on a budget - New bike or secondhand quandry

[BeardyWeirdy]

Hi All

I am hunting for a bike to tour on - I have got a nice road bike (carbon) and a mountain bike, that has on occasions been used for touring, but it is not ideal.

What I want it for: I am looking to mainly do a week of so road touring, with the occasional path, field or track, so I don't need to be able to ride through jungle or over mountain sides, but I do want to leave the black stuff on occasion. I would like the ability to add front panniers, although I do travel quiet light most of the time. I am 6ft 2 and not a whippet, either in physique or inclination.

So the question is with a budget of about £300-500 all in, am I better off going new, where at least the first few trips are likely to be ok, for example I can get Dawes Galaxy AL for £420 or say Revolution Country Traveller '15 For £499 - where I can probably get a deal on other bit and pieces I want, and the right size!

or go second hand - where I know nothing of the bikes history but can find some nice looking bikes. But the sizing is less easy and there is the problem of all the bikes I like being the other end of the country.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

[mercalia]

there is what seems to be a nice Dawes 631 steel Sardar on offer on the for sales section here for £400 ono - up in Scotland though


http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=96623

top tube 55CM down tube 50CM

not sure what size that makes it, maybe too small?

[BeardyWeirdy]

Yes - it looks good, but I am in Lymington on the south coast - about as far away as you can get! By the time I costed in getting up there I could buy something very shiny down here!

[foxyrider]

just buy the new bike, you know you want to!

[syklist]

So just how expensive are secondhand quandries these days?

[syklist]

One a more serious note, perhaps you should look at the components on the bikes you are interested in (new or used) and decide if they measure up to the use you are going to put the bike to.

[MarkF]

How much time have you got?

I tour on my hybrids (3) and also have a MTB and a folder but still wanted a steel tourer. I couldn't justify another expensive bike so scouted for a bike to improve and eventually bought a well worn steel tange framed Ridgeback Adventure. I've replaced the wheels, cogs, cassette, tyres, chain and added bar ends and a rack that I had hanging about. TBh I wanted Surly LH but this bike is now ready to go for £250 all in.

[hamster]

It depends hugely on how confident a bike mechanic you are. If you think nothing of changing a bottom bracket, go ahead and buy secondhand. A decent mid-90's steel MTB will cost £100 or so, and you can get a complete new drivetrain at the moment for £100 from Merlin Cycles.

If you aren't confident, buy new.

[BeardyWeirdy]

I am not bad, but nearly always short of the special tool needed! I have a good relation with the LBS, which helps.

I think am heading toward a classic drop bar style tourer. I love the look of the Raleigh randonneur, for sale on this site, and or course the galaxy or ridgeback panorama etc.
I havent found any local ones to look at yet.

Richard

[Sweep]

How much time have you got?

I tour on my hybrids (3) and also have a MTB and a folder but still wanted a steel tourer. I couldn't justify another expensive bike so scouted for a bike to improve and eventually bought a well worn steel tange framed Ridgeback Adventure. I've replaced the wheels, cogs, cassette, tyres, chain and added bar ends and a rack that I had hanging about. TBh I wanted Surly LH but this bike is now ready to go for £250 all in.

Am slightly confused mark. The adventure is a nice bike (i have one and may be in touch with questions now and again) but it's another hybrid. I'm not criticising the adventure but why couldn't you use any of your existing hybrids?

[Sweep]

It depends hugely on how confident a bike mechanic you are. If you think nothing of changing a bottom bracket, go ahead and buy secondhand.

Fair advice but you need to bear in mind that an old bike may need a trip to the bikeshop mechanic to extract a bottom bracket that has been left in too long without thread regreasing.

[hamster]

It depends hugely on how confident a bike mechanic you are. If you think nothing of changing a bottom bracket, go ahead and buy secondhand.

Fair advice but you need to bear in mind that an old bike may need a trip to the bikeshop mechanic to extract a bottom bracket that has been left in too long without thread regreasing.

I meant is as indicative of a level of mechanical experience and toolkit, not as a specific issue.

[beardy]

New or secondhand is not the sort of question that you can answer for somebody else. For me however if money was an issue it would be secondhand with out a hesitation. I also believe that we made the best tourers some decades ago, like that Raleigh Randoneur mentioned.

I am 6ft 2 and not a whippet, either in physique or inclination.

Raleigh and Dawes sold bike with large frames in the 1980s, ideally you want a 24-25" framed Raleigh or Dawes (eg Galaxy) to turn up locally. I would go for something seven speed or above, not because there is anything wrong with 6 speed but 7 speed is more likely a strong freehub rather than freewheel and still has good spares availability.

[khain]

Older mountain bikes made of cro-mo make great tourers that are suitable for both on and off-road cycling. You can also pick them up quite cheaply too. I spent a fair bit of money on a new tourer with 700c wheels and drop bars but now find myself heading back to my old mountain bike tourer.

You have to be careful with second hand bikes though, as the time and money spent getting them roadworthy can often offset any savings made. If you're going on a long tour you might be as well just getting a new bike. I would have a look for something second hand but only purchase if you're fairly sure it's a bargain. If you don't have a lot of time on your hands just buy a new one.

[BeardyWeirdy]

Good advice - thanks.

Is there a cut off, in terms of age of bike, where parts become difficult to get ie, should I be wary of going back into the 70's or early 80's as parts will be harder to get or are they still being made?