Cycling UK Forum

horizon wrote:Mike, are you sure about your weights?

Yeah pretty sure.

Thanks all for your comments... very very helpful

For a variety of reasons it seems I will see a difference. I'm not planning to do any major touring, probably long day rides, but also for some commuting use (hilly commuting at that). I will look at the Audax end of the market too before I finally make a decision as it occurs I won't need the full on luggage capacity of a tourer most of the time and I therefore can shave quite a few pounds of with a triple audax and fit some mudguards.

I'm thinking of getting a tourer but being inexperienced with anything other than mountain bikes I have a question...

My mountain bike (full suss xc, 100mm travel) weighs around 30lb
The tourer (unlaiden) I'm looking at weighs around 31lb
They both have 3 rings on the front.

My question is how much difference will I noticed when riding up tarmac hills?
I appreciate I get a little pedal bob from the mountain bike (not much to be fair though) and the tyres are 50mm as opposed to 32mm... so there is a difference there... and I know a tourer will be better... but I'm trying to quantify how much better? "better"meaning faster, easier etc with the same amount of effort.

(There are lots of other reasons I should buy a tourer of course but this is the issue I keep thinking about)
Cheers.

I've been looking at the Tricross... it does seem on the nose with the spec but my price range is going up and up

Thanks for the tyre lesson xpc316e... that was just the kind of info I was after

paulcuthbert wrote:I'm similar height and build to you, and I had (long story) a Trek 1.2

Am I correct that the Trek 1.x have eyelets and enough clearance for mudguards... and I'm presuming a max of 23mm tyres?

Thanks for the welcome and info Si.
I am leaning to Audax... I'm not a speed man but I don't think I'll really use the extra features of a Tourer to make it worth the extra weight. It seems the most likely middle ground to get me started.

Yes I will definitely try a few out before I buy. I'm 5 ft 6 but with only a 27" inside leg so geometry alone is going seriously damage my choices.
It would be good to find a compact Audax to give me a little more standover... but again the field gets narrower and narrower.

I'm looking at Ribble as they have a great size range and Surosa as they do a "mild" compact version... but I see my price range creeping up and up.
And both these seem to have 23mm max for tyres. I don't know if that's usual for an Audax bike?

If anyone knows of any Audax bikes they thing I should add to the list bearing my size in mind please do... always happy to Google instead of working

I should also add it can a bit gravelly/muddy in places as it's a wee bit rural up here... this may influence the choice as well.

I guess I'm trying to find out how capable a typical road machine is in less than perfect conditions.

Cheers.

Hiya,
I've been mountain biking for years but fancy getting my first road bike.
So I've no experience of road tyres and what they can can't do. .. or road bikes to be honest.

I may go for an Audax or Tourer, but if I go for an all out road bike, I'm trying to understand how this will effect me in the rain on 23mm tyres as well as overall stability (as I'm a newbie used to big fat MTB tyres).

Do you think I'm better off easing myself in with an Audax or Tourer or do skinny tyres give more grip (and confidence) than they look? I don't want to buy a "summer" bike I won't have to confidence to ride... I need something I can use all year round. Of course being able to add mudguards will also come into the equation but it's stability for a newbie wimp that bothers me.

Just as a footnote, I live in quite a hilly area and whilst downhill speed is faaaaaaaaaar from my primary concern (i'm perfectly happy as captain slow), I do want to
be nimble enough going back up again. Whilst a Tourer will get me up them perfectly well, I've no experienced how much slower they are compared to a road bike.

Cheers.