Best Touring Bike (up to £600)?

trekker66

Hi,

I was looking to get a touring bike for a one off ~2000 mile trip, I am fairly clued up on road bikes but know very little about touring bikes. Could anyone suggest a few good touring bikes, I know it will be a case of testing the bike out but a few pointers would be helpful.

Cheers

andrewjoseph

what type of touring you planning, cycle camping, credit card touring? How much equipment you plan to take will influence the type of bike.

Credit card touring (stopping at B&B's or hotels) can be managed on a road bike with a largish saddle bag.

Cycle camping will need racks and panniers, possibly front and rear.

if cycle camping, factor in racks, panniers, sleeping bags and pads, cooking gear etc.

trekker66

Touring across Australia, cycle camping so will need a sturdy bike with plenty of room for panniers.

Thanks

Hoopdriver

trekker66 wrote:

Touring across Australia, cycle camping so will need a sturdy bike with plenty of room for panniers.

Thanks

Are you going over the Top - via Darwin - or crossing the Nullarbor, down south?

andrewjoseph

trekker66 wrote:

Touring across Australia, cycle camping so will need a sturdy bike with plenty of room for panniers.

Thanks

is your £600 limit just for the bike? A good rack costs £50+, same for panniers, good tent £100 +.

do you already have a lightweight sleeping pad and bag? Both of these can cost over £50 each. Down sleeping bags pack down much smaller and weigh less than most synthetic, but cost a fair bit more. We got out sleeping stuff from Alpkit.

Get the best sleeping kit you can afford. Everything goes to pieces if you don't get a good nights sleep. Test your tent before you buy it.

i had cotswold outdoors get three tents in so I could try them in the shop. I chose the one that was not cycle camping specific, as i could not sit up straight in that one, another one was too short and my feet and head were pushing against the tent fabric.

andymiller

I think for that sort of trip you maybe should be budgeting to spend a bit more: although I guess that with some patience and savvy you could find something suitable on the secondhand market.

I hate to be a wet blanket, but if you don't know anything about touring bikes, so presumably have never toured before, are you sure that 2,000 miles across Australia is a good choice for a first tour?

culverwood

You will not be breaking any records so for the price limit you have given I would suggest a hardtail mountain bike. Get some road/touring tyres and you are away as long as the frame is big enough and it has rack fixings. You will need to try it all out before you start. Make sure your first weeks are not to difficult so fly into Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.

If you have not already done so check out http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewforum.php?f=2

welshman777

I've been having the same dilema..the £600 mark has quite a few models now available including ridgeback, raleigh and
this one at edinborough co op

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... ring-bikes

however, youre looking to do 2000 miles so might need something more robust.. i guess you could update the rack on this for tubus etc

alternatively you could get a surly LHT frame for £350 online and build up the bits from there. that would get you your £600 budget maybe??

welshman777

also check out bob jackson cycles. An off the peg tour frame will be £505 then obviously wheels etc. However you could have it set up with all the extra braze ons you need. You'll definately need three bottle cage holders and maybe a holder for an ortlieb waterbag or similar?

trekker66

Thanks for the replies, the LBS suggested a Giant Seek, Giant cross city RX or a Giant Transend....

Hoopdriver

trekker66 wrote:

Thanks for the replies, the LBS suggested a Giant Seek, Giant cross city RX or a Giant Transend....

Why didn't you ask them in the first place?

welshman777

Thanks for the replies, the LBS suggested a Giant Seek, Giant cross city RX or a Giant Transend....

Sounds like a good choice, although I'd be wary of disc brakes, getting them fixed in the Aussie countryside might be interesting!!