Planning our first small Tour ( novice cyclists )

[hondated]

I think that I must be missing something here as the bike the OP owns looks to me like with a bit of a clean up and maintenance it will do the job.
As for the Cube bike thats just a salesman pitch in my opinion.
Dare I suggest it but the OP might be well advised to ask whether there is a forum member who lives local that could help him to sort it out.

Does seem a shame at times that this forum does not offer the camaraderie that seems to exist on CycleChat.

[Cyril Haearn]

I think that I must be missing something here as the bike the OP owns looks to me like with a bit of a clean up and maintenance it will do the job.
As for the Cube bike thats just a salesman pitch in my opinion.
Dare I suggest it but the OP might be well advised to ask whether there is a forum member who lives local that could help him to sort it out.

Does seem a shame at times that this forum does not offer the camaraderie that seems to exist on CycleChat.

Seems a lot of money to me too, I would not want to spend so much, especially when starting caution is good but grownups may do what they want with their cash, I can think of many worse things to spend it on than two fancy bikes. Eating at a fancy restaurant every night for a week, for example

The cycle shop is on 'Byker Road', Plus One!

[Mike_Ayling]

Looking at the specs for that Trek 520 (nice red colour for 2019 btw) it says chromoly frame and alloy disc brake fork.
What sort of alloy would that be?

Mike

[chrismisterx]

Thanks for all the replies.

To clear things up a little we have bought the bikes, mud guards, gone with tubeless tires. that came to around £2400, the other stuff he has put away for us to pick up as and when we have the money, our budget was supposed to around £2000 all in and since we upgraded the bikes we couldn't afford all the extras the same day.

Also if I am 100% honest I was a little unsure about the peddles and cycle shoes and didnt know anything about locks, so wanted to be able to get more info on these before buying, the shop owner knows, we might change one or two of the extras depending on what we can afford. He was a fantastic guy and very understanding and helpful.

Looking at the specs for that Trek 520 (nice red colour for 2019 btw) it says chromoly frame and alloy disc brake fork.
What sort of alloy would that be?
Mike

He said its a steel frame, so must be a steel alloy, has a lifetime guarantee on it, so thats always good.


The next thing to sort out for our trip is the best way to plan routes, what programs to use and what to use when on the bike?

[Oldjohnw]

Cheap route planner: OS paper map. Plus Sustrans Guide. Never had to charge mine up.

[eileithyia]

Cheap route planner: OS paper map. Plus Sustrans Guide. Never had to charge mine up.

Fully agree, plus you do not have to 'lock' in your route. You can look at your map plan, change and change again your route as the whim or fancy takes you or you consider other options on the day ... maybe to fit weather or you have to shorten day etc.

[mjr]

OS are shoot for cycling, showing National routes vaguely and local routes and standalone cycle tracks not at all. Not worth the paper. The various renderings of openstreetmap knock it into a cocked hat. I've not seen a sustrans guide for years but their online mapping is a work of fantasy, showing things never built and not showing lots of good stuff.

I tend to use cycle.travel with some dragging to plan routes and a phone or route sheet to follow them.

[Psamathe]

Thanks for all the replies.

To clear things up a little we have bought the bikes, mud guards, gone with tubeless tires.....

Are tubeless tyres the best choice for touring use? If you get a puncture ... can you fix a tubeless tyre by the side of the road? (because that is where most punctures will happen not in your LBS).

Ian

[foxyrider]

Looking at the specs for that Trek 520 (nice red colour for 2019 btw) it says chromoly frame and alloy disc brake fork.
What sort of alloy would that be?

Mike

According to Treks spec list the forks are Chromoly with low rider mounts.

[mjr]

Thanks for all the replies.

To clear things up a little we have bought the bikes, mud guards, gone with tubeless tires.....

Are tubeless tyres the best choice for touring use? If you get a puncture ... can you fix a tubeless tyre by the side of the road? (because that is where most punctures will happen not in your LBS).

The sealant will fix small ones and you can carry a repair kit with worms to patch bigger holes. The problem with the repair kit is it's heavier than a usual patch kit and I understand it helps to have a special pump to "pop" the tyre onto the rim so it'll reseal but you can shove a inner tube in most tubeless tyres as a temporary measure.

I'm in no rush to tour on them but I don't think they have any killer faults.

[Oldjohnw]

OS are shoot for cycling, showing National routes vaguely and local routes and standalone cycle tracks.,,,,

Perhaps. But it's a point of view.

But the OP has indicated he has already used his budget and some. OS maps are a modest expense. The complete online version which is interactive is only about £20 pa.

[mjr]

OS are shoot for cycling, showing National routes vaguely and local routes and standalone cycle tracks.,,,,

Perhaps. But it's a point of view.

Point of view? Seems like fact to me that it doesn't show local routes or standalone tracks. Can you show me London Cycle Superhighway 3 on an OS map?

But the OP has indicated he has already used his budget and some. OS maps are a modest expense. The complete online version which is interactive is only about £20 pa.

"Only" £20/year on something rubbish is still a waste. http://www.OpenCycleMap.org is only free per year.

[Oldjohnw]

I don't get into arguments - I am aware that my knowledge of the world is not yet complete.

I will say that since I use OS for hill walking as well it is excellent value. My point of view: clearly not yours.

But thanks for the info re OpnCycleMaps. I will be looking into it.

[mjr]

I will say that since I use OS for hill walking as well it is excellent value. My point of view: clearly not yours.

OS mapping is better for walking and has its uses for cycling, especially for campaigning, as it's much better on showing what are actual rights of way such as bridleways, and what are merely tracks, but in general, for touring, it's pretty useless because Explorer and Landranger miss out far too much useful cycling detail.

[Cyril Haearn]

I think OS 1:50 000 maps are great for cycling, the brain is maybe still the best routing app, especially if one knows the area a bit

Alternative facts/arguments welcome