6 months in Western Europe - complete beginner

[gospo1]

Hello Everyone.

I Have some serious trip planned next year, start in either april or may start in france in Dunkirk and then going round some other countries, street playing instruments in each town/city. Sleeping wild in tent

I post in here as i am complete beginner and i am sure many of you have a great deal of experience wich i would be very very gratefull for. I am complete beginner no previous experience with touring and really with cycling since i was a kid. I am 29 now.
Generally healthy and well fit.

I got some questions wich i need to ask someone but dont know anyone. So please help Thank You!

So i am going for at least 6 months during summer period.


1. I got two options -1- france, spain, portugal, france
2 - france, belgium, holland, danmark and germany or sweden
basically west or east any suggestions?

2 . Bike , i need a bike wich is quite easy to maintain and ready to go as dont have much previous technical knowlege.
I Seen Cinelli Bootleg Hobo 2015

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cin ... oCkVfw_wcB

wich resonates with me very well. seem to be perfect choice, and it fit to my budget bracket ideally. It costs 1350 and thats ok with me, I could possibly spend about 1600 at most for a bike.
Also note it is to be used for more than one year as i dont think i will be back to working lifestyle anymore. It will become my home for some time i feel.

So 1600 is my max - it is bike only without eqiuipment. I preffer new more than used but also advise on that

Any suggestions anyone? Will i get bike good enough for this price?

3. GPS - Do i need one or get paper map? it seems to be very very handy to have cycling gps. If yes wich

Garmin Edge 510 is my bet for now - over edge 1000. Basically i need map and navigation without any other options wich i will never use. My commuting will much more in relaxed manner from town to town rather then racing. No need any sophisticated apps etc.

Any suggestions anyone? or maybe just paper map?

4 - equipment - I wont torment you asking about every single piece of kit, i guess i just have to make my own mind with most of it wich will go well with trip profile - quite a lot to carry.

just few bits -

spare tyres - how many do i need? to be safe
toolkit - fixing kit any suggestions what should i get and why? any way to fix punctured tyre?
panniers - waterproof ones or normal ones with cover on - i dont mind to spend more on those as long as they are well capable and durable. any suggestions?

And at end - anything you think will help and will be enlightening please share. I've never done this so any advise will be much much appriciated.

one thing it comes to my mind - once i leave uk i wont have much financial backup and will be dependable on what i earn on the street. so need to take most of it from here. Oh - and i go on my own.

Thanks in advance - english is my learned language so please be forgiving.

All best

Tom

[Vorpal]

Personally, I would pick the northern version of your proposed itinerary, but I expect others on here will say the opposite. The weather generally will be cooler on the northern itinerary which matters to me, but maybe not you. On the other hand, with 6 months, I might just start out with a list of a few places I wanted to see, and then go where my interest led me, rather than planning anything in particular.

Bike-- the bike that you linked looks like it may suffer from toe overlap. That's where your toes can interfere with the front wheel when you are pedalling and turning at the the same time. It doesn't bother some people, but I think I would avoid buying a new bike with it. There's a whole thread on that topic viewtopic.php?f=5&t=53020 If you look at bike like a Ridgeback Voyage for comparison, you will see that there is much more clearance to the front wheel.

Some similar requests about touring and bikes on various threads....
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=94384
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=88352
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=56991

I don't recommend buying a bike and setting off on a tour with no prior experience. I do recommend getting the bike, and the kit in advance. Ride the bike regularly and take a couple of weekend tours to try everything out. If that simply isn't possible, start out easy; not too many miles per day, and get a fitting if you can. Being on the bike day after day means that you need to be comfortable on it.

Kit: There are several good threads about kit, including repair parts
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=85590
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=48438

are both in the 'too good to lose' section.

[iviehoff]

>spare tyres - how many do i need? to be safe

You are going to countries where you can buy spare parts in every town, and towns aren't far apart. So you don't need any spare tyres. You should have a spare inner tube. You swap the tube when you have a puncture (making sure you identify the cause of the puncture and remove it if appropriate), and fix the puncture in the removed tube in the evening with a puncture repair kit. You would be unlucky to have 2 punctures in a day. You do need to learn how to fix punctures, change inner tubes, etc. Actually you don't really, as you can also try just looking pathetic and waiting for someone kind and competent to come along and do it for you. But oddly, despite the march of modern attitudes, you are much more likely to get away with that if you are female, though I did once fix a old bloke's puncture for him near my house when I saw he was struggling. Dervla Murphy cycled from Dunkirk to Delhi without being able to mend a puncture, or indeed fix anything.

The precise set of tools and parts you require depends upon the bike you have, so it is impossible to specify. Other spare parts you should normally always have with you are a pair of spare brake blocks - if you have rim brakes - you will wreck your wheels braking with worn out blocks, even for a short distance - and some gear and brake cables, and again you need the ability to change them, though your bicycle is generally sufficiently mobile still to get to a bike shop with such problems. Basically bike maintenance is take something apart and put it back together the way it came apart, and I learned most of what I know that way. But you do need to learn the way a few parts of bikes work, and you aren't going to get that from a post on a forum.

Wild camping is not just illegal but also impractical due to density of land use in the Netherlands. There are some designated free camping spots, I think mentioned on this forum fairly recently, but there aren't enough of them everywhere, so you'll probably have to pay from time to time. It is illegal in Germany, but it is practical and you can get away with it if you are stealthy - as in England - though Germans are much more likely to come along and say "you can't do that" if they see you at it than English people, hence the need to do it stealthily. It is illegal in Denmark, and they are also fairly Germanic in their modes of social compliance in Denmark than in England, again there are designated camping places, mainly on the coast, and you can probably get away with it in away from the coast. Other places mostly less of a worry as they are mostly less authoritarian in their attitudes.

[gospo1]

Thanks guys! its very helpfull!

As Vorpal advised i will start gathering all kit now and start using it soon as possible.

Yes i will learn how to deal with usual maintanence issues before i go, i think i just get bike soon as i can and ride it regurarly and get used to it.

Thank you:)!

[Samuel D]

Your English is fantastic, Tom.

Here’s some inspiration for you. Give it some time – it’s really great!

Regarding your third question, I would probably want to have a GPS (I have a terrible sense of direction). But I’d also want a paper map at a scale that shows all major villages and towns in the country, for a good overview.

You don’t need an expensive Garmin Edge 1000, but you probably need something more mapping-orientated than the 510. The Garmin Edge Touring seems ideal. Most of the complaints about it are about poor automatic routing, largely fixable by buying a Garmin City Navigator MicroSD memory card for all of Europe (about £50, I believe). But try it yourself before buying extra maps.

An alternative option would be a smartphone like an iPhone. Then you’d have a phone, a camera, a video camera, music player, and maps, among other useful things like email and web access. But you’d also have a phone bill, a sense of being too connected, and an expensive gadget to worry about. Then again, some of this also applies to a Garmin.

[horizon]

Bike-- the bike that you linked looks like it may suffer from toe overlap. ... If you look at bike like a Ridgeback Voyage for comparison, you will see that there is much more clearance to the front wheel.

Vorpal: how would you know that without the frame geometry?

[simonhill]

Nice plan.

I would think seriously about the weather you will encounter. In April in N Europe it can be cold an wet, possibly snow and below freezing. In S Europe in mid summer it can go over 40 degrees. You will need to plan your gear accordingly. You may even want to think about having a clothes and gear dump so you don't have to carry all your gear once it warms up and then pick it up again as autumn approaches.

However you approach the problem, you will need to gear up accordingly.

I would agree with a few test camps before you go. This autumn will be ideal.

[Vorpal]

Bike-- the bike that you linked looks like it may suffer from toe overlap. ... If you look at bike like a Ridgeback Voyage for comparison, you will see that there is much more clearance to the front wheel.

Vorpal: how would you know that without the frame geometry?

Fair enough that you ask. I probably should have given more detail or explained a bit more. If the OP takes an XXL frame, it's unlikely to be a problem in any bike.

I can't link to the geomtery at the moment, but I'll do it later, with an explanation. But maybe one of our local experts will be along to comment.

[gospo1]

Ok, Thank you everyone.

Its all look much clearer now.

I might refresh this topic as i gather all kit but for sure will leave this and write here if necessary during my trip.

All best to you all

Bless

[Barrenfluffit]

Don't take things that you can buy as you need them. The aim is to have things with multiple uses so compared to everyday life you have fewer things but use them more (and thus need them to be durable).

Also plan parts of your tour to meet your psychological needs. This varies from person to person but staying happy on the road is very important when the day to day cycling becomes second nature.

[ChrisF]

There's so much to think about and plan here- but one thing that springs to mind re eleCtronic navigation: how are you going to charge things if you are wild camping? It's difficult enough at standard campsites. I think you'll be limited to garmins with replaceable batteries, and smartphones will be out, unless you can sit in cafes for hours and 'borrow' their power

[horizon]

And at end - anything you think will help and will be enlightening please share. I've never done this so any advise will be much much appriciated.

I would suggest that you leave the smart phone at home (if you have one) and enjoy the places, people and experiences that you find on your journey.

[Vorpal]

The geometries for the Cinelli HoBootleg are at http://www.cinelli.it/site/index.php?pa ... t&Itemid=9

They don't give seat angle or fork rake, but those are available from this review http://www.adventurecycling.org/default ... OGrady.pdf which doesn't mention toe overlap, but maybe he didn't look for it?

I see from the review that the XS comes with 26" wheels, so that one might be okay. The S likely has toe overlap, and perhaps the M?

[horizon]

Thanks Vorpal. I'm hijacking the thread slightly but I was interested to know how you spotted it. Toe overlap indicates (possibly, as there are AFAIK other factors) a shorter reach which is something I would like (thanks for the links as well).

Back to the bike: I think it's OTT for what the OP has in mind. A 26" Surly would be a real hobo. If he is singing for his supper then this bike is a lot of cash already spent. My worry would also be the low cut steerer and drops for trekking around Europe.

[Vorpal]

Thanks Vorpal. I'm hijacking the thread slightly but I was interested to know how you spotted it. Toe overlap indicates (possibly, as there are AFAIK other factors) a shorter reach which is something I would like (thanks for the links as well).

Back to the bike: I think it's OTT for what the OP has in mind. A 26" Surly would be a real hobo. If he is singing for his supper then this bike is a lot of cash already spent. My worry would also be the low cut steerer and drops for trekking around Europe.

As for the toe overlap, in the marketing picture of the Cinelli, you can see that the pedal almost looks like it is touching the front mudguard, I thought that looked unusally close for a touring bike, so I made a quick check.

There's a list of 'short reach' bikes here http://www.cyclingabout.com/list-of-tou ... -cyclists/

Back to the bike: I hadn't thought about, but I think if it were me, I would buy a less expensive bike, even a secondhand one and save aside an emergency fund.