'Sit up and beg' touring bike

[crgirdlestone]

Hi guys,

I'm planning on riding from Santiago, Chile up to Costa Rica and am looking for a touring bike. I'm not a bike enthusiast, and so don't know if this is a feasible idea, but when I have ridden them in the past I have found 'sit up and beg' style bikes extremely comfortable. I'm not looking to break any records and am not concerned with speed, and I think I may actually cover more distance over the days if i'm more comfortable.

I'm a graduate with little money and so want to spend as little as possible. Does anyone know of an affordable 'sit up and beg' style bike that could bear the burden of a cross-continental tour?

Cheers,

Charlie

[hamster]

How far have you ridden on the 'sit up and beg'? You end up with a lot of weight on your backside and what's comfortable for 5 miles on a summer's day is not so good for 60+ laden miles on bad roads.

That said, tourers are more upright in stance compared to fast road bikes. You will need a very tough bike for that route as it has a lot of unsurfaced roads as far as I know. A secondhand 1990s steel MTB frame could be a good starting point and would have the kind of stance you want.

[pjclinch]

Take any other bike you like and trade the handlebars for something higher and more swept back than usual flat bars, and that will probably be most of what you need. Look up "trekking handlebars" and you can probably find something that gives an option of a bit more aero as well.

Pete.

[Norman H]

Welcome to the Forum Charlie.

I'm a graduate with little money and so want to spend as little as possible.

If you have the slightest mechanical aptitude, I would advise building the bike yourself, The skills you acquire will be invaluable for dealing with the mechanical problems that you will inevitably encounter on your adventure.

Look to spend a fair proportion of your budget on a decent set of hand built wheels. Better still, bearing in mind what I said about acquiring useful skills, learn how to do it yourself.

If money is tight, old style non suspension steel mountain bikes can make excellent tourers, with a little fettling. There are many such bikes, lying in sheds or garages, that have hardly turned a wheel since the day they were purchased. They even occasionally turn up in skips or at your local recycling. Buying second hand is not for the unwary, but if you know what you're doing, or have a friend who does, it can save you a lot of money. The money you save can go towards other essentials like pannier racks and decent waterproof panniers.

If your budget allows, suitable frames are made by the likes of Thorn, surly, and others.

[mercalia]

I would have thought sit-up-and-beg and touring are incompatible designs. The traditional sit-up-and-beg were the Raleigh roadster for getting to and from work? Tourers are designed for comfortable hours in the saddle. Though I do remember seeing a picture of a gent eating up the miles on a vintage sit-up-and-beg in France from Paris I think it was. Given your aim I wonder whether you can do it at such a low price, perish the thought you will get stuck with a broken bike some where

[NUKe]

Is there is a budget. If its tight start with an old steel MTB , no suspension and build the bike you like. If money is not really an obstacle have a look at thorn by SJS cycles.
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/
or SPA
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/

both of these might give you inspiration.

[pwa]

I've not tried that sort of epic journey in rough terrain, but if I were doing it I would forget trying to buy a cheap bike. Your bike should cost as much as your fights. Otherwise you will be in danger of spending a load on flights only to have your trip ruined by broken spokes, malfunctioning gears and brakes that make every descent a worry.

You need to look at Thorn Cycles. You would benefit from making an appointment to visit them in Bridgewater. They will make you a bike that will fit perfectly and give you the reliability you need on a trip like that. Then you will have to learn how to maintain it. I reckon you will be looking at £2k for the bike.

[pjclinch]

I would have thought sit-up-and-beg and touring are incompatible designs.

Doesn't seem to be something that's bothered a lot of Dutch cyclists, touring as well as well as utility. Not that that makes it the best way, but people certainly do it.

[whoof]

You could buy a secondhand bike in Santiago which may save on the hassle and cost of taking one on a flight. This has a link to a couple of sites.

https://livefreechipamogli.wordpress.co ... ago-chile/

Not something I would want to do personally but it's an option.


I once met a man in Southern Malaysia on an old mountain bike with all his belonging in carrier bags. His bike was probably less than £50 new and looked like it had had very little in the way of maintenance for the entirety of it's extremely hard life. I wouldn't have wanted to ride to the end of the road on his bike. He had started off in Russia a number of year previously and had ridden through Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikastan, Pakistan India, Burma, Thailand and the length of mainland Malaysia.

[hamster]

Doesn't seem to be something that's bothered a lot of Dutch cyclists, touring as well as well as utility. Not that that makes it the best way, but people certainly do it.

Riding beautifully surfaced tracks entirely on the flat is little evidence of suitability for unsurfaced roads with massive amounts of climbing I would think.

[foxyrider]

Doesn't seem to be something that's bothered a lot of Dutch cyclists, touring as well as well as utility. Not that that makes it the best way, but people certainly do it.

Riding beautifully surfaced tracks entirely on the flat is little evidence of suitability for unsurfaced roads with massive amounts of climbing I would think.

Having used a Dutch bike my considered opinion is that they work for typical Dutch riding but suitability for anything else - forget it! Heavy, poor handling, lack of gear range, bad riding position, no effective brakes. TBH I wouldn't even choose one to ride around Holland and yes I know plenty of people do but most of them have never ridden anything better as its all they are offered.

Now a Dutch Trekking bike is another thing altogether, still not my choice but certainly better in just about every aspect except perhaps weight! But they are expensive, a good one would be more than a half decent Thorn.

[mattsccm]

Read Snow on the Equator by HW Tilman. Across Africa on a sit up and beg pre WW2. My favourite cycling tale.

[pjclinch]

Doesn't seem to be something that's bothered a lot of Dutch cyclists, touring as well as well as utility. Not that that makes it the best way, but people certainly do it.

Riding beautifully surfaced tracks entirely on the flat is little evidence of suitability for unsurfaced roads with massive amounts of climbing I would think.

Having used a Dutch bike my considered opinion is that they work for typical Dutch riding but suitability for anything else - forget it! Heavy, poor handling, lack of gear range, bad riding position, no effective brakes.

An upright riding position doesn't require the bike to be heavy and minimally geared and braked. As to "poor handling", if they're good enough for the Amsterdam rush-hour they're good enough for most things...

What Dutch touring on Dutch bikes proves is that if you aren't in a hurry you don't need to worry about the poor aero, and it's possible to take your weight on a decent saddle for hours on end rather than sharing it with your arms. Climbing is about gears, surfaces mainly about tyres. Both are independent of riding position.

Pete.

[pwa]

Riding beautifully surfaced tracks entirely on the flat is little evidence of suitability for unsurfaced roads with massive amounts of climbing I would think.

Having used a Dutch bike my considered opinion is that they work for typical Dutch riding but suitability for anything else - forget it! Heavy, poor handling, lack of gear range, bad riding position, no effective brakes.

An upright riding position doesn't require the bike to be heavy and minimally geared and braked. As to "poor handling", if they're good enough for the Amsterdam rush-hour they're good enough for most things...

What Dutch touring on Dutch bikes proves is that if you aren't in a hurry you don't need to worry about the poor aero, and it's possible to take your weight on a decent saddle for hours on end rather than sharing it with your arms. Climbing is about gears, surfaces mainly about tyres. Both are independent of riding position.

Pete.

The OP is going to be doing a lot of climbing. I can't imagine doing that in a particularly upright position. On a long climb I would want to be leaning forward a bit, like leaning on a farm gate to admire a view. Sitting upright can actually be hard work. I think most people would suffer more discomfort, not less, on a truly sit-up-and-beg bike. What the Dutch do on the mainly flat streets of Amsterdam is not relevant to crossing South America.

[simonhill]

A lot of assumptions here. He could ride smooth tarmac all the way, apart from the Darien. For that he will probably take a boat or fly.

Nonetheless he hasn't come back yet and as this was posted just before midnight, I wonder if he will - PPP.