Panniers for a 2 week camping tour

jameshannay

Hi there,
I'm fairly new to bike touring in general but am planning a cycle round the outer isles of Scotland with a friend. We would be camping so would need to bring a tent, 2 sleeping bags, 2 roll mats, a stove, clothes, food and other things. The question is could we do a 2 week tour with back panniers or would we need front and back, or would one of us need back ones and the other need front and back ones. Plus which panniers should I get? What would be the best bike for a tour such as this one?
Many thanks, James

mercia_man

You could do it with rear panniers only. But front and rear panniers will balance the load and make for better handling.

You can't go wrong with Ortlieb or Carradice panniers.

As for bikes, people tour on anything. It all depends on your budget. A touring or trekker bike would be the best. Mudguards and waterproof panniers are a good idea for Scotland. Rigid mountain bikes can make a decent tourer on a low budget.

jameshannay

Thanks very much, very useful info.
What bike would you you recommend for a budget of about £300, I'd be riding on roads all the way so I would think relatively thin tyres would be better? Also, how easy is it to attach a front pannier rack to a bike?

mercia_man

A £300 budget is pretty tight. The best value proper touring bike is Edinburgh Cycles' Revolution Country Traveller. List price is £499 although you do sometimes see it on offer. It does come with mudguards and rear rack.

Just done a quick look at Evans Cycles website. I like the look of their Pinnacle Lithium One hybrid at £325. That has attachment points for mudguards and front and rear pannier racks but of course fitting those would add the best part of £100 to the bill. The Specialized Crossroads is the same sort of thing but a bit cheaper. Both those are rigid fork hybrids - you don't want suspension forks on a bike for road touring as they just add weight. They have flat bars as opposed to the drop bars of the Revolution.

As for front panniers, you can buy racks which bolt straight onto the forks if there is an attachment point. If there is no attachment point you can buy racks which clamp around the fork. Blackburn are a good make of rack and widely available although there are other good ones around.

Front panniers are not essential. I first went touring with a rigid fork mountain bike and rear panniers only. But handling is definitely improved if you can balance the weight.

ugo.santalucia

Your budget is unrealistic. 300 pounds doesn't buy you anything which will make it to the end of the road, let alone touring. You can scavenge the second hand market for a touring bike suitable in that price range, but forget about new.

If you can double the budget, then you could get a Dawes Galaxy. 900 for a Ridgeback Panorama, which is a good bike by all standards.
Finally, have a look at SPA cycles for offers on older stock... they don't stock crap, so anything will be good quality

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s21p0

For the panniers, Ortlieb... they are expensive and worth every penny

gloomyandy

You may want to take a look on the CTC forums, they have good advice on this sort of thing and this is also a good site to pick up used touring bikes and equipment. I've toured on my own camping around the Outer Hebrides with just rear panniers and given that there will be two of you sharing the gear you should be able to manage with a combination of rear panniers and gear on top of the rear rack. Depends how much you take though (you will almost certainly take too much!), and how lightweight/compact things are. I now tend to tour with less gear but four panniers as it gives me a better distribution of weight on the bike and makes packing easier and I have more room for food etc.

In terms of a bike and old (90's) mountain bike, with no suspension can often make the basis of a good touring setup at a low cost, but you need to check that it is in good condition. That's what I used for my first few tours.

Those islands are a fantastic place (though not to everyone's taste), with fantastic beaches, good roads and a long interesting history. The ferries and logistics make the trip seem more of an adventure. Some find them bleak and bad weather can make travelling and camping there a challenge, but I love them. For a report on my trip there and pictures etc. of my bike setup take a look at: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o= ... 10600&v=90

apreading

Its only a 2 week tour - you could do it on just about anything. You dont say what mileage you are talking about per day though?

Get a touch bike rather than a light one - and make sure you have a reasonable number of spokes (to minimise the likelihood of breakage/wheels going out of true if you hit a big bump and to allow you to ride a while without one if you do have a breakage - 32 or 36 spokes ideally)

If you are carrying alot of weight then you need good stopping power going downhill - make sure you have good brakes that you are comfortable using.

If you have a decathlon near you then might be worth looking there - cracking value for money. Personally, I dont like drop bars and with your budget I would take a look at the Carrrera Gryphon in Halfords (or even bettter ebay) - cracking value, pretty light, robust and dis brakes.

jameshannay

Thanks everyone for the advice, it has all been extremely helpful.
I realise that £300 is rather a tight budget for a decent touring bike but I'm 15 and don't have a great deal of money.
As for daily mileage we would be doing about 20 miles a day (so not much). I've been to the outer Hebrides before and thoroughly enjoyed it. I just felt that the trip had been a bit rushed so I'd love to go back again but this time with someone my own age - and a bike! I do like the look of the Carrera gryphon at halfords but would you be able to fit pannier racks to it? Also what would people recommend to see and do in the outer Hebrides during July?

mercia_man

The Carrera Gryphon looks like a decent bike but it only has a double compact chainset and a relatively small cassette - I think an 11-25. This means the gearing would be too high to tour comfortably with a load of camping gear, especially if you are going uphill or into a headwind. The Pinnacle Lythium One at Evans has a triple chainset, giving you the lower gears you need for touring. Another potential drawback with the Carrera is that it has disc brakes which make it more tricky to fit a rear rack for panniers although it does have the attachment points. It doesn't appear to have attachment points for a front rack.

Obviously, ugo is right to say that real touring bikes are better but the cost is much more and your budget is tight. Plenty of people do tour on basic bikes. And £300 will get you something that should cope fine with 20 mile days.

The outer Hebrides are fantastic if the weather is good. But it can rain a lot and is almost always windy, which can be a problem camping as you may have trouble finding a sheltered spot. The wind can be strong enough to blow tents down. Have a look at the Gatliff Trust hostels which are old stone houses proving basic accommodation. You can also camp next to them and use the facilities. My wife and I camped next to one at Howmore on South Uist. It was great.

Going in July will mean you will be at the mercy of midges. They can be a nightmare when camping. Take midge repellent and be prepared to spend evenings zipped up inside your tent if they are about.

Don't let this put you off. We love the outer Hebrides. I particularly recommend Barra. It's a beautiful island and a great circular ride.

If you haven't read it yet, I also recommend gloomyandy's blog account of his trip (mentioned above). If you like empty beaches of white sand and huge skies, you will love this area.

It's some years since my wife and I went there and I can remember having to stock up with food when we could as there were few shops and not much choice when you found one. Also there's not much choice for eating out, unless you live on sausage and chips. However, it may be there are more facilities nowadays.

jameshannay

Thanks for that advice it's all proving to be extremely useful for a young novice like myself! I was just wondering if we would easily be able to take bikes on a train we need to get to Oban from South west Scotland! I've also had a look at gloomyandy's excellent blog full of invaluable info!

mercia_man

Yes you can take bikes on trains but you need to book in advance. Check online with the train company which operates the route. You may have to book by old fashioned phone. Going on ferries is a lot less hassle! If you have time you could combine outer Hebrides with Skye, Ardnamurchan peninsula and Mull. That's what we did.

It's a glorious area for cycle touring as long as the weather is kind.

IrishMac

Have a look at Rosebikes.com for Ortlieb panniers, they're the best price I've seen if my memory is correct.

Unless you plan on doing a few bike tours, do your best to keep the budget low, bike touring only becomes a cheap holiday after the 2nd or 3rd one when you've already got all the kit

Don't forget a handlebar bag either, they're extremely useful. Get a good waterproof one (Ortlieb) that way, phones and other electronics can be put in worry free