Recommend Me a NOT Racing Bike

Roger_This
Roger_This Posts: 136
edited September 2012 in Road buying advice
I'm looking for a bike that'll be good on the road and comfortable on uneven Sustrans paths - 700c wheels, 32mm tyres, that kind of thing; something that will take full mudguards and a rear rack; a good range of gears including lows for steep hills (I'm not as young as I was); costs £500 - £650 ish. Comfortable enough for 4 or 5 day trips. Drops or flats, I'm open to persuasion.

Any takers?

Comments

  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Edinburgh Revolution Country Traveller?
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    On Strava.{/url}
  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    +1 for the Edinburgh Country. Done 10,000 trouble free miles on mine and it's very comfy. They now do a disc version, I'd pay the extra for it as it also has a higher level groupset. The cantilever brakes on mine were the bikes weakest point. Their own brand panniers are good too.

    The wheels and tyres are designed for carrying 50kg loads so they're heavy. I fitted lighter wheels and 28mm tyres when the originals wore out.
    http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
    Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
    Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!
  • Roger_This
    Roger_This Posts: 136
    Thanks for the swift responses. Fascinating, because the assistant in the Edinburgh (branch) Bike Co-op said he wouldn't recommend it, and guided me to the Specialized Tricross instead, a bike that ticks all the boxes EXCEPT the low gears, as I've discovered the hard way.

    I seem to have a choice of replacing the rear cassette with an 11-32 (plus new rear mech, and I'm not sure if the extra three gears will do the trick)) or replace the bike. Bah.

    Oh and thanks somebody for moving this to the correct forum!
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Why did he say he wouldn't recommend it?

    Anyway, isn't the Tricross outside your budget unless you manage to find an example of last year's model?
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    On Strava.{/url}
  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    The Tricross is lighter. But the Country has the option of disc brakes, has proper mudguards and comes with a rack. I've had my Country up to 48mph, it's not a slow bike and it's very stable.
    http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
    Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
    Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!
  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    As pointed out in the commuting forum, this is outstanding for the money and ticks all your boxes

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-filter-apex-2012/
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Don't forget that the Specialized and Charge bikes don't come with mudguards and rack, so they actually work out £40 or £50 more expensive.
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    On Strava.{/url}
  • Roger_This
    Roger_This Posts: 136
    DesWeller wrote:
    Why did he say he wouldn't recommend it?

    Anyway, isn't the Tricross outside your budget unless you manage to find an example of last year's model?

    Afraid I don't recall his reasoning. I got a whack off the bike in the EBC sale (it may still have been a bit over my new budget!)
  • Roger_This
    Roger_This Posts: 136
    PeteMadoc wrote:
    As pointed out in the commuting forum, this is outstanding for the money and ticks all your boxes

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-filter-apex-2012/

    Shows how subjective this is - the lowest gear on that bike is 38:28 (or 1:1.357), which is out of my league for long days on the hills with bags. The lowest on my Tricross is 30:26 (1:1.15). By comparison the EBC tourer goes down to 26:32 (I:0.8125).
  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    Roger_This wrote:
    PeteMadoc wrote:
    As pointed out in the commuting forum, this is outstanding for the money and ticks all your boxes

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-filter-apex-2012/

    Shows how subjective this is - the lowest gear on that bike is 38:28 (or 1:1.357), which is out of my league for long days on the hills with bags. The lowest on my Tricross is 30:26 (1:1.15). By comparison the EBC tourer goes down to 26:32 (I:0.8125).

    The description states that it comes with mudguards, however it looks like there are no rack mounts which is a let down. Not exactly sure what this bike is for? Too heavy for cross and no rack mounts. Winter bike? dunno? Looks nice though :)

    As for gearing I'm sure that's easily sorted out

    Don't genesis do anything suitable?
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    PeteMadoc wrote:
    Roger_This wrote:
    PeteMadoc wrote:
    As pointed out in the commuting forum, this is outstanding for the money and ticks all your boxes

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-filter-apex-2012/

    Shows how subjective this is - the lowest gear on that bike is 38:28 (or 1:1.357), which is out of my league for long days on the hills with bags. The lowest on my Tricross is 30:26 (1:1.15). By comparison the EBC tourer goes down to 26:32 (I:0.8125).

    The description states that it comes with mudguards, however it looks like there are no rack mounts which is a let down. Not exactly sure what this bike is for? Too heavy for cross and no rack mounts. Winter bike? dunno? Looks nice though :)

    Which one? All 3 have rack mount points don't they?

    TBH I don't see how you can look past the EBC bike; 8-speed, which lasts forever, rack and mudguards included and all for £150 to £200 less than the other two.
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    On Strava.{/url}

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