Advice sought on choosing a touring bike

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Vorpal
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Re: Advice sought on choosing a touring bike

Post by Vorpal »

Tangled Metal wrote:Last year saw us ride PD bridleways with trailer and child seat options for our lad. White Dales area near high peak trail. Used mtb style hybrid and she had a mtb. Rocky trail, would the rb Expedition be needed or would you get by with a 700c tourer? Are thin mtb tyres that much stronger on these small wheel tourers?

I've ridden a road bike with 700 X 28 tyres on rocky off road trails. It just requires a little more care than with a mountain bike, tourer, or hybrid. I can't imagine any place that one could ride with a child where a tourer with at least 32 mm tyres wouldn't be appropriate.
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dakari-mane
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Re: Advice sought on choosing a touring bike

Post by dakari-mane »

What he ^ said.

I got totally lost one time (or exploring by random happenstance?) & ended up cycling off road past a castle on a sea-cliff. Was rocky as all hell but my 700x28's were fine, apart from when I had to get off & hump the bike over a boulder field. But 26" tires wouldn't have made a difference in that case.
MartinBrice
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Re: Advice sought on choosing a touring bike

Post by MartinBrice »

There are only three bits to a bike: the bit that makes it go, the bit that make it stop, and the bit that holds it together.
The bit that makes it go can be upgraded at any time. I prefer a Rohloff hub. It's about the same price as very top grade Shimano kit. You need a special frame with vertical drop-outs. So cheap Shimano stuff will do. The wheels should be 26 inch because when you have wheel trouble, which you will do, you can find any old mountain bike in any south American village and buy a wheel or buy the spokes. You can't do that with 700c wheels. Tyres for mountain bikes can be bought anywhere. Tyres for 700c wheels will usually be racing tyres, assuming you can find them.
Brakes are important: V brakes are miles better than the crap caliper brakes Dawes still fit to the galaxy. It's worth upgrading to Shimano xt levers so you can brake with one finger: their better leverage makes descents with a heavily loaded bike pleasurable rather than scary.
The frame should be steel: it's bombproof. Almost immune to baggage handlers, bus drivers, falling over, etc.
Don't worry about the weight that's all cobblers. You'll be carrying camping kit, food, water, wine, warm clothing, thermarest, plus your weight. It can all get up to about 100 kilos so a few pounds here or there is irrelevant.
Remember when you buy the bike you might one day need to have someone in the uk who can post you the correct part. I like Thorn: they have a record of my bike and I can ring them up and ask for a part to be posted.
To start with, you might want to get a reasonable used bike. One day you'll want one designed for you - you'll be sitting on it for a long time. I've just done seven weeks in south America and was glad many many times the bike was comfy.
pwa
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Re: Advice sought on choosing a touring bike

Post by pwa »

Matin

I have 2 Thorns. One is a tandem with 26" wheels and Rohloff, and its a steady, comfortable ride on country lanes. But it doesn't freewheel down hill as fast as my solo bikes, and tandems are usually said to roll faster than solos on the flat. I suppose the Rohloff may be to blame with its draggy freewheel action, but mainly I blame having 26x1.75" tyres. They just don't roll as well as 700cx32mm on lanes.

My other Thorn is my Club Tour 700c wheeled tourer, and it is a much nicer ride. It rolls well, it feels comfortable and its mountain bike gears are just right. Drop bars are my favourites for comfort, much better than the straight bars on the tandem. I can see how problems getting tyres in far flung parts of the world might influence wheel choice, but I do all my touring in Europe.

If I was asked to recommend Thorn I could not do it. Their stuff is too expensive. And their paint finishes are hit and miss. My dark green Club Tour has decent paint, but my bright yellow tandem has paint flaking off all over the place. So much for tough powder coat! And some of Thorn's solo machines are too heavy. Okay, you might be someone who carries a lot of stuff on tour, but are you only ever going to ride a bike fully laden?
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matt2matt2002
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Re: Advice sought on choosing a touring bike

Post by matt2matt2002 »

pwa wrote:Matin

I have 2 Thorns. One is a tandem with 26" wheels and Rohloff, and its a steady, comfortable ride on country lanes. But it doesn't freewheel down hill as fast as my solo bikes, and tandems are usually said to roll faster than solos on the flat. I suppose the Rohloff may be to blame with its draggy freewheel action, but mainly I blame having 26x1.75" tyres. They just don't roll as well as 700cx32mm on lanes.

My other Thorn is my Club Tour 700c wheeled tourer, and it is a much nicer ride. It rolls well, it feels comfortable and its mountain bike gears are just right. Drop bars are my favourites for comfort, much better than the straight bars on the tandem. I can see how problems getting tyres in far flung parts of the world might influence wheel choice, but I do all my touring in Europe.

If I was asked to recommend Thorn I could not do it. Their stuff is too expensive. And their paint finishes are hit and miss. My dark green Club Tour has decent paint, but my bright yellow tandem has paint flaking off all over the place. So much for tough powder coat! And some of Thorn's solo machines are too heavy. Okay, you might be someone who carries a lot of stuff on tour, but are you only ever going to ride a bike fully laden?


Good points.
I'm a Thorn Raven man myself.
I find SJS very good to deal with and although their parts are not cheap they have given me lots of free advice when fixing my Raven. And I didn't buy it from them.
Your last sentence should be set against the posters question.
He wants a touring bike. Not an every day bike.
I often wish I had a lighter faster bike when I ride my Raven but bought it for touring. So should not complain.
Boom proof but not a rocket.
Matt
2017 Ethiopia.5 weeks.
2018 Marrakech 2 weeks.
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Always on a Thorn Raven/Rohloff hub.
pwa
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Re: Advice sought on choosing a touring bike

Post by pwa »

Matt

I agree with you, except on the point of what a touring bike is for. Mine is a tourer when I tour, but for most of the time it is my general purpose bike and it's brilliant at that too. My Club Tour is just about ideal for touring on road or surfaced track, but it is also great for going for a spin for an hour around the lanes. If it were too heavy it would spend more time in the back of the garage.
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Jimstar79
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Re: Advice sought on choosing a touring bike

Post by Jimstar79 »

Just to add an update to this old thread - I recently had some spare time and have got the bike built up and road tested. At 1m 83 cm I have the 56cm Ridgeback Panorama and could still have dropped to the 54cm frame. The stem on the Panorama is quite long and I have read elsewhere that other riders have swapped this for a shorter stem - I might end up doing this but have only done 60 miles or so and the reach hasn't been an issue.

It feels like one of the best bikes I have ever ridden - brilliant gearing and comfortable sitting position. Considering the bike weighs about 13kg it doesn't feel that heavy because of the mtb gearing - that's new to me as someone that is switching from light road bikes!

I am already starting to question whether 28" wheels are going to be the best for long distance touring that might include slightly off road cycling. 26" wheel certainly offer more manoeuvrability, however this isn't a pressing concern for me as I have ridden with 28's for a long time before now.

The RB Pan also comes with STI gears and brake levers as well as two brake levers on the handlebar - this is a brilliant adaptation to the bike, very convenient.

Having only experienced this bike, I can't recommend it in comparison to other touring bikes, yet I can say with ease that should you buy a RB Pan then you won't be disappointed; a truly brilliant and well thought out bike!
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MartinBrice
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Re: Advice sought on choosing a touring bike

Post by MartinBrice »

The issue of 26 inch wheels is, for me, the question of replacement of parts, not handling. It's the matter of finding tyres the right size, spokes the right length, etc.
And interrupter brake levers are good, but on drop bars they are too close together so you are using them with less leverage on steering, if you see what I mean. And with your hands on them you cannot change gear.
STI levers are very expensive and difficult to fix when they go wrong.
There's certainly no doubt that the Panorama is a decent bike, but I'd put it in the same class as the Galaxy: good ride, decent parts, absolutely fine for European tarmac. For further afield, on gravel roads and very far from any sort of bike shop, those things are a liability. Outside Europe, and often inside Europe, bike shops are blokes with spanners who maintain 26 inch-wheeled bikes ridden by the locals to the shops or the field, they hardly ever sell bikes or see upmarket Shimano kit. For that sort of thing you might be better off with a £250 mountain bike that could be fixed anywhere.
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