Be so grateful for advice

Meltuly

I am going for an extended trip across Europe. I need a bike that comes with mud guards and rack or a bike I can fit them on myself .
I need a multi terrain bike . Quite rugged and can be ridden comfortably through forest tracks and also comfortable for long distance open roads. I'll be camping for quite a few months .
I'm going to attach an Andersen Royal trolley plus . So it needs to be quite a tough bike I think . I'll also be staying weeks at a time by cities and towns and will be cycling into them from forest and mountain campsites . So I think it's needs to be comfortable,tough, everyday bike .
I have asked for advice off dealers and these are the choices I have been advised to choose
.
From chain reactions .
If you see the likes of the below bike, these would be ideal, as these already have the racks and mudguards featured and have suspension forks for the rougher terrain:

Cube Touring Ladies City Bike 2016

Ghost Square Trekking 2 Miss City Bike 2016

Cube Touring Pro Ladies City Bike 2016

From Evans
The touring range is probably the best suited for your requirements, however they do start at your maximum budget price, something like the below would be idea really:-

https://www.evanscycles.com/ridgebac...-bike-EV258091

https://www.evanscycles.com/dawes-ka...-demo-EV270718

https://www.evanscycles.com/dawes-ga...-bike-EV274349

Both models with the fitted rear racks would be capable of towing the rear bag you have.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

From Rutland

I have found two hybrid bikes that should be fine. They already have mudguards and racks. Please see the links below.
2016 Giant Escape 2 City Hybrid Bike Dark Blue £448.99
2016 Giant Escape 2 City Hybrid Bike Dark Blue £448.99

From Tredz

Tredz Bike specialist Team


Buy Giant Liv Alight 1 Womens 2016 - Hybrid Sports Bike at Tredz Bikes. £499.00 with free UK delivery


Buy Scott Sub Comfort 20 Unisex 2016 - Hybrid Sports Bike at Tredz Bikes. £499.00 with free UK delivery

Buy Scott Sub Comfort 20 Womens 2016 - Hybrid Sports Bike at Tredz Bikes. £499.00 with free UK delivery

Buy Scott Sub Comfort 20 2016 - Hybrid Sports Bike at Tredz Bikes. £499.00 with free UK delivery

Buy Giant Liv Alight 2 City Womens 2016 - Hybrid Sports Bike at Tredz Bikes. £449.00 with free UK delivery

Buy Felt QX70-EQ Womens 2016 - Hybrid Sports Bike at Tredz Bikes. £479.20 with free UK delivery


I'm sorry for the info overload .
My choices so far are The Cube pro tourer and the Scott sub comfort 20 . I'm stuck between these two .
My budget for bike alone is only 550 . I like ve the look of the Scott and the Cube has disc brakes where the Scott hasn't . I'm really thinking about low maintenance and reliability. Also I'd be very grateful if someone could give me the heads up on the best dealer . I'm totally new to biking . I usually hike and this is a big purchase for me so I'd be so grateful for any advice . Thank you

Salsa

Both of your front runner bikes (Scott/Cube) are a bit over priced imo. The Cube's the better of the two but £500+ for a bike that has a freewheel rather than a cassette is not on really. Freewheels are generally limited to a 14/28 gear range also the axles are quite easy to bend because they're unsupported over a large part of their length and that may be an issue if your towing weight.
The Ghost bike has a better spec but is a bit more expensive, how about something like a Boardman MX Sport ladies bike? That's on offer at £400 and you could spend the saved money on some Marathon + tyres, mudguards and a rack. It's not as relaxed as the others your looking at but would give you a comfort style but still be reasonably quick. That has a cassette/triple chainset/lock out suspension fork and disk brakes.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... omens-bike

trailflow

They are all similarly specced. There is a wide range of handlebar shapes between them - Low riser, sweepback, dropbars, butterfly handlebars

If you haven't already. It would be a good idea to visit some bike shops and test ride some with different types of handlebars because you may have a preference and prefer one type over the other. They all have their pluses and minuses. Some will give you a better braking action and control. Others will give more hand positions but the braking action may suffer.

Also bike sizing is the most important thing especially on long distances. So it is paramount to get it right. Buying blind over the internet could be a very physically uncomfortable mistake or could even lead to injury. So its worth getting as many test rides as possible even if the test bikes are different models from above. It will give you a much better and broader idea which size is right for you and also which kind of set up and features will you suite you best.
Remember no one is forcing you to buy the bike on the spot. Dont let a shop employee try to force you into a sale no matter how persuasive he/she might be. Tell them you'll test ride some more and then decide.

The listed bikes above with rigid forks and rim brakes / and drop bars have slightly better shifters and drivetrain components, and as a result of those the bikes will be lighter in overall weight and the shifting action will function abit better.

The bikes with suspension forks and/or disk brakes are heavier, and their drivetrain components are of lesser quality and are more plasticky. Together they will add probably around 3kg+ extra to the overall bike weight. With all your gear you'll be carrying this might be something you could do without. So something to consider. Also this added weight at the front of the bike will not help the handling.

You may find after some test rides that the basic level suspension forks or disk brakes may not offer much improvement to be worth the added extra weight.

If you think you'll be descending any steep mountains at any point and in bad weather. Disk brakes could be the most important thing to you as they will stop you much better than rim brakes will in those conditions.

Janiemac123

Just looking at this post. And the recommendations of various bikes. What do you recommend for a women's road bike. Cheers