Hi everyone,
I am planning to cycle LEJOG and need to find a bike. I am a 30 years old woman who only cycle to go to work on an old bike. I don't want to spend a fortune on this bike yet would like a good bike to not injure or struggle too much . What sort of bike would you recommand? There are so many information out there, it's a bit overwhelming!
Thanks for your help!
Claire
A suitable touring bike for a LeJoG trip
A suitable touring bike for a LeJoG trip
Last edited by Graham on 5 Jun 2018, 10:12am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Title
Reason: Title
Re: A suitable touring bike for a LeJoG trip
You'll need to give more information if you want sensible answers:
- Describe your current bike, and what you like and don't like about it. Some commuter bikes would make decent tourers, maybe with a few extras added. The fact that it is old is not necessarily a problem.
- How much stuff will you carry (will you be 'supported', i.e. have someone in a motor vehicle driving the route and carrying your luggage, or are you carrying it yourself; if not supported, do you intend to camp, or sleep in hotels/b&b)
- Are you more interested in speed or comfort? How long do you intend your trip to take?
- What is your aproximate budget? 'Not a fortune' is vague; are you thinking of £400, £600, £800...
- Do you just want to do LEJoG and then return to not doing much cycling, or do you want a bike that will be useful for other things too, in future?
- etc
Having said that, if you look at bikes described as a "tourers", you probably won't go far wrong. But good ones are not cheap, and not easy to find in bike shops, as the market for them is relatively small.
- Describe your current bike, and what you like and don't like about it. Some commuter bikes would make decent tourers, maybe with a few extras added. The fact that it is old is not necessarily a problem.
- How much stuff will you carry (will you be 'supported', i.e. have someone in a motor vehicle driving the route and carrying your luggage, or are you carrying it yourself; if not supported, do you intend to camp, or sleep in hotels/b&b)
- Are you more interested in speed or comfort? How long do you intend your trip to take?
- What is your aproximate budget? 'Not a fortune' is vague; are you thinking of £400, £600, £800...
- Do you just want to do LEJoG and then return to not doing much cycling, or do you want a bike that will be useful for other things too, in future?
- etc
Having said that, if you look at bikes described as a "tourers", you probably won't go far wrong. But good ones are not cheap, and not easy to find in bike shops, as the market for them is relatively small.
Re: A suitable touring bike for a LeJoG trip
The other question is when are you planning your trip?
If it is this summer you may not have sufficient time to get used to it enough to be happy with a different style of bike.
When I did LEJOG (an organised 15 day trip) in July 2009, I rode a lot of the time with a young lady, among other folk, who had only booked in May & prior to that she'd not ridden more than 10 miles in one go. She had got a snazzy new road bike thinking it would be better but ended up riding her old hybrid as she wasn't confident/comfortable enough on the road bike. Riding the hybrid didn't seem to give her any problems. (She has since done a lot more cycling & successfully completed the London-Edinburgh-London ride last year - on the snazzy road bike.
)
If it is this summer you may not have sufficient time to get used to it enough to be happy with a different style of bike.
When I did LEJOG (an organised 15 day trip) in July 2009, I rode a lot of the time with a young lady, among other folk, who had only booked in May & prior to that she'd not ridden more than 10 miles in one go. She had got a snazzy new road bike thinking it would be better but ended up riding her old hybrid as she wasn't confident/comfortable enough on the road bike. Riding the hybrid didn't seem to give her any problems. (She has since done a lot more cycling & successfully completed the London-Edinburgh-London ride last year - on the snazzy road bike.
)Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
Re: A suitable touring bike for a LeJoG trip
Probably more dosh than you have in mind, but if you can afford it this would do the job perfectly and you would have a great general purpose bike for years of use.http://www.oxfordbikeworks.co.uk/model-1e/
Re: A suitable touring bike for a LeJoG trip
If you are confident about checking second hand bikes, take a look at the small ads in this forum. There is a steady stream of touring bikes for sale and some have done very few miles apparently. As long as it fits you and there is nothing seriously wrong with it, you can save a lot of money versus buying new.
Re: A suitable touring bike for a LeJoG trip
I would suggest the Spa steel tourer https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p2983/SPA-CYCLES-Steel-Tourer. It can be built up by Spa to meet your own particular body dimensions, preferences and requirements, e.g. flat bars or drop bars. Spa's component prices are very competitive, so they offer very good value for money whether you choose low, mid or top end components (and they should be able to give good advice on component choice).
You are likely to save money if you get a Spa tourer assembled to meet your particular needs, compared with buying a standard off the shelf bike which you then find needs to be heavily 'upgraded' or modified because the handlebars are the wrong size, the stem is the wrong length, the gears are not low enough, the saddle is uncomfortable, the tyres are rubbish etc. etc.
Moreover, Spa also sell at competitive prices a lot of the other cycling kit and accessories that you might need for LEJOG, e.g. bags by Ortlieb and Carradice.
So Spa would be my top choice, even more so if you are able to get to Harrogate for a test ride on one of their demo bikes.
You are likely to save money if you get a Spa tourer assembled to meet your particular needs, compared with buying a standard off the shelf bike which you then find needs to be heavily 'upgraded' or modified because the handlebars are the wrong size, the stem is the wrong length, the gears are not low enough, the saddle is uncomfortable, the tyres are rubbish etc. etc.
Moreover, Spa also sell at competitive prices a lot of the other cycling kit and accessories that you might need for LEJOG, e.g. bags by Ortlieb and Carradice.
So Spa would be my top choice, even more so if you are able to get to Harrogate for a test ride on one of their demo bikes.
Re: A suitable touring bike for a LeJoG trip
The two most important criteria are that the bike be reliable, and comfortable (which includes having gearing low enough to get you up hills in reasonable comfort). So it's also not a good idea to set off with a bike that's unfamiliar to you. Beyond that, as people will tell you, you can tour on anything.
If you look at bikes called 'tourers', they'll mostly have drop handlebars, which may not be a good idea unless you already use them. If that's the case you probably want to look at 'hybrids'.
If you look at bikes called 'tourers', they'll mostly have drop handlebars, which may not be a good idea unless you already use them. If that's the case you probably want to look at 'hybrids'.
Re: A suitable touring bike for a LeJoG trip
the most important thing will be how comfortable you are on the bike. If you are riding every day and happy with your bike you should consider using that one. If you must get a newer one make sure it has precisely the same sitting position as you have now. A centimeter or two different will have an effect on you, probably not for the good if your current set-up suits you.
Ge the bike ready now and ride it for as much as possible before the big trip.
PS consider going out with the beginners section of your nearest Cycling UK club . You may get some good tips and training from people ho do this sort of thing a lot.
Ge the bike ready now and ride it for as much as possible before the big trip.
PS consider going out with the beginners section of your nearest Cycling UK club . You may get some good tips and training from people ho do this sort of thing a lot.