Touring bike choice - about to take the plunge.

arthur_scrimshaw

Collective wisdom sought - I'm about to take the plunge and buy a tourer, I've done a bit of credit card touring on my (sadly now deceased) CX with a camper longflap but now want to get a dedicated tourer.
I've narrowed it down to the Kona Sutra and Genesis Tour de Fer 20, discounting the Long Haul Trucker, Salsa Vaya as poor VFM, the Trek 920 was on the list but availability is shockingly poor and it's really too 'off roady' for my needs, not keen on Dawes and Ridgeback offerings and budget doesn't stretch to Thorn etc.

The other thing is I want to try it before I buy, this is perhaps the biggest obstacle. I was set on the Kona and then I saw the Tour de Fer, and liked it, it added a front rack and dyno lighting over the Sutra but had brifters and higher gearing as negatives. I know I can add these to the Sutra (rack and dyno) but probably not for the £200 price difference. Then I started investigating and found that the dyno is not without it's critics. The one fitted is a SP (can't remember the model) and when I checked this it appears that when the wheel bearings go the unit isn't serviceable - it's a bin job. This seems far fetched but I've picked this up from different sources. Staggering.

So I've got a test ride booked for the Kona in a few days, am I missing a trick somewhere or is there general approval on my likely choice?

Kona

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Kona-Sutra-2017 ... oCA5Pw_wcB

For Reference - the Genesis

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Genesis-Tour-de ... oC4BDw_wcB

arthur_scrimshaw

No one?

BelgianBeerGeek

Over the two I prefer the Kona. It's a bit easier on the wallet, and you're only missing out on a dynamo and front rack. Lights are cheap enough. And the Kona has a colour option of red which would look gorgeous. It also has Deore gears which are quite durable.
Let us know how you get on with the test ride.

arthur_scrimshaw

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

Over the two I prefer the Kona. It's a bit easier on the wallet, and you're only missing out on a dynamo and front rack. Lights are cheap enough. And the Kona has a colour option of red which would look gorgeous. It also has Deore gears which are quite durable.
Let us know how you get on with the test ride.

Cheers - I do prefer the Kona although I can't exactly rationalise why, it just feels like a well thought out bike. And yes the colour is lovely, dark red with metallic flakes!

arthur_scrimshaw

I went in Saturday to check it over, lovely bike but it was too big so didn't attempt to ride it. All my road bikes are 56 and fit me fine - I should have checked the geometry on this as the BB is much higher and my geometry is short legs and long body!
Anyway they are getting the 54 in for me to try.

orraloon

I have a 2011 Kona Sutra as my tourer. Been very happy with it, done up to 2 week tours multiple times, had no issues. Seems bombproof in terms of build quality and reliability. Only change I made to original spec was to swap saddle to a Brookes, couldn't get on with the one supplied as standard.

Hope your test ride goes well.

arthur_scrimshaw

orraloon wrote:

I have a 2011 Kona Sutra as my tourer. Been very happy with it, done up to 2 week tours multiple times, had no issues. Seems bombproof in terms of build quality and reliability. Only change I made to original spec was to swap saddle to a Brookes, couldn't get on with the one supplied as standard.

Hope your test ride goes well.

Cheers

Well not exactly as I hoped, the 54 was great from a standover point of view (just right) but when riding it I felt that my backside needed to go back by a few inches - they moved the saddle as far back as they could (using a laser to get knee/foot position right) but it still felt weird. The fitter said the bike was the right size for me and I felt the saddle (B17) didn't help as it was really slippery. I took it for a 10 minute test ride and felt I was getting used to it, maybe it's that I'm used to being stretched out on a road bike? The touring bike position is very different!
I've got a 30 return on it so will see if I get used to it, I'll (temporarily) swap the saddle for a Spoon and I can at least rule that out - I know the B17 needs breaking in. Not picked it up yet as waiting on a C2W voucher.
The rest of the bike was a joy, loved the bar end shifters!

arthur_scrimshaw

I've just checked the frame on my commuter (Charge Plug) - it's almost identical to the Sutra size and geo aprt from a lower bb height on the Plug. I think it must be the combination of shorter stem (on the Sutra) and the bars, they have almost no return (or whatever you call the bit where you rest your hands behind the hood) which effectively shortens the reach even more.

Bo Duke

The fact its different doesn't men its wrong, there's no point trying to recreate your commuter. Enjoy the new experience. Must say that Trek 920 looks nice though...

Mad_Malx

I'm interested in the same market. What's the issue with brifters? Faff of changing cables, or something else?

arthur_scrimshaw

Bo Duke wrote:

The fact its different doesn't men its wrong, there's no point trying to recreate your commuter. Enjoy the new experience. Must say that Trek 920 looks nice though...

Cheers - I'm hoping this is the case too.

The 920 is nice although it's designed more for off tarmac road touring - cinder paths and the like, there's tens of thousands of miles of these in the US, rather less in the UK. For road touring it would need a few changes but yes it's a really nice bike.

arthur_scrimshaw

Mad_Malx wrote:

I'm interested in the same market. What's the issue with brifters? Faff of changing cables, or something else?

There's really no issue with brifters, there is a line of thinking that the simple stuff is easier to fix in the back of beyond in the event of a crash or mechanical failure and any indexing issues can be sorted easily with bar end shifters, if you google bar end vs brifters you'll get loads of opinions on the subject.
I haven't got strong reasons but I like trying different stuff and on my brief test ride I found them great, probably not ideal for racing or a situation where you need to make fast gear changes. I don't!

Mad_Malx

^Thanks, that's sort of what I thought.

orraloon

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

I've just checked the frame on my commuter (Charge Plug) - it's almost identical to the Sutra size and geo aprt from a lower bb height on the Plug. I think it must be the combination of shorter stem (on the Sutra) and the bars, they have almost no return (or whatever you call the bit where you rest your hands behind the hood) which effectively shortens the reach even more.

I have thought about fitting a longer stem to my Sutra, but obviously std size is not too bad for me else would have done so. Couple of times I've managed to make contact between knee and bar end shifter in the fully up / out position, but so infrequent that no big thing.
Overall the geometry and fit for me is fine, comfortable to ride all day every day on tour.
Is a different config and feel to my road bike, Cannondale Synapse, but as said above, I don't compare and contrast, just enjoy.

arthur_scrimshaw

orraloon wrote:

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

I've just checked the frame on my commuter (Charge Plug) - it's almost identical to the Sutra size and geo aprt from a lower bb height on the Plug. I think it must be the combination of shorter stem (on the Sutra) and the bars, they have almost no return (or whatever you call the bit where you rest your hands behind the hood) which effectively shortens the reach even more.

I have thought about fitting a longer stem to my Sutra, but obviously std size is not too bad for me else would have done so. Couple of times I've managed to make contact between knee and bar end shifter in the fully up / out position, but so infrequent that no big thing.
Overall the geometry and fit for me is fine, comfortable to ride all day every day on tour.
Is a different config and feel to my road bike, Cannondale Synapse, but as said above, I don't compare and contrast, just enjoy.

That's reassuring, and as you say the stem can be changed. I'm sure you're right about getting used to a different riding position, I was just concerned I was making the wrong decision. Thanks for your input.

arthur_scrimshaw

Well I picked the bike up from Evans at Havant and rode it home to Chichester on Sataurday. I took my cycling clothes and shoes plus tools along with me and needed to put the seatpost up by at least two inches (I can't work out if this had been moved from last week - I tested it in 'normal clothes')
Anyway, after a bit of fettling (out of sight from the store!) It felt so much better and by the time I got home I had a big smile on my face - it felt really good. I've since done around 100 miles on it and feel that I could ride this thing all day. I've never tried a Brooks leather saddle before (B-17) and was surprised how comfortable it was from the word go, I'm hoping this will continue as it gets broken in. I was sceptical about the tyres (40c gravel tyres) but they seem quiet and roll well on the road and the ride belies it's weight (although I don't know exactly what it weighs the 'pick up' test indicates there's some mass there!) The bar end shifters are fine, part of the ride experience and in a way dictate the way you ride it, gear changes are a considered action now and it kind of adds to the relaxed riding experience - there's no rush.

Some pictures at the Cass Sculpture Park Goodwood.