Mountain Bike or Audax bike for 6 day tour?

spocky
spocky Posts: 67
edited June 2011 in Tour & expedition
Am going on 6 day tour in the Western Isles soon travelling light with about 35 ltrs of storage.

My dilema is which Bike to use.

Daily milage is easily within my capabilities 35 miles a day with my only real time restriction being my last day when I have to catch a train 32 miles away and have 3 and half hours to do it. Flat out I could do this in a Couple of hours without any luggage

Steel Audax Bike (Orbit with Veloce components) with Campag Khamsin wheels and Carbon Fibre Fork, Skinny tyres and ability to take rear rack and front handlebar bag. Has never let me down yet, many 100 milers etc. But have never carried this much stuff on it.

Giant Terago Mountain Bike with Slicks/Front suspension which can be locked. Again ability to take rear rack and front Handelebar bag. Fairly new Bike.

Any advice

Comments

  • satanas
    satanas Posts: 1,303
    edited June 2011
    Provided you won't be carrying 35 litres of bricks the audax bike should do the job fine. If you will be I'd like to know why! 32 miles in 3.5 hours is <10 mph so I would imagine that wouldn't be too difficult on the MTB either as long as there aren't massive headwinds. Still, if you're going to be riding on the road why take the MTB?
  • spocky
    spocky Posts: 67
    Was thinking that the wheels on the Audax Bike may not be strong enough?
  • satanas
    satanas Posts: 1,303
    How much weight - not volume - do you expect to carry, and what are the wheels exactly?

    Ultimately, you know better than anyone else what condition your parts are in, how much you will be carrying and how much of a tendency you have to break things - use your discretion. If paranoid, just take the MTB and don't worry about it.

    FWIW, I toured some time ago in the Alps on 28x32 hole Open Pros with 700x23 tyres and (light) front and rear panniers with no problems for a month. As long as you aren't extremely heavy, very careless and carrying a tonne you should be okay, particularly if using 28mm + tyres and not carrying masses of luggage. In 1983 I rode coast to coast in the USA on an audax bike with 28mm tyres with no problems; with a bit of care bikes are tougher than many people think.
  • spocky
    spocky Posts: 67
    Not much Weight. The only 'heavy' items will be a Camera and Binoculars. The rest will be clothes,Food,Toiletries,Tools etc

    The wheels are 20 hole Campag Khasim
  • satanas
    satanas Posts: 1,303
    As long as the wheels are in decent condition, you keep the weight under control and use reasonable tyres I see no reason why the bike shouldn't be fine. Of course, there's no way anyone can guarantee anything!
  • AidanR
    AidanR Posts: 1,142
    I've just come back from a tour where the two other guys were on steel audax bikes with Campag wheels just like yours, and they were both fine. I've done the Western Isles (on a steel audax bike, in fact!) and there's nothing to worry about in terms of road surface - not super smooth but in fairly decent nick. Personally I'd take the audax bike, particularly as it's been your weapon of choice for other long rides.
    Bike lover and part-time cyclist.
  • El Gordo
    El Gordo Posts: 394
    Either bike would be fine. If you're sticking to tarmac then take the audax - as people have said, as long as you're careful road bikes are pretty tough (although the brakes may be a bit lacking on a long, loaded, descent in the wet).

    If it were me though I might be tempted to take the MTB just in case I came across a nice looking dirt track. At 35 miles a day the sluggishness of the MTB isn't really a problem.

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