Cycling UK Forum

Hey Tangled Metal,

For me this is a big spend to make and before pushing the button I need to know from people with a similar bike (although your's is the higher model i think you can give me an idea what the lower spec model is like

I will definitely follow up with a bit of a review of the bike. I completely understand where you are coming from - budget-wise. It was the same for me - the Expedition looks good and the Voyage, from what I have read, also gets a lot of praise. The bike should be here by the weekend and I will likely get a chance to ride it on Sunday but not going too far, might just do 10-15 miles to start with, to get a feel for her!

Initially I was looking at the Genesis Tour de Fer - no doubt a very good looking bike but the lack of reviews available online and the fact it's retail price is £300 less than the RB Panorama at £899 (all of its components are under par with the Panorama's, but it comes with mechanical disk brakes).

The Cinelli also looks like a great bike but I'm not sure if you need to spend so much - perhaps the Spa bike is a good compromise from overspending by too much?

I am thinking of unsurfaced towpaths through to gravely tracks in the Lakes (e.g. the side of Windermere near High Wray down to ferry nab for example

This is no problem - I did it last year on my road bike with slicks!! OK, I did take it easy but still there is very little need for 26 inch wheels on such a surface unless you are absolutely powering through there, screaming at tourists to 'Get out the way!!'.

I only went all in on the Panorama because I am limited for time (I couldn't spend many more hours looking on the net), found one for a superb pricce. If you can wait then my advice is to do so. But if you have an 'itch' it really isn't long before it needs scratching!

Take it easy

Thanks Chocjohn9 - I've gone for the 56cm ex-display Ridgeback. Winstanleys didn't have the 58cm any more and the 53 is, going from measurements, a bit small. I may be wrong and you might have made a great point that I received too late! I hope the 'damage' isn't too bad on it and is hopefully quite easily fixed up.

I spent most of half-term trying to work out which bike to buy and just decided to get the Panorama on impulse - I watched a second hand one go for £100 more on Ebay last night and didn't want to pass up the chance. If it really doesn't suit me then I could always pass it on - yet, from all the Panorama reviews and cycling blogs I have read, this might be the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship!!

What do you ride again?

Guys,

I have found an ex-display 56cm Ridgeback Panorama 2014, for a brilliant price!!

However, here are the downsides:

Rust patched on top tube.
Chips to seat tube.
Chips to lacquer to lower downtube.
Scratch on left-hand chainstay.
Marks on cranks from use.
Been used as demo bike so will show signs of wear in usual places.
Will be cleaned thoroughly before sent.

EDIT: I am now the proud owner of a Ridgeback Panorama, for the bargain price of £649 - wow!!

Thanks so much for all your help, tips and advice on finding the right back. I believe I have chosen the right bike and will write back to let you know how it rides - yippeee!!

Tangled Metal - yes, the Genesis Tour de Fer does look like a brilliant bike. I was first taken by that bike but have since looked at Dawes Super Galaxy and also Ridgeback Panorama, which are both more expensive unless you can find a good deal. I really like the look of the Panorama and missed out on getting a slightly upgraded, year old one on Ebay last night, which went for £746!

The guys in that LBS who have those Dawes sitting around in the warehouse should get on here and make us an offer!!


Stu57 - thanks for the links; both wonderful bikes. The Coast2Coast really looks like an amazing bike - it's just a bit pricey for me at the moment as I need to get all the panniers and other stuff to go with it. Maybe I will hold tight for a month or two and look for a drop in price <fingers crossed>.

Another dilemma I'm facing is sizing, some bike it works out that I'd be better off with a 58cm frame and others with a 56cm frame. I am waiting on Winstanleys Bikes to find out if they can still supply a 58cm frame Dawes Super Galaxy, priced at £799, but am worried that I might order a bike based on price and find out that it is slightly too big. I am 5'11'' - and actually think 58cm might be too big for a tourer - my single speed feels like quite a big bike and that's 58cm. Hmmm, more to ponder!

Off to work - Happy Monday folks!!

Found this great looking Ridgeback Panorama on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RIDGEBACK-PANORAMA-TOURING-TOURER-BIKE-CYCLE-56CM-vgc-ONE-YEAR-OLD-EXTRAS/171683701161?_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D29165%26meid%3D657097efde0649d99ba7ae56db0b20fd%26pid%3D100009%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D221689165720

Looks like a great bike but would a 56cm frame be large enough for someone who is about 181-2cm tall (5ft 11'')

Thanks for all your tips and advice - I am finding it all very useful!

PS: Erm, on Evans website it says the bike weighs 30kg! Can this be right?

Ah, it should read 30lbs!!

You're right, 25kg does sound excessive until I explain that my cosy armchair weighs in at a 18kg!!

I hear what you're saying - and you're totally right, of course.What I'm a bit worried about is the overall weight of the bike, luggage and me sitting on top of it all, going downhill at a considerable speed and then relying on v-brakes to slow me down quick enough. Cantilevers are good but the braking distance on my (8kg) road bike is still fairly large when descending at high speed, so I worry a bit about what it would be like on a 14kg bike with 25kg of luggage (of course I wouldn't be going as fast (or I hope not!)).

If I do end up with a bike using disk brakes (mechanical) I would definitely make sure that i know how to fully repair/replace them before I set off to go anywhere! This would probably result in having to carry extra tools, a few brake pads and a spare rotor or two. Saying that, I should be happy using v-brakes as they are easy to fix and replace. I already have a bit of experience replacing pads on disk brakes and it wasn't that difficult but a bit fidly - what else should I be wary of!?

Merry_Wanderer wrote:You can have V brakes as an alternative to cantilevers and depending on the rims you have, they will last many thousands of miles. You can also have very low gearing on a 'normal' sized wheel, not just a 26 inch. The thing that complicates matters is if you want STI combined gear shifters and brake levers like a lot of drop handlebar road bikes because these aren't compatible with mtb gearing or v brakes.

If you want drop handlebars and aren't fussed about STI's then you can have bar-end (gear) shifters and a standard brake lever. These 2 separate items are cheaper than STIs and more easily repaired or replaced. As an example of low gearing, my 26 inch wheeled Surly has a 44/32/22 chainrings and an 11-34 cassette which gives me as a low gear, 22/34 x 26 = 16. something inch low gear. I need this to spin up hills as I have knee problems. Put the same gearing on a 700 wheel bike and it becomes 22/34 x 28. Not much higher than my low gear. As a comparison, my old road bike lowest gear was 34 inches which was bloom in hard work on hills.

I would look at a bike for frame size and geometry first and then consider gearing and wheel size

You make some brilliant points here. I didn't realise that STI's weren't compatible with v-brakes, hmmm. I have seen what damage STI's can pick up from a simple crash (or should I say, getting 'doored' off my bike!). The right one was ruined and costly to replace (Ultegra). With the Dura Ace bar end shifter's costing £45-50 they look like a good thing to have on a long distance touring bike. I've never used them before but have read a lot of good things about them. I'd be prepared to sell the STI's off any bike I get and replace them with bar-ends (if this isn't too complicated to achieve).

Even if I get a 700cc/28 inch wheeled bike it is always possible to change the lower chainring and get an alternative cassette/sprockets to change the gearing - I often do this when tackling different passes in the Lake District and north Yorks and, to be honest, I still find them tough - it's that 3rd chainring and lowest gears that I need!!

I'm so glad that I opened this thread because there isn't anyone around me that knows anything about bikes and I was really getting in a pickle over these kinds of things.

simonhill wrote:Your long term plan is to move from UK to European, to long haul stuff. I don't know how quickly you will be doing this, but you may want to be thinking about a bike for the end of your plan rather than the beginning.

Debate rages, but many would say a robust 26" tourer would be more suitable for fully loaded touring in Central Asia.

PS I am biased, I ride a Surly and tour amost exclusively in Asia.

Well, it is hard to argue with you seeing that you already have experience touring in Asia! Nearly everything I have read about 26" wheels is positive - especially regarding strength, manouveability, low gearing, and, importantly, getting replacement parts. To be sensible about touring I think I need to start at home, in the Lakes and in and around Scotland before I can head off towards Europe. It may be a year or more before I head off towards C. Asia.

I'm going to start looking at 26" wheel touring bikes - just out of curiosity - but so far I have only come across Surly and one or two others (like Thorn) but these are just out of my price range. It seems that people who own Surly's really love their bikes!! I'll have a look around for second-hand ones.

I've only experience riding a disk brake bike for a short while and really liked it - now, I am getting hung up on a touring bike with disk brakes over standard cantilever. Part of me feels like this is wrong and normal brakes are fine for what I want to do, another part of me nags away saying that disk brakes are stronger, more effective and work better in bad weather - they also don't ruin rims in the same way.

I haven't done this much research since I was at university!

thanks guys!

mercalia wrote:Not sure if any on your list are 26" wheels, but you might like to consider such - Its the only real way to effectively get low gears for going up hills with a load?

No, I don't think any of them are 26", that would be a real bonus if they were. There seems to be a lot of benefits to having 26" wheels so I am surprised that more mfr's don't actually (1) sell touring bikes already equipped with them (2) offer a choice of either wheel size (3) make a big point out of the fact that there bikes are 26" wheels because they are better for touring. [I don't know if any of that makes sense, I am half asleep!! So, please, tell me shut up just to be kind to me!!]

ossie wrote:my hand built 90's mtb tourer is 8 speed with an Alivio groupset...bomb proof.

Brilliant - now I wish I had never suggested that Alvio's were in some way an inferior product!!

Merry_Wanderer wrote:Before you go mail order I would advise a trip to Spa Cycles at Harrogate. They also sell discounted Dawes Galaxy as well as their excellent own Spa Tourer in all sizes. You can take one for a test ride before you make a decision. Spa are offering their steel framed tourer complete with Tubus rack (top quality) for £945 and you have a choice of parts. Before you ask, I have a Surly Disc Trucker as Spa's Tourer didn't come in my size when I bought

Unfortunately, I can't really get to Harrogate, I would if I could but it's too far and I have a lot of work on at the moment. Heard lots of good things about the Surly's.

Anyways, thanks for your tips and advice, I am finding it very helpful!

Night!

Bonefishblues:

The "best" bike is the one that's most comfortable for you, especially as a touring bike. As others have said, equipment can be changed (well, almost always is changed )

So true. Being a former courier, I have experience riding three totally different bikes: a 54cm MTB with 26" wheels; a 56cm road bike, and a 58cm single-speed (which took the longest to get used to, but was a dream by the time I quit!). All sizing guides recommend the 58cm touring bike for someone my height and the Dawes certainly looks a good shape for the style I like to ride. Saying that, it looks like there is also room on the stem of the Dawes SG to adjust the headset should the drop-bars be too low, which could accomodate a higher position.

Vorpal - I don't think that problem will trouble me. I am about 182cm tall.

In a way I would like to find a bike that I will be happy with for many years to come so looking into your suggestion makes total sense. I should try and get up to Wheelbase to atleast try the Genesis.

Hey Chocojohn, thanks for the link. I can't believe they are selling the Super Galaxy for £799 with a saving of £700!

I know it says they are out of stock but they say they are available to order. I have never read a bad word about Dawes - in fact, I am going to contact them right now and find out if I can order one, can't get better than that for your money.

Wow, great response from you all. Thank you!

pwa "Also have a look at Spa Cycles based in Harrogate."

I definitely will do!

Malaconotus/Graham - brilliant reply and thanks for pointing out these things. I'm moving from single speed and road bikes so please excuse my ignorance on such matters as the Aivio - as I walked up town before, I worried that I may have got my impression of the Alivio's wrong.

Your comment on the differences between the Roux and the Explorer sum up brilliantly the reason why I came here for some help/advice. I don't know enough about these things and your advice is greatly appreciated Both bikes managed to score 4 out of 5 on road.cc, yet I'll happily accept your opinion on the Revolution.

Foxyrider - you make a good point, and this is actually something I have spent a little bit of time on looking into - it get's a bit technical and complicated for me, working out if the geometry of the frame is right, is the frame going to be strong enough to bear up to four panniers, etc. You also hit the nail on the head about some manufacturers shipping bikes with inferior parts, although some do make an effort to at least put decent mudguards on - I don't know about racks, I read somewhere that Revolution state that their rear rack can only support 25kg, and they are required by law to say so (I think 25kg sounds like enough weight to me).

Vorpal - thanks for the link, I will go and have a read of it right now!

Any opinions on how good the Genesis Tour is for the price, as I live right near Wheelbase and could get one at any time?

cheers and happy weekend to you all!

Hi guys n girls,

I hope it's OK to post this here - I'm sure that there are quite a few threads of this kind already.

I am currently looking at getting a new touring bike and have hit upon three bikes that differ quite a lot on price, yet all receive brilliant reviews.

First up, we have the Revolution Country Explorer (14.3kg):

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-country-explorer-15

A sound looking bike with a decent frame and mechanical disk brakes. It's let down by the cheap STI's and deraileurs (to be expected at this price, I know). These will have to be sold and then upgraded. The STI's could be changed for Dura Ace bar end shifters for less than £50. Is this a plan that could work? Hmmm.
A very heavy bike at 14.3kg before additional luggage!

Next up, the Roux Etape 250 (13.8kg):

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Roux-Roux-Etape-250-2014-Touring-Bike_60729.htm

Also a very good looking bike, very similar in a way to the Country Explorer in many ways. Slightly better groupset - Sora STI's and deraileurs - and possibly better disk brakes, Tektro v BB5's?

And, finally, the Genesis Tour de Fer:

http://www.wheelbase.co.uk/genesis-tour-de-fer-2015.html?nosto=nosto-product-page-1

I love the look of this bike - but am I really getting my money's worth (compared to the others) for £200-300 more? This bike comes with the Dura Ace bar end shifters, but Shimano Alivio mechs, which kind of put me off. Why would such a good bike come with such low grade deraileurs? I know it is still a sub-£1000 bike but still, they could have a bit more self-respect than using such gearing mechs. Or is that a moot point because of the price?

Wheelbase offer interest-free finance, meaning that I could give them a deposit and just pay the rest off in chunks that I will hardly notice.

It's one thing buying the bike but it still needs decking out with panniers, right. I am looking at the Avenir panniers that come in a lot cheaper than the Ortlieb's.

I know buying a touring bike should be seen as an investment; after all it is a bike that should be around for years and help one to travel freely for thousands of miles. I hate my car and am going to ditch it - it's like setting fire to money, and I should be prepared to get up an hour earlier, shouldn't I?!

I plan on starting with some fairly short camping tours around the Lakes and Scotland and once i feel like I know what I am doing I want to go away for weeks at a time, across Europe and potentially into Central Asia. Having the right bike is very important to me... ah hell, if I can't make my mind up I might just go on my single speed!! That's why I need you help!

Thanks in advance

I am delighted to inform you that the Shimergo now works perfectly after adding a new chain and a new cassette (9spd Tiagra).

My setup currently is:

Campagnolo Mirage 10spd shifters

Shimano 105 front and 9 speed rear derailleur

Shimano Tiagra 9spd cassette

Shimano HG93 chain

and one happy rider!!

Thanks to all for your advice and help - especially Pete75!!