A good all-rounder for me!

[thatruddyvicar]

I'm thinking of a new bike.

I currently ride a Ferrara tidy which is ok.

My riding consists of mostly roads, though I do do a a little bit if gravelly trails which I can cope with, only just and quite slowly!

Will it be enough just to change to 25mm tyres. Can I fit 28mm on this bike.

Most of my trips are 25-50 mile though I would like god for 100 mile days.

Luggage carrying I think a bar bag and saddlebag is enough. I don't see me doing overnight tours and if I do I think it will be one set of clothes and a credit card! I'm happy to think I shan't do any racing either.

I was thinking of an audax bike, perhaps dawes clubman, or a sportive, perhaps specialized Roubaix. But I've just started thinking about a cyclocross bike.

Really not sure but I want one bike that can do everything. I I think if I get into overnight camping tours I'd be happy to get a bike for that task. I'm also more than happy to build something up if I see the right kind of frame on eBay for not too expensive.


Getting confused!

[NetworkMan]

I think that what you need is on the borderline between an Audax bike and a Traditional Touring Bike. I find 25 mm too narrow for gravelly tracks but find 32 mm (which actually measures more like 30 mm) OK, so 28 mm might be just about OK. There are a few Audax bikes around which can take 28 mm with mudguards and more that can take them without. Do you want mudguards or will you only be riding when it's dry?

If it were me, and I only had one bike, I'd go for a Traditional Touring Bike with 32 mm tyres. It turns out that such tyres, if chosen carefully, roll as well or better than narrower ones and give a much smoother ride on rough roads.

I'm sure you'll get more advice about the possibility of using 28 mm tyres on gravelly tracks!

[thatruddyvicar]

I think I do want mudguards. I am going to rude all year. How much slower would a lighting tourer be for the same energy input?

[PH]

My choice would be get a tourer and build it up quite light. Unless you're very light and then the stiffer frame might seem harsh.

[breakwellmz]

I think I do want mudguards. I am going to rude all year. How much slower would a lighting tourer be for the same energy input?

"I am going to rude all year"-Allo Allo

[thatruddyvicar]

Oh dear, secrets out!

[JohnW]

Well your reverence, I know that this is a stock answer on these forums, to your kind of question, and I don't know where you're based, but Spa Cycles' own range is always a good place to start. I have several cycling colleagues who do your kind of riding, plus much longer rides, who have Spa Audax and touring bikes, and they are all very satisfied.

There's a choice of frame materials (titanium or steel) and a choice of forks on both (carbon or steel) and there seems to be an equal mix of frame materials, but the steel forks seem to be the most popular.

I don't know your budget, but if I were looking for a ready-built bike for your kind of riding (which apart from your shorter distances is very similar to mine), I do know that I'd buy a Spa all steel tourer. It's easy for me though, because I'm only about 30 miles from Spa.

[Vorpal]

I don't know if you can fit 28 mm tyres on your bike. Many bikes will take 28 mm tyres, even if the spec only says up to 25 mm. There are two things to consider
-will the rims take 28 mm tyres?
-is there clearance for 28 mm tyres?

The clearance, you might be able to determine by looking at how much more space there is around the current tyres. Remember, though, that some brands run wider or narrower than their nominal size. For the rims, they may say what size tyres they are suitable for, or the manufacturer may provide that information on-line. Even so, the manufacturer recommendations tend to be cautious, and many people fit at least one size bigger or smaller on their rims. Sheldon Brown published a table of tyre sizes that can be fit to the various rim sizes http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html Scroll well down the page to 'width considerations'.

As for, is 28 mm enough? Probably. It's more a matter of how you weigh comfort versus performance than anything else. I've ridden on some really rough surfaces on a road bike with 28 mm tyres. while I wouldn't want to do it for an extended period of time, it's fine for sections of a few miles, or perhaps even a bit longer on shortish trip. 28 mm wide tyres at recommended inflation should be enough to prevent pinch punctures at normal speed on gravelly tracks.

The biggest difference larger tyres would make will be in personal comfort. And the longer you're on the bike, the more difference it will make.

As for what to buy.... If I were in the market for a new tourer / audax bike, I'd buy a frame from Thorn and build it up myself.

[Vantage]

Tourer. There appears to be very little that these bikes won't cope with.
Mine's on the heavy side at 34lbs unloaded but even then it does feel quite spritely with the right tyres and pressures. I currently have 37mm Landcruisers on her and I'm willing to bet that without mudguards, it'll happily take 50mm tyres, not that I'd ever be so silly as to ride without guards. The idea of it!

[rmurphy195]

A traditional Tourer is my chosen bike most of the time. I use 700c/28 tyres, it has the rack on the back for panniers, and the essential(i my view) mudguards!

I use it not just on roads but also on canal towpaths, railway line cycle paths (like the Tissington trail) and the odd bridleway as long as it's not very muddy.

I've taken my Galaxy on a number of Birmingham-Oxford rides (all road), mixed rides in the Peaks (roads, farm tracks, Tissington/High Peak trails), part of the Forest of Dean that you don't need a mountain bike for, part of the South Downs Way, and regularly use the canals into/out of Birmingham town centre on it.

I've done a couple of shopping trips where I've carried enough weight to feel the frame flexing under me, though not too often. A few years ago I also did the occasional commute from the suburbs into Birmingham city centre in traffic, no problems.

I've ridden in the Summer, Winter (though not in ice or snow), day and night and the bike just does it all.

I have several hand positions on the bars that I use depending on the wind, rain, or just how I feel or how tired my wrists are getting, and I have two handy water bottle holders on the frame. I don't use bar tape, instead I have some black spongy stuff (the name ""Grab-On" springs to mind) which is quite comfortable to hold.

It's a 531 frame and forks which absorbs much of the bumps.

Current tyres are Michelin (Select I think, may check later when it stops raining) and the excellent Hutchinson that you used to be able to get. The original Conti's were soon removed in favour of tyres with a more rounded profile (the Hutchinsons), it steered better almost straight away.

It's a better, and more comfortable, general-purpose bike than either my mountain bike (occasional fun, not too strenuous) or the Brompton (which is incredibly useful and versatile in other ways, not least of which being able to pack it away in the boot of a small car)

You can see what my opinion is!

If I was buying such a bike now, I'd be tempted to have a look at a disc-braked version, 'cos I suspect that worn rims (due to braking) might be a thing of the past. I'd also enjoy trying them out, which is all part of the fun!

[MikeF]

I agree with that. A tourer certainly seems one of the most versatile bikes even if it is not actually used for touring. It won't be a as fast or light as a road bike or have extreme off road capabilities of a modern mountain bike, but otherwise there's a lot going for it, but that's just my view .
Clarks sell 4 lengths in a packet of that "black spongy stuff" and I've used that for replacement on an old tourer bike.

[c53204]

I'm looking at the Norco Threshold A3 (2015). £600

Looks good and meets all my current needs - Roads, a bit of offroad, lot's of gravel/canal towpaths and some light touring with rack/guards.

[gerrymcm]

This might be worth a look.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-substan ... sora-2014/