Cycling UK Forum

It's good there's a report about one bike for everything because there's enough of us who can't afford the spend on multiple bikes (afford in cash value, afford to spare the space to store them or any other limiting reason).

Take a look at, for example, at a German large bike store, such as https://www.bike-discount.de/en/trekking-bike. What we think of as a touring bike is virtually unknown to them. From my experience of touring, if you see a steel framed, dropped bared touring bike, you've seen another Brit. These terms, like most names, are simply for convenience, to be understood in many markets, not just the UK. The UKs fashion quirks for dropped bar tourers really aren't the rest of the worlds problem.

Richard Fairhurst wrote:... a go-anywhere/adventure/gravel bike,

And "all-road" is another term.

but there's two places it won't go. Not round town, because it looks nice and is eminently nickable unless I take a heavy D-lock with me;

OT but round here at least (Bristol) I don't think desirability of bike has much relation to its nickability. Anything can be taken and sold on. Of course the more you like a bike though, the more it hurts to lose it.

iandriver wrote:Take a look at, for example, at a German large bike store, such as https://www.bike-discount.de/en/trekking-bike. What we think of as a touring bike is virtually unknown to them. From my experience of touring, if you see a steel framed, dropped bared touring bike, you've seen another Brit. These terms, like most names, are simply for convenience, to be understood in many markets, not just the UK. The UKs fashion quirks for dropped bar tourers really aren't the rest of the worlds problem.

Good point (though I'd say drop-bar tourers are or certainly used to be popular in France too); you can see gravel bikes as a way of introducing drop-bar tourers to places which won't buy drop-bar tourers.

Bmblbzzz wrote:

iandriver wrote:Take a look at, for example, at a German large bike store, such as https://www.bike-discount.de/en/trekking-bike. What we think of as a touring bike is virtually unknown to them. From my experience of touring, if you see a steel framed, dropped bared touring bike, you've seen another Brit. These terms, like most names, are simply for convenience, to be understood in many markets, not just the UK. The UKs fashion quirks for dropped bar tourers really aren't the rest of the worlds problem.

Good point (though I'd say drop-bar tourers are or certainly used to be popular in France too); you can see gravel bikes as a way of introducing drop-bar tourers to places which won't buy drop-bar tourers.

It's funny how it looks to be coming full circle. In the '70s my bike wasn't a tourer. It wasn't a race bike. It had clearances for decent sized tyres and dropped bars. We seem to be coming back to what we once called a, wait for it........



......Bicycle.

iandriver wrote:Take a look at, for example, at a German large bike store, such as https://www.bike-discount.de/en/trekking-bike. What we think of as a touring bike is virtually unknown to them.

Actually they do have a few but are calling them Gravel Bikes!
https://www.bike-discount.de/en/gravel_bikes/l-24/p-1

I know what you mean though it's just name, like mountain bike or adventure bike. You can have an adventure on any bike but it's a name and if it sticks then you have a fair idea of what this type of bike will be, although there can be a reasonable spread in any classification.

iandriver wrote:….Take a look at, for example, at a German large bike store, such as https://www.bike-discount.de/en/trekking-bike. What we think of as a touring bike is virtually unknown to them. From my experience of touring, if you see a steel framed, dropped bared touring bike, you've seen another Brit...…. The UKs fashion quirks for dropped bar tourers really aren't the rest of the worlds problem.

Er, actually, I don't think it is the rest of the World's problem that German cycle tourists like flat bars and call them 'trekking bikes'.

Nor should it be our problem what folk using English as a second language do or don't understand when talking amongst themselves.

If you type 'touring bicycle' into an image search engine, the majority are bikes with dropped handlebars. As it should be; that has been the default meaning in both British English and American English for at least fifty years.

cheers

Hmmm! Wasn't a race bike a bicycle too? If it was then you've got a differentiation based on use. With time and developments creating more differentiation to create bikes better suited for different terrains and types of use make sense to me.

Once upon a time gentleman motoring enthusiasts used to drive to race meets then race the car. That's at the top level. I wonder how many top rally drivers commute in their race cars or formula one drivers? Slightly simplistic but just as there was a general use bike and a race bike there's now a road bike for audax, tt, triathlon, track sprint, track tt, track pursuit, track hour record, road race (plus versions for climbers, sprint, etc), downhill, enduro, trail, xc, gravel, CX, general use in various styles, etc. Marketing? Only if you buy it for image. If like me you buy your bike based on what you need then it's really just the same sort of decision that stopped you riding around on a race bike. Best option for your needs.

Brucey wrote:If you type 'touring bicycle' into an image search engine, the majority are bikes with dropped handlebars. As it should be; that has been the default meaning in both British English and American English for at least fifty years.
cheers

One of your first hits might be the fully loaded touring galleries, majority of contributors seem to be English speaking, though the photos are from around the world. I wouldn't tell any of them that their bike isn't a touring bike
http://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/fullyloaded

As for what bikes can be ridden where, this is a Kona Honky Tonk:


For riding on nice smooth tarmac:


Less smooth tarmac:


And no tarmac:


(From this blog: https://praveenmys.blogspot.com/2019/01 ... hills.html)

Tangled Metal wrote:It's good there's a report about one bike for everything because there's enough of us who can't afford the spend on multiple bikes (afford in cash value, afford to spare the space to store them or any other limiting reason).

Or of course if one can not thoyle having several machines

There's plenty of gravel around here of various types: gravel, stone road, grass tracks and so on. The gravel roads in my village are short and go to small residential and industrial estates, while the one in the neighbouring village north loops round forming a less useful bypass to the A10 (which has a cycleway), but the neighbouring village east has at least three that bypass the busy cyclewayless A47 in different directions. The one towards Swaffham has the problems of quarry lorries on half of it and a narrow footpath in the middle of it, but we've lost access to the other stone roads in that direction (actually in the next parish east after that) because there was only a permissive access which wasn't renewed

Restricted Byway and farm drive through West Bilney Wood

© Chris, cc-by-sa.

Road from the River Nar to the sand quarries

© Chris, cc-by-sa.

Ashwood Lodge

© Keith Evans, cc-by-sa.

No parking

© Copyright Martin Pearman and
licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

PH wrote:

Brucey wrote:If you type 'touring bicycle' into an image search engine, the majority are bikes with dropped handlebars. As it should be; that has been the default meaning in both British English and American English for at least fifty years.
cheers

One of your first hits might be the fully loaded touring galleries, majority of contributors seem to be English speaking, though the photos are from around the world. I wouldn't tell any of them that their bike isn't a touring bike
http://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/fullyloaded

neither would I; like I said something with dropped bars is the usual default meaning, but that is not to say that there are not other sorts of touring machine. You can tour on anything more or less.

cheers

I took my recumbent out on a canal towpath which becomes gravelly at times. Wet grass isn't good for its slick tyres though. Is that a gravel recumbent? It's an SGMT old version.

peetee wrote:But seriously folks, take a trip down to the New Forest. Anything off-road there is ideal for gravel bikes. Hard packed gravel fire roads and sandy heath abound. MTB's are generally over engineered for that sort of terrain.

Agreed, I live in the Forest and a rigid singlespeed is nigh-on perfect.

Bmblbzzz wrote:As for what bikes can be ridden where, this is a Kona Honky Tonk:


...

(From this blog: https://praveenmys.blogspot.com/2019/01 ... hills.html)

And he's on 28s: "I have Panaracer Pasela on the front and Schwalbe Marathon Plus on the back. Both 28X700C."