Non-Cyclist Cycling the UK Coastline

[RevDonkBonkers]

Racks
Rack mounts on frame
Mudguards
Paniers

Not sure what this means or is supposed to mean.

[horizon]

Racks
Rack mounts on frame
Mudguards
Paniers

Not sure what this means or is supposed to mean.

It means that it is (IMV at least) a completely unsuitable bike for your trip which implies that they didn't listen to a word you said (unless of course this is the sort of bike you specified)..

[RevDonkBonkers]

Racks
Rack mounts on frame
Mudguards
Paniers

Not sure what this means or is supposed to mean.

It means that it is (IMV at least) a completely unsuitable bike for your trip which implies that they didn't listen to a word you said (unless of course this is the sort of bike you specified)..

Thank you. I just told them I was planning to cycle around the UK coastline and knew nothing about bikes. But what about racks, rack mounts, mudguards and paniers? Do these bikes not have them? I told the staff I needed paniers.

[horizon]

There will be lots of views on this and many people will say you can easily do the trip on these bikes. This is true to some extent but the starting points (for me at least) would be:

Low gears (i.e. not a road double)
Pannier eyes back and front
Very relaxed geometry
Wider tyres (one bike has 32 mm which is fine)
Mudguards
Strong wheels with 32 or 36 spokes

Really in fact some sort of touring bike depending on how heavy/light you want to go. So much depends on how much you want to carry (especially given you are out there for six months). So much depends too on your style of cycling but I am going purely on the trip you have in mind.

PS Great trip by the way and I was serious about the smart phone - it was suggested as a way of getting deeper into the experience. I'm envious.

[RevDonkBonkers]

Great thank you so much for clarifying that, that is really helpful. I will bear those requirements in mind next time I go to a bike shop.

I get what you mean about the smartphone, part of the reason I have avoided getting one is I think I would end up wasting too much time idly browsing the internet when I could be doing something much more productive...

[ClappedOut]

Racks
Rack mounts on frame
Mudguards
Paniers

Not sure what this means or is supposed to mean.

As others have said they were selling to your Eyes and not to your needs.

What others and I am trying to say a suitable bike will have load carrying for clothes, food etc.
Practicalities as mudguards as covered in road dirt if your managing 60 miles a day will soon become annoying.

My suggestion is a good quality touring bike which has mounting points for a rack, panniers, mudguards etc.

[thirdcrank]

I think these are the bikes you have in mind:

https://www.orrobikes.com/shop/2021-terra-g-105-hydro

https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/bike ... c/p/33085/

With the proviso that you could ride anything and manage, if you are shelling out for a new bike, I'd say both those tick the wrong boxes.

Not for the first time on this type of thread, I'll note that among the most common queries we've had on here over the years has been from people who have bought something that looks nice but now want to fit more luggage racks / lower gears / lights / mudguards / perhaps fatter tyres.

This is from a bike shop quite close to me with which I have no connection.

https://cyclesense.co.uk/m73b134s724p0/ ... ring-Bikes

None of those bikes is cheap, but the specs in terms of gears, luggage carrying etc., are what you might do well to have in mind

[Tigerbiten]

Racks
Rack mounts on frame
Mudguards
Paniers

Not sure what this means or is supposed to mean.

How easy are they to fit and how much extra will they add to the total cost.
You will probably need them fitted if you're going on a long camping tour around the coast of the UK.
Also I'm not sure either bike has a low enough first gear to cope with the 20-25% hills in Devon and Cornwall when fully loaded for a long camping tour. You don't need a very high top gear as you don't really need to pedal downhill at ~35 mph, but you do need a very low first gear such that you can crawl uphill at ~3.5 mph.
So don't go for a high top gear at the expense of a very low first gear.
My basic rule for touring gears are the big chainring only needs to be 4x larger than the small sprocket and the large sprocket wants to be at least 4 teeth larger than the small chainring.
Match that up with an 11-32 cassette giving you something like a 44-28 sub compact double for chainrings.
It does get easier if you go old school and fit something like a 46-34-24 triple.

Luck ........

[RevDonkBonkers]

Thank you again to everyone for the follow-up comments, they have given me a better understanding of what I need to consider and why they are important, I appreciate everyone taking the time to reply. I will definitely do some more shopping around.

[thirdcrank]

Based in Kent and from where I'm posting (some distance to the North of Watford) I jump to the conclusion you can get to London. I see these people are offering demos on the Surly Trucker. Again, not cheap, and the price doesn't seem to include basics like mudguards etc, but this is the type of gearing etc which will help.

https://richmondcyclecentre.co.uk/shop/ ... nformation

I'd reiterate that buying the bike first is not the way to go. Beg or borrow any old bike and do a bit of riding first along the lines already suggested. That will tell you how much you like sitting on a bike and give you a much better idea of what type of bike suits you.

[ClappedOut]

Hub gear for less maintenance.

[simonhill]

I was going to answer this post right at the beginning, but have let it run (and run). I think now that it is time that the OP stops and does some (a lot of ?) research for himself.

Try reading up about the different elements of your trip.

Bikes; gear; accommodation; weather (including wind); route; navigation; etc.

Once you start thinking about how much gear you want to carry, you will pretty quickly see that you will need a fairly specialised bike to carry it all. Add on the comments about low gearing, reliability, etc and choices become easier.

My point is that YOU need to do a lot more research so YOU know what you are talking about. Once you have a rough idea of which bike you want, then come back on the forum in a new post for a discussion. This also applies for all the other elements I listed above. These general 'tell me all I need to know' posts can only attract often confusing scattergun replies.

There are loads of resources online, which can be found with basic searches. This website is one that popped up for me. I have never used it, but a quick scan through it shows it has lots of good basic info on all elements of touring, because touring is what you are planning to do. https://tomsbiketrip.com/which-touring- ... uld-i-buy/
A day or two reading, plus lots of thinking will help progress your project and be more receptive to forum replies.

[RevDonkBonkers]

I have done research for myself, but I know that no matter how much research I do, that it is no replacement for people who actually have practical experience in doing this.

I went traveling for two years in 2009 having never been away from home for more than a couple of weeks before. Spent literally six to nine months researching and planning the trip, where to go, when to go, what to take.

Within a couple of weeks of starting the trip, I realised, despite all the research, I had packed stuff I didn't need and didn't pack stuff I did, my plans changed, I went to different places at different times, etc etc.

I can do as much research as I want but I still won't properly know what I am talking about until I have done this trip. Asking people for advice here is part of my research, I am not just sitting at home waiting for people to tell me exactly what to buy.

Thank you for the link to the Toms Bike Trip site, that is one I have been using and I will look through that page further.

[ClappedOut]

Touring if your wanting to not get stuck
Hub geared bike less maintenance

Consider puncture guard tyres and tubes, tubeless nice but more niche

Cartridge bearings less maintenance and the miles your planning you don't want roadside maintenance.
Practice loaded bicycle before entertaining and you could do a short practice of say 3 day long weekend

I admire your enthusiasm and think you should work up to a marathon ride.

If I was capable of a several thousand mile adventure it would be hub gearbox and belt drive.

Exciting to see how you get on

[Paulatic]

visited a specialist cycling shop this morning (highly recommended by a few cyclists) and told them what I planned on doing

Specialist my aunt Whoever recommended those two bikes for what you want to do has not a clue. Do not go back.
You are going around the coast and there are hills some very steep. You need low gears.
You are carry a load, quite big I imagine, you need low gears.
You intend to ride this bike every day you need to be comfortable on it. I doubt you’ll achieve that on anything with the handlebars 4” lower than the saddle.