Cycling UK Forum

Thanks both colin and reohn2, your points are very fair. I wish I had easy (or any) access to bike shops run by guys like yourselves!

That's a good point - one of the reasons I'd followed up on the LHT was seeing touring cyclists in other places riding a flat-bar version, though, of course they weren't necessarily in the larger sizes.
Ultimately, though there are a vast number of different bikes available but in the end they are only slightly different. We are offered the spectacle of Choice but in fact there is very little choice if you want anything even slightly outside the mainstream. Just like anything else really.

This is an interesting thread. I'm 6'4" and I've been looking for a while for a new flat-bar tourer/trekker with a good long reach - since I'm quite long in the body as well. The Surly Long Haul trucker looks close, but one problem is being able to test ride anything. Virtually all bikes broadly classed as "tourers" sold complete seem to have drop bars, for a start, so even if test riding one gave me any kind of objective measure of suitability I'd have to buy one and throw a load of bits away and re-fit. Otherwise I have to order one made up and guess at the fit from the data available on line. Getting measured or fitted seems to cost upwards of £180 (the quote I got from Mosquito bikes though some of that's refundable if I buy) but I'm not sure of how useful fitting is and what model it's based on. Advice from people who work in bike shops is not very reliable (no offence, people, but most of you are 30 years younger than me and seem very caught up in the current idea of cycling-as-sport!) so I am left with having to fork out up to £2000 for something that might not fit me. If I buy a pair of shoes for £100 I expect to try them on and to bring them back for a refund if they cripple me after a week, so are there any bike dealers out there who'll offer me the same terms?