What Bike?

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JCroxton
Posts: 19
Joined: 25 Nov 2014, 3:57pm

What Bike?

Post by JCroxton »

I did Lejog a few years ago, I used a bike lent to me by a friend - yay cycling friends! 'Twas an old flat bar Trek with skinny tyres. Unsure of the model. However, I am planning to do it again in the early summer of 2015, but before I begin my training, I need to find myself a new steed! He's since sold the Trek.

I want to do it in 10 days, meaning I need a bike that can comfortably eat up the miles, but not something that will struggle to maintain a decent speed - looking at around 14-15mph average.

I've found a few online, but to be honest, I am a mountain biker so I don't know when it comes to touring bikes what to look for, or even what the difference is between touring, audax and sportif bikes - anyone?!

I'm a Devon boy, and I noticed one of the local shops, the Bike Shed have a few cheap Dawes Touring Bikes - http://www.bikesheduk.com/Dawes-Touring-Bike-Sale - I like the look (and the price!) of the Clubman, but is it good enough to comfortably complete LEJOG?

They're a fair bit cheaper than Evans on the Dawes bikes they have, but they have the Ridgebacks - a brand I've never heard of, but keeps popping up all over touring sites?

Can you guys let me know what you've ridden, what I should look out for, and whether the Dawes bikes are any good?

Thanks
Ben@Forest
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Joined: 28 Jan 2013, 5:58pm

Re: What Bike?

Post by Ben@Forest »

I have a Dawes Galaxy (2004 model). It has done a number of domestic and European tours and has been well up to the task. I think any of the bikes shown on your weblink would be fine. I guess the only question is panniers - if you are intending to take front panniers are there lugs on the front forks of the Clubman?
AM7
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Joined: 18 Jul 2014, 10:24pm
Location: North West Essex

Re: What Bike?

Post by AM7 »

JCroxton wrote: they have the Ridgebacks - a brand I've never heard of, but keeps popping up all over touring sites?

A mountain biker who's never heard of Ridgeback bikes - that makes me feel old :)

Seriously though, the Ridgeback tourers get good reviews and I don't think you'd go far wrong with one.

The Dawes Clubman is aimed more at fast day rides than touring, but I'm sure it would be fine if you aren't planning on carrying too much luggage.
eileithyia
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Re: What Bike?

Post by eileithyia »

Dawes bikes are (were) great bikes, my first touring bike was a Dawes Super Galaxy. The Clubman or the Galaxy would certainly be adequate, but any of the bikes that have no kit carrying facility would need to have pannier rack added and you would need to ensure the bike is designed for this.
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horizon
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Cornwall

Re: What Bike?

Post by horizon »

What others have said but a lot will depend on where you will be staying and what you want to do with the bike afterwards. The Clubman will do the miles but it has carbon forks up front so no pannier eyes. But IMHO (I haven't done LEJOG) you won't want be carrying front panniers for 80 - 100 miles per day. You've got higher gears on the Clubman but since you'll be cutting down on luggage that shouldn't be a problem.

Having said that, any lightly loaded touring bike will do it and you'll appreciate the lower gears in Cornwall. :lol: :shock:

I've bought two bikes at Bike Shed in the past, our tandem and a Super Galaxy. They're excellent value for money as Bike Shed carry previous years' Dawes bikes with big discounts.

One last thing: as an ex-MTB'er, you may want to give drop bars a try if you haven't done already.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
Bicycler
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Joined: 4 Dec 2013, 3:33pm

Re: What Bike?

Post by Bicycler »

No problem with Dawes or Ridgeback. They are both established UK bike brands popular with touring cyclists.

There's a lot of blurred lines between the different types of bike but I'll have a go.

A 'touring bike' such as Dawes' 'Galaxy' range or Ridgebacks 'World' series are traditional touring bikes primarily for on road tours carrying a decent amount of luggage. These come with room for fairly wide touring tyres with mudguards and the ability to fit pannier carriers (racks) front and back. Gearing will be a bit higher than with mountain bike gears but still allowing a few granny gears to get up hills with a load. As a big fan of slightly wider rubber and sensible gears this style of bike would be my choice for the trip.

Audax and sportives are high mileage day-long events where riders favour something a bit between a road racing bike and a full on tourer. Something marketed as an Audax bike is likely to have room for mudguards with narrow road tyres and take a rear carrier. The Clubman is very much in this category. A sportif or sportive bike may have these things or may be just a road bike with slightly relaxed geometry. If you are happy with thin road tyres, travel light and are sticking to tarmac then a Clubman with a rack or even (if travelling very light) a large saddlebag with a bar bag would do the job fine. Plenty of people do LEJOG on this style of bike. In fact I believe some Audaxers do LEJOG as an Audax event.

One other thing you have to bear in mind with that kind of bike is that manufacturers tend to fit road race bike gearing to them so the top and bottom gears will be much higher than your mountain bike. The novelty of being able to pedal fast downhill soon disappears when you have to stand on pedals to get up hills. If you regularly use the small chainring on your mountain bike I'd favour the tourer. Any time or fun you gain from the lower weight soon disappears when you have to push your bike up a Cornish hill due to running out of gears.
AM7 wrote:A mountain biker who's never heard of Ridgeback bikes - that makes me feel old :)

Me too :oops:

EDIT: I see Horizon posted whilst I was writing this. I'm glad there's some consensus.
Last edited by Bicycler on 26 Nov 2014, 1:01pm, edited 1 time in total.
Bicycler
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Re: What Bike?

Post by Bicycler »

Other touring bikes to consider in that kind of price range:
Fuji: Touring
Raleigh: Royal, Grand Tour, Sojourn
Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op (Revolution): Country Traveller, Country Explorer, Country Premier (butterfly bars)
Claud Butler: Regent, Malvern, Dalesman
Dawes: Karakum (butterfly bars), Galaxy Cross (flat bars)
Discontinued models such as the Dawes Vantage, Horizon and Horizon plus might be found discounted online.

All of the above would be fine if they fit you. Rather than buying a bike just for a trip it might be best to think of what you want more long term after your trip. Touring bikes are great all rounders and make great commuters. Sportive/audax bikes are arguably more fun for unladen day rides. If you favour flat bars many hybrids would be suitable and usually offer better component spec for equivalent money (touring bikes are a niche market and road bike shifters are expensive).
JCroxton
Posts: 19
Joined: 25 Nov 2014, 3:57pm

Re: What Bike?

Post by JCroxton »

Thanks for your tips.

As much as I like the look of the Clubman, it says here they have Tektro brakes - http://www.bikesheduk.com/dawes-clubman-2014 - I don't know the quality of these, but the last thing I want to do is be going down the Cornish hills in the wet with brakes that aren't up to it. So I think I'll go with the Galaxy Plus - http://www.bikesheduk.com/dawes-galaxy-plus-2014 - as it has the disc brakes.

Thanks for pointing out about the pannier mounts, the Clubman with its carbon forks, doesn't have a front pannier mount, and I will have a fair amount to take with me, as I plan to camp where possible so I'm going to make use of the Bike Shed sale and get the Galaxy Plus now! Was considering getting it delivered, but I am going to head down to Exeter and have a ride on a few of them. Just to be double sure!

Does anyone know of any decent pannier bags? I literally know nothing about them other than what they do. What makes a good one?
Bicycler
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Joined: 4 Dec 2013, 3:33pm

Re: What Bike?

Post by Bicycler »

JCroxton wrote:Does anyone know of any decent pannier bags? I literally know nothing about them other than what they do. What makes a good one?

The standard recommendations are Carradice "Super C" or "Carradry" and Ortlieb. Personally I'd buy good quality ones knowing full well that they will last years if I wanted to do more touring and still sell for good prices second hand if I decided it wasn't for me. However, almost any bags should last the journey so this isn't the be all and end all if your budget won't stretch.

More money buys you better durability and waterproofing. Cheaper cordura/nylon bags will not be waterproof so that means using a separate waterproof liner or dry bag (or a bin bag :wink: ). Some tourists do this as a matter of course anyway even with waterproof bags. Some non-waterproof models come with waterproof rain covers which fit over the panniers but that can make accessing the panniers a nuisance. That type of bag would be okay for stuff you don't need to access much during the day. More expensive bags like the Carradice and Ortliebs are waterproofed using either modern waterproof coatings (eg. Ortlieb and Carradice "Carradry") or traditional waxed cotton (Carradice "Super C"). I'm a traditionalist :D

One word of warning. Lightweight travel isn't for everyone but most can afford to lose some weight. There is a temptation after buying big front and rear panniers to go and fill them. Resist this. Go for a few trial rides or maybe a couple of overnight trips with your touring load. When you get back look very closely at whether you need the stuff you didn't use.
tim_f
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Joined: 12 Oct 2009, 10:37pm

Re: What Bike?

Post by tim_f »

If you have enough camping gear to fill 4 panniers then it will probably weigh a lot, at lot of weight and doing the trip in 10 days wil be hard work.

To make a 10 day trip fun I would not want to be camping with a heavy load. I would cut gear to the minimum.

When I did my LEJOG I had all my camping gear including tent in 2 Orllieb panniers. I think I took about 13 days to cycle plus one day off.
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