Bought the bike!

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20700
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: Bought the bike!

Post by Vorpal »

Thistle wrote:32s will definitely fit, and possibly 35s. There is a whole lot of clearance. If the main weight is on a carry freedom trailer, will it not be good for the long hauls? :(

People tour on anything. I started my touring as a teen on a (much less suitable) Raleigh Super Grand Prix. You bike was made for it. Load it up, take it anywhere you are comfortbale riding and enjoy!
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
PH
Posts: 13106
Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 12:31am
Location: Derby
Contact:

Re: Bought the bike!

Post by PH »

Thistle wrote:is it better suited than the Mercian for paths etc? :


I think both are well suited to paths, which is better might depend on who's riding it.
I have a preference for flat bars for most touring and all off road, I also like Ergon grips and Thumb shifters so it'd be a simple choice for me (Though I'd look into replacing the cantis for V brakes on the Dalesman) Others may prefer the Mercian for their own reasons.
willem jongman
Posts: 2750
Joined: 7 Jan 2008, 4:16pm

Re: Bought the bike!

Post by willem jongman »

I much prefer road bars, and I think the Mercian is a great bike. I would fit the widest tyres that you can squeeze in (but remember, the nice Panaracer Pasela's run pretty wide, i.e. more or less true to nominal size, unlike many other tyres). Wider tyres are much more comfortable, and greatly extend where you can still ride. My preferred tyre for a bike like this would be the Panaracer Pasela. Personally I would go for the version without puncture protection, as it rides just that bit nicer. If you are worried about punctures, use the puncture protected version at the rear (where most punctures occur), and the more flexible and more comfortable unprotected version at the front. I have been riding without puncture protection for a few years now, and only recently had my first puncture.
As for luggage weight, I would still maintain that a bike like this rides better with a lighter load. You should be fine with two rear panniers and the tent on top, totalling some 12 kg. With light camping gear, that is perfectly doable, and the ride will be that much more enjoyable. Of course, if you really need to take more (but do you, in the UK?), the trailer will be fine, as weight in the trailer does not affect the frame and handling as much as weight on the bike. But it will be a slog in the hills.
Once again, congratulations on a beautiful bike.
Thistle
Posts: 90
Joined: 8 Aug 2010, 8:58pm

Re: Bought the bike!

Post by Thistle »

Thanks all. I am borrowing (um stealing) the bike we bought for my son as it will be fantastic as a heavy duty off main roads tourer. I'll do as Willem suggested and use the KoM with wider tyres, tour with both and see what works for me.

Thank you again!!!
willem jongman
Posts: 2750
Joined: 7 Jan 2008, 4:16pm

Re: Bought the bike!

Post by willem jongman »

Enjoy the ride. :D
willem jongman
Posts: 2750
Joined: 7 Jan 2008, 4:16pm

Re: Bought the bike!

Post by willem jongman »

And the same for the Dalesman: fit the widest posible tyres for maximum effect. I have just come back from a tour through the Czech Republic and Germany, and while admiring the quality of the German cycle routes, pretty large chunks were forest trails and gravel. That was part of what I like about them, but my 42 mm tyres were on the narrow side: next time I will use something wider.
drossall
Posts: 6115
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: Bought the bike!

Post by drossall »

PH wrote:
Thistle wrote:32s will definitely fit, and possibly 35s. There is a whole lot of clearance. If the main weight is on a carry freedom trailer, will it not be good for the long hauls? :(


Despite willem's opinion, that's what it was designed for. On another forum drossall has a photo of his loaded up with more stuff that most people will ever carry, maybe he'll post it here. If you're going to use a trailer, your bike is probably sturdier than it needs to be, MickF goes up and down the country with a more lightweight Mercian and a CF trailer. Enjoy your bike.


Sorry, been away on holiday (rode the bike, but not loaded like this, over Tan Hill and Buttertubs).

As I probably explained before, this was for a Scout camp. The front bags are full of stuff I'd never dream of taking on a normal cycle tour.

However, yes, I can't understand the advice on here that such a bike is only up to light touring. Before MTBs were invented, the Rough Stuff Fellowship dragged bikes like that over just about every square inch of the country. And it's easily capable of carrying a full load (which may mean more than that shown).
Attachments
IMAG0037_small.jpg
Thistle
Posts: 90
Joined: 8 Aug 2010, 8:58pm

Re: Bought the bike!

Post by Thistle »

Thanks Drossall! Did you stick to roads or did you go on paths as well?
drossall
Posts: 6115
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 10:01pm
Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: Bought the bike!

Post by drossall »

Hi Thistle

I'm mostly a road rider, and my Mercian had an expensive repaint (at Mercian) a few years back, so I tend to keep that bike to roads for fear of stone chips. However, I'd ride other, similar bikes on tracks without worrying about it. The frame construction is as strong as anything available, and wheels with 32 or (preferably) 36 spokes are going to stand up to most things.

Where suspension really comes in is in bouncing over boulders and the like, that can knock steering off track or stop you dead. You certainly couldn't do some of the down-hill racing that now goes on using a rigid frame. On the other hand, look at cyclo-cross for an example of racing off road on various terrains - the classic example being the Three Peaks. That branch of the sport does now allow MTBs, but pre-dates them by decades, and serious competitors still choose cyclo-cross designs, which are modified conventional bikes.

Or Paris Roubaix, the classic event in which road bikes are ridden flat out over cobbles that hammer man and machine to pieces. I don't think any photo can do justice to the battering that (most) bikes survive - and these really are lightweight road bikes, with minimal concessions to the surface (wider tyres than normal, and so on). And it's not just professionals, who can get issued with new bikes afterwards - there's an event for amateur riders too.

You'll notice that the one modification that isn't mentioned in that cyclo-cross article is making the bike stronger, because that's simply not necessary. OK, you probably shouldn't take your lightest racing wheels or ultra-light road frame off road, but carbon frames are certainly used now, and we're talking about 531 steel, which will have no problem (boulders and stupidly steep drops excepted).

Remember, when riding on tracks, to use your arms as part of the suspension system. Relax your arms, do not lock them, and let the bike find the way. The top half of your body will then behave as though you're riding the latest hi-tech MTB forks.
Thistle
Posts: 90
Joined: 8 Aug 2010, 8:58pm

Re: Bought the bike!

Post by Thistle »

Thank you so much, I am very grateful for your detailed reply!

There is a lot of top and side clearance so I am sure it will be able to take some big tyres. I am not likely to be riding on anything rougher than b roads and cycle paths - so I think it will be up to the job. I'll tour with both and see which I like best. Prob keep them both anyway... :)
Post Reply