Cyclo/Tourer/Road?

MrTibbs

Hi!

I'm looking for ONE bike that's going to be able to suit my needs. I commute fairly long distance to work, I currently have a hybrid that I've been using for years and years which has racked up thousands and thousands of miles. It's now time for a new bike.

Now, I cycle with panniers and I'm looking for a bike that I can go long-distance touring with, but is quick enough to ping me to work in good time. I've researched the cyclo-cross bikes but have read conflicting information about how useful they are geometery-wise for long distance touring. But they seem faster and lighter for the more regular commuting that I'll be undertaking. I've looked at fast road bike bikes, but it seems only the cheaper bikes have the ability to attach panniers - I guess performance frames aren't really designed for loading up.

Has anyone else had the same requirements and found a compromise? Or anyone fancy imparting some advice or knowledge?

Hoopdriver

A nice lightweight tourer or Audax should do you. They combine all the things you (and I, too) like. They also look nice too, in my opinion, combining the light fast lines of a road bike with the long-haul capabilities that can take yo aces. For me such a bike was m dream bike and I was happy to spend good money on it - i commisioned Mark Reilly at Enigma to make me a lugged steel lightweight tourer and I absolutely love it.

Monty Dog

There is a big difference between a genuine CX race bike and the more more common CX / do-all bikes. For laden use, touring frames will have a low bottom bracket whereas a race CX will have a BB as much as 10mm higher to give extra ground clearances. Suggest you compare geometries of different frames and have some test rides. I have 3 CX bikes and I love their versatility - stable handling for chucking around singletrack trails, tough and comfortable enought to ride 100 miles off road and yet with some lightweight wheels, can hold pace the fast road rides. The circumnavigation record has just been broken by someone riding a Planet-X Dirty Disco.

graham_g

What kind of touring? Distance isn't really all that relevant (other than needing something comfortable!), what's important is how much stuff you intend on carrying! If your touring is with a couple of panniers at no more than 10kg total then you'll be grand with your one bike, but don't expect to be able to carry a load of camping kit on a bike that's 'nice and quick' for the commute!

Hoopdriver

Graham G wrote:

What kind of touring? Distance isn't really all that relevant (other than needing something comfortable!), what's important is how much stuff you intend on carrying! If your touring is with a couple of panniers at no more than 10kg total then you'll be grand with your one bike, but don't expect to be able to carry a load of camping kit on a bike that's 'nice and quick' for the commute!

Not necessarily. You can over-analyse these things. I rode a solo, unsupported 10,000-mile trek around Australia on an aluminium-framed Cannondale with 700c wheels, carrying all my camping gear and as much as 23 litres of water on some of the tougher desert crossings. It worked out all right. And it was certainly light and fast enough for fun runnng about both before and after the trip. Sure, it us not suitable for racing but we are talking about a fun runabout here

huuregeil

Hoopdriver, yes, you're right (you can do most things on most bikes), but Graham G does have a point - "zip" vs suitability for the task in hand basically boils down to intended load carrying. Get this right (across your spectrum of intended usage) and your frame will be stiff enough so that it doesn't ride like a dog when laden, and light enough that it has zip when unladen. MrTibbs, this screams for a custom steel frame IMO! If off the shelf is the only option (for budget reasons) then, as Hoopdriver says, an audax/light-tourer is likely to be spot on.

graham_g

Hoopdriver wrote:

Graham G wrote:

What kind of touring? Distance isn't really all that relevant (other than needing something comfortable!), what's important is how much stuff you intend on carrying! If your touring is with a couple of panniers at no more than 10kg total then you'll be grand with your one bike, but don't expect to be able to carry a load of camping kit on a bike that's 'nice and quick' for the commute!

Not necessarily. You can over-analyse these things. I rode a solo, unsupported 10,000-mile trek around Australia on an aluminium-framed Cannondale with 700c wheels, carrying all my camping gear and as much as 23 litres of water on some of the tougher desert crossings. It worked out all right. And it was certainly light and fast enough for fun runnng about both before and after the trip. Sure, it us not suitable for racing but we are talking about a fun runabout here

It's a fair point, but I was thinking in terms of the road bike based frames/components - whilst they might make do, there's an increased risk of things going wrong.

unixnerd

My nephew just bought a Ridley Eos and I was surprised to find it had mudguard eyelets and seatstay mounts for a rack. Nice bike and not bad price wise.

MrTibbs

Hi all, thanks for the replies and advice!

Touring wise - I'd love to be able to take enough gear for light camping - using a couple of rear panniers.

I tried the Tifosi Audex at a bike shop:

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Tifosi-CK7-Auda ... =Froogle02

Really nice ride, and nippy.... however, they stuck me on the Giant Defy 1 - that is a nice bike. They went on to say I could stick a rack on it, but as it doesn't have top eyelets for securing a rack, I'd need to either use P-clips(?) or attach rack to the brake mechanism.

CX bike-wise, I looked at the Cannondale CAAD 8/10 cyclo cross bike. Though haven't had a ride on it yet. I'll also check out the RIdley.

One other thing to throw into the mix as well, someone mentioned using a trailer for touring and buying any bike I wanted, sound advice? Feel like it might be a bit of effort dragging one along...

Hoopdriver

I wouldn't mess with trailers. Too awkward and too heavy, especially since you would be more likely to oack more given the xtra capacity

On the other hand, I would get a bike with eyelet for securing a rack. You can fit on racks in other ways but thisis the most secure and if you expect to carry heavier loads, if,say, you ar going to be camping rather than staying in hostels or B&Bs, this could be important.

If you just want very ligh touring and are not camping you can get away with just a handlebar bag and one of the more commodious saddlebags, such as the Carradice Super-C with a Bagman support which attaches to the rails of your saddle.

indysmith

Try these:

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/cro ... oix-de-fer

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/cross_check

http://chargebikes.com/bikes/filterapex/

markos1963

Sorry for the hijack but I'm about to ask a similar question. I want a commuter bike that can haul plenty of stuff(I'm looking at living without a car) but will handle some touring, B&B style not camping and winter training. Obvious requirements are mudguards, rack mounts, good range of gears(triple chainset would be nice), disc brakes seem to make sense for this bike. My budget is limited, £800 and my cycle scheme is being run through Evans. So really the question is CX or tourer and which one?