet than compromising on durabilty and comfort by buying a road bike.
However I have been on group tours with someone riding a Trek 1.2 triple with P Clips and a seat post conversion to take a rack ( about a fiver for the P clips on the seatstays and £10 for the seat post rack converter / from wiggle I think) and it did the business and as you say gave him a nice training/ fitness bike for other days.
There is a poster on here somewhere called iIPETE who I think as got the neatest solution I ve seen for touring using an Allez. Looks great, I m sure if you PM'd him he would give you some good advice. ( I ve pointed others in his direction through my Way of the Roses C2C post and he's always responded positively)
Sounds like a great tour. Have you got any route advice, wouldn't mind giving it a go myself and the Wifes got mates in Getafe/ Madrid and might stomach a pass if she gets some time out there.
Alphablue is right though. You wouldnt want too much (20 KG Plus) Weight on the back as it will really affect handling.
Might think about a higher count spoke pattern wheel as well or at least a change to a 28 mm tyre if you have the clearance.
Personally I don't think the bike weight is that big a deal for touring - it's a different style of riding and you are carrying a lot anyway. But I guess you need to think about other uses. I also use the Ridgeback for commuting or travelling about town. Really good and the touring wheels absorb a lot of nonsense on road surface and the weight doesn't bothr me at all.
Echo the comments above about Edinburgh Bicycle bikes and also about flat bars - but I personally like the drops because of the variety in positions. But then I'm a roadie anyway
As always, go try a few.
>> Domane Four Series > Ridgeback Voyage
Personally I don't think the bike weight is that big a deal for touring - it's a different style of riding and you are carrying a lot anyway. But I guess you need to think about other uses. I also use the Ridgeback for commuting or travelling about town. Really good and the touring wheels absorb a lot of nonsense on road surface and the weight doesn't bothr me at all.
Echo the comments above about Edinburgh Bicycle bikes and also about flat bars - but I personally like the drops because of the variety in positions. But then I'm a roadie anyway
As always, go try a few.
>> Domane Four Series > Ridgeback Voyage
As per the previous poster, I can also highly recommend the Ridgeback Voyage, if you do want a full touring bike. I purchased one last year to use for touring when I want to camp, and in fact I will be using this for a Way of the Roses trip this weekend. It is very comfortable, and has very low gears fitted; this means any hill is fine, even when fully loaded.
Is it worth buying a second hand bike or would the price difference be minimial?
Try asking on the road classifieds here, and also look on eBay, but don't get in a bidding war on eBay as a lot of items sell well over the odds. Personally I think the classifieds here is a nicer place to buy, if the seller has a good posting history here (i.e. they have been around some time, posted a fair bit and haven't disgraced themselves) they are likely to be sound.
If you are doing ultralight camping you can use 28mm. Some people get away with 25mm but you need to ride more carefully over bumps. My choice of tyre would be 32mm.
This makes a difference because tyre width is limitted by clearance at the frame, forks and brakes. If you want a lightweight road-style I would advise one with long-drop callipers rather than racing style standard drop.
Most touring bikes use cantilever brakes because they offer more tyre clearance and can just about work with road brake levers. They are not more powerful.
Make sure you can use a bolt-on luggage rack , they are stronger and lighter than clamp-on racks.
The suggestion to consider flat bars is a useful one. It is difficult to get road bars to work with the smallest gears (just about possible but difficult) or with good modern brakes. Moving to flat bars solves all the integration problems and you can still use clip-on aerobars.
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... 155c018343
I bought one almost ten years ago and it's been superb, have done about 8k miles on it trouble free. Back in the UK it makes a great commuter or winter bike. It has a nice high 48x11 top gear (I've done over 40mph on mine a few times) and a good low granny gear for big hills with a load. It's well built but not too heavy for what it does. The saddle on mine is marvellous. There's no need to spend more on this kind of bike.
In particular I like Shimano Sora for this style of bike. You'll spend most of your time on the hoods and it's perfect for that. I've never had to adjust or fiddle with the gears in all the years I've had the bike and it's been used in all weathers. Only change I'd make is to fit lighter, thinner tyres (I use 28mm) when the originals wear out.
Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!
Both bought these similar to your own needs, as starter bikes for touring. I myself have a Thorn XTC for touring which is comparable to the Hewitt, another superb bike but it depends how much you are willing to invest.
Best wishes whatever you choose.
http://amzn.to/1IGXmUg Cycle Touring: Your Guide to Everything Bike Touring
http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/bike/cerium/features