Budget Tourer Advice

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
voodoochild175
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Joined: 31 Mar 2015, 11:33am

Budget Tourer Advice

Post by voodoochild175 »

Hi all! I've been stalking CTC forums for months and I'm getting progressively more and more excited about the prospect of getting a touring bike and getting out riding. I'll be wanting to use it for commuting, weekends and longer tours of up to a week or two. I'm based in Durham and have a few ideas of what bike I'm wanting to get but was hoping for any tips and advice you guys might have about the ones I'm looking at. As a bit of background, I'm a reasonably fit 25 year-old, I've only ever previously ridden cheap hybrid bikes so I don't really have much experience and my budget is £400-£700:
Dawes Galaxy Al 2014[1] http://www.evanscycles.com/products/daw ... e-ec050874
Revolution Country Traveller 2015[2] http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... aveller-15
Fuji Touring 2015[3] http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuj ... e-ec072794
Dawes Vantage 2012[4] http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... b1s21p2414
Ridgeback Tour[5] http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... b0s21p3199
Raleigh Royal[6] http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... b0s21p3177
Viking Coniston[7] http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... b0s21p3193

I'm finding it hard to tell the difference between all of these, except the difference between a steel and aluminium frame (Aluminium more rigid but lighter, steel more robust and forgiving?) What should I be thinking about considering that I'm completely new to this? I'm off up to Edinburgh this weekend to see the gf and was going to pop into the Edinburgh bicycle cooperative to have a chat and potentially try out the Revolution Traveller.
Bicycler
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by Bicycler »

There's not too much to choose between them. The best advice is to try and go somewhere you can test ride one or more of the bikes. If you don't like the Revolution, Spa is not too far away from you in Harrogate.

I wouldn't worry about the Steel vs Al thing. All these frames are going to be fairly stiff and the weight difference between them is not great. The Vantage became the Galaxy Al a year or 2 back; it's basically the same bike. The Raleigh's cassette gives a higher bottom gear but this could be easily changed. The Fuji tries something a bit different (though Evans' Spec is incorrect - 25mm tyres :lol: ) by going for bar end shifters and v-brakes rather than STI shifters and Cantilever brakes. Most people prefer v-brakes but bar ends are an acquired taste. Some prefer them as they are more reliable and less expensive to replace but others prefer the convenience of STIs. For some bizarre reason the Fuji doesn't come with mudguards so you'd need to budget for adding these.
largeallan
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by largeallan »

largeallan
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by largeallan »

I've had the Raleigh Royal since 2010 and I can honestly say it does what it says on the tin. It's quite high mileage, but has been pretty much trouble free. I'm only just replacing my back cassette, which is 11-32 on mine. I've also just been in at all the bearings for greasing etc, half expecting the horrors from the lower end parts...all fine, to my surprise. I like the 8 speed stuff as parts are far cheaper. I've often thought of upgrading, but in all honesty my Royal has been fine even if it isn't exactly sex on wheels. I don't think you could go far wrong with any of the bikes on your list...theyre all built to a price, and as I said, the 8 speed stuff is cheap enough to maintain.
FarOeuf
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by FarOeuf »

If you're going to the Bruntsfield branch of Edinburgh Bike, get them to point out Leamington Terrace and test ride up/down that. It's a reasonable hill but quite quiet with traffic, and only 1 minute from their shop. If you're new to tourers then it'll give you an idea of what they're about (getting up hills when you're tired!). It'll also give you an idea of the layout (bars, height, etc) as you grind/spin up the hill.

I did my first trip on an Ed Bike Cuillin, which was great for the price (£200). I think all the bikes will do it, just depends which suits you.
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Erudin
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by Erudin »

I like the look of the Fuji frame, and personally I like simplicity and power of v-brakes on a loaded bike. I also like the Deore chainset (Hollowtech II, which people either love or hate) it's fitted with, I've got them on a couple of bikes.

If you don't like the shifters on the bar-end you can always get Gevenalle shifters or look at the ideas in this thread.

If you want STI I'd pick a bike with Claris shifters and mechs as they get good reviews.
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Vantage
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by Vantage »

This is the review that sold me on the Vantage...

http://www.ctc.org.uk/file/member/201105064.pdf

There's a little over 9500 miles in just over 3 years on mine and they have been mostly trouble free. Parts wear out as on any bike and so far she's on her second rear mech, third cassette, second bottom bracket, second rear hub, countless chains and cables and the other bits that were replaced were done for fit and comfort. As bikes are built to price, the rear hub and bottom bracket were just plain crap but other owners have had reliable service from those parts.
The ride itself is lovely imo but then again I do roll on Hyper Voyagers which are vastly superior to the stock Randonneurs fitted when I bought it. I also ride on a suspension seatpost which smooths things out even more. The steel forks (no posh cro-mo here, its high tensile only) seem to help the ride too.
For me, the bike has always felt a little too quick handling, twitchy almost although it didn't feel sluggish when fully loaded. The Tektro cantilevers while not the most powerful in the world, are very reliable and even better when you ditch the stupid Shimano link wire and use a proper straddle cable instead. The square taper (theres a good argument for these over modern designs) Truvative chainset has yet to fall off despite lots of other users having problems and the shifters, front mech and headset which are the only other remaining original parts have been trouble free also.
The rear rack is ok for daily use but I discovered after about 6000 miles that the stays were bending, having not had a lot of weight on them. Not good.
Maybe not the most important thing in the world, but the colour is absolutely gorgeous and I frequently get comments from folk telling me what a nice bike she is :) It does the ego no end of favours :)
I have to agree with Chris Judens remark about the 'aero' downtube, it does seem pointless and rather stupid for a touring bike but part of me thinks it adds character to the bike and maybe even helps in the stiffness stakes when she's fully loaded. It doesn't flop about like a wet towel.

edit: If I remember correctly, Dawes quoted 31lb as it's off the shelf weight. I think that's a little optimistic of them. 33-34lb is more like it.
Bill


“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx
It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
mercalia
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by mercalia »

the only thing I would add is that steel frames can take more abuse than alloy, so get a bike with a steel frame. I once came across a guy in a rail carriage with his bike that had a crumpled top tube - he said he this had happened as a result of over tigthening a clamp to secure it when it was being transported.
Bicycler
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by Bicycler »

mercalia wrote:the only thing I would add is that steel frames can take more abuse than alloy, so get a bike with a steel frame. I once came across a guy in a rail carriage with his bike that had a crumpled top tube - he said he this had happened as a result of over tigthening a clamp to secure it when it was being transported.

I've known similar to happen to steel bikes. In particular one with expensive (Reynolds 853) tubes. In fact expensive thin steels are probably more prone than anything. Bikes are not designed to see those kind of forces.
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Vantage
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by Vantage »

There are a lot of myths around steel vs alloy for touring bike frames. My favourite being that steel is easier to repair in less technologically advanced countries. The question of course is, would you be happy to let the bloke with a cheapo arc welder repair your expensive steel framed bike knowing you still had thousands more miles to cover? Thought not :)
Steel can be more compliant and give a nicer ride, but so then can nice supple tyres and an alloy frame is more than enough for UK tours. This isn't a third world nation....yet.
Bill


“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx
It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
dakari-mane
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by dakari-mane »

I would once again sing the praises of quality second hand bikes.

For example, Dawes Super Galaxy retails at £1500 (or down to £850 some places) but currently under £150 with a little over a day to go:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dawes-Super-G ... 27fc1d4b68

Ridgeback Panorama, £1250 in the shops, starting at 600:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ridgeback-Pan ... 4637853de1

This years Specialized Awol Elite with £500 off:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-A ... 46377544f5

Cannondale touring Ultra, another £1000+ bike going for sub £500. All the racks & bottle cages you could want:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/26-Cannondale ... 4d2ffd5f41

Lots of good things if you poke about a bit.
Bicycler
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by Bicycler »

IF the OP is competent in assessing condition of a used bike and IF he knows enough not to buy something obsolete (Galaxies, Dalesman's etc have been going for years) and IF it is the correct size and IF it is in a convenient location for viewing and collection then yes wonderful bargains can be had. IF NOT the apparent bargain can quickly become an expensive mistake. Obviously the prices of bikes on eBay often rise significantly above their starting and early bids, usually in the last minute or so of the auction.
dakari-mane
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by dakari-mane »

& buying from a shop is all well and good IF the staff know what they are talking about when it comes to tourers and are not just trying to shift stock & IF the bike is set up correctly by the shop mechanics so it doesn't dump the rear dérailleur into the rear wheel the first time you drop off the top ring on a climb & IF.......If.....if....if....

Buying a brand-new-this-year cheapest-components-available bike from a shop could well be considered an expensive mistake at a later date too.

Both second hand & shop bought have advantages & disadvantages. The option should be explored, particularly in a thread entitled BUDGET tourer advice.
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Spinners
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Re: Budget Tourer Advice

Post by Spinners »

Really pleased with my (2014) Fuji Touring bike and, if some family health matters settle down, I'm looking forward to touring on it.
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