Thomas wrote:Hello all
This is my first post here, but I've been watching you for a while
I want to do some touring around central Germany next summer, and I'm looking for a proper bike to do the job.
I've seen some German brands (Trenga, Fahrrad Manufaktur, Ghost) and I really like the way they look and some of their standard and distinctive features: hydraulic rim brakes, dynamo hubs, BUMM lights...
My question is, has anybody actually ridden any of those bikes?, do you think they are capable of riding some off rode fully loaded? (I'll be in Germany this year, but next one I might be in South America or Russia).
They seem like just city bikes to me, and I'm not sure at all about them.
My other bet is any Dawes, which are reliable tourers.
Thanks in advance, Thomas.
Yes we have a brace of VSF (Fahrrad Manufaktur) T400 Rohloffs 2008 models. We bought them here in the Netherlands from the only dealer who sells them here. Excellent bikes.
Pros
For the components you get (SON dynamo B&M lights Rohloff Tubus rear rack Magura brakes) these bikes are far and away the cheapest on the Dutch market.
They ride really well. We did 2500km in Norway last summer a few weeks after buying the bikes. We fitted lowriders on the front and Travel Contact tyres instead of the City Contacts, mainly because we had experience with the Travel Contact tyres on our old tourers. We carried four panniers and handlebar bags + water and fuel bottles on the frames and the bikes were stable and a joy to ride at speeds over 60 km/h.
The City Contacts give an amazing ride when used at the right pressure. These tyres work well on uphill on loose surfaces even thought they are almost slick. The bikes do feel a bit wobblier than when using Travel Contacts at higher pressures. I am going to put the City Contact tyres back on my bike to give them another try this spring.
The Magura brakes are excellent. I remember one moment downhill rushing for a ferry where I braked hard from 45km/h down to ten in what seemed to be an unbelievably short distance. They inspire confidence. We are still running the brake blocks the bikes came with.
The SON dynamos and B&M lights can be used during the day without any noticeable drag. On automatic setting the lights come on almost instantly as you enter a tunnel. The lights are very bright and produce light from around 3-4km/hr (useful when in a tunnel that climbs).
The bikes seem to be very strong. On exiting a fast downhill tunnel in Norway the road dropped away from me. It was as if I had cycled off the kerb at 50+km/h. No apparent damage at all.
We did around 200km of off road or poor quality asphalt during the trip. Some of this was on rain sodden sand and grit, at other times the surface was rougher. The bikes behaved excellently in these situations, much better than the old ones. The rims are still straight after the holiday.
The mudguards on the T400 are very wide indeed and keep the dirt off quite well. There is also good clearance between mudguards and tyres. The Hebie Chainglider chainguard does keep oil off your legs.
Rohloffs are just amazing.
Cons
A bit on the heavy side but then again so are we.
We might take off the chainguards at some point. They work well but the grinding noise they make if water gets in is a bit irritating.
I found I had to put my rear panniers as far forward as they would go. If not I got a strange oscillation which affected the steering. Once that was sorted the bike felt very secure.
We didn't find the standard saddles (Selle Royal Respiro) very comfortable, and these were replaced almost immediately.
With the current Euro Pound exchange rate they probably look a bit pricey.
All in all we're very satisfied with the bikes. Low maintenance well specced comfortable touring bikes once you put a good saddle on them. Total maintenance on the Norway tour was to oil the chains once and adjust the brakes a few times.
HTH
Stan
So long and thanks for all the fish...