can I put panniers on a Ralaigh Airlite 300? (and should I?)

martian
martian Posts: 8
edited January 2012 in Road beginners
Hi all,

I'm fairly new to this, so apologies if this is a stupid question. I've recently had a road bike stolen (that I had for years) and am wanting to replace it.

I've been looking at the Airlite 300 (http://www.evanscycles.com/products/ral ... 9#delivery), but am also keen to get something I could go on long trips with and add a rack and panniers. Would this be possible with this bike? If so, how hard would it be to mount on and off? And would it damage my forks?

is that even a good bike to be considering?

My local bike shop told me that they would sell me this Claude Butler touring bike and throw in free panniers for £600. Does that seem like a better option: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cla ... e-ec027603

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Comments

  • rake
    rake Posts: 3,204
    thats really the wrong kind of bile for panniers . look at audax or touring bikes, racing bikes arent really strong enough for that kind of duty. Its like taking golf clubs to a darts match.
  • denzzz28
    denzzz28 Posts: 315
    + 1 on touring bikes,
  • thegibdog
    thegibdog Posts: 2,106
    It looks like you could fit a 3 point rack to the Raleigh as it's got mudguard mounts but like rake said it probably wouldn't be the best bike for your purpose. The Claud Butler does seem like a better option although it seems low spec for the money. There are plenty of audax and touring options out the, for similar money you could have something like this: http://www.chamberlainecycles.co.uk/m7b ... RS_GB/9904
    https://gibworth.mypixieset.com
  • martian
    martian Posts: 8
    Is that Claude Butler a good one then? Thanks again!
  • martian
    martian Posts: 8
    thegibdog wrote:
    It looks like you could fit a 3 point rack to the Raleigh as it's got mudguard mounts but like rake said it probably wouldn't be the best bike for your purpose. The Claud Butler does seem like a better option although it seems low spec for the money. There are plenty of audax and touring options out the, for similar money you could have something like this: http://www.chamberlainecycles.co.uk/m7b ... RS_GB/9904

    Thanks for this. Do you think the Dawes bike is the worth the extra over the Claud Butler then. The Dawes bike doesn't seem to have a rack. Are they hard to fit? Could you link me to one I would use for this bike. Thanks again very much. This is extremely helpful.
  • thegibdog
    thegibdog Posts: 2,106
    I mentioned the Dawes as it got a good review on road.cc for being good over long distances:
    http://road.cc/content/review/33557-daw ... century-se . Any standard rack should be straightforward to fit to it.

    I haven't seen any reviews of the Claud Butler but did find it quite a bit cheaper than £600 if you search on Google

    It depends on what you're after really. If you want something for easy paced touring then I'm sure the Claud Butler would be ok, however it's more fast paced/lightweight touring then the Dawes would be my choice.
    https://gibworth.mypixieset.com
  • martian
    martian Posts: 8
    Hi. Thanks again for your thoughts. I've been recommended this bike: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cha ... 85#reviews

    Do you think that this might be a good alternative to the Dawes? Would it be suitable for a rack occasionally if I wanted to do a multi-day tour?

    Thanks again!

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