The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
TerryH
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Joined: 14 Mar 2009, 2:02pm

Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by TerryH »

I've had touring machines for years (Harry Hall, Mercian, Orbit) and still have them, but in the autumn I bought a Trek 7.3FX. It wasn't dear by today's standards and, for someone getting on a bit, is proving a very comfortable ride. So much so, that I wonder whether I will get my 'touring' bikes out this summer! And I am often interested to see how many people are doing long-distance tours on this type of machine. At £600, the Trek is an excellent buy, and with mudguards and carriers added, it's a touring machine. Voila!
Brucey
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Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by Brucey »

like this?

Image

its OK if you like flat bars. Not sure I'd want to load it up that much but then I don't carry much anyway. Not sure about the ride quality and long term durability of aluminium forks (or do these vary with year?); I know they are guaranteed but unlike many other parts if they do break unexpectedly it definitely ain't going to be pretty...

Its nice to have new bike; everything should work and work well; it takes some dedicated maintenance to make an older bike ride and work as well as a new one.

BTW am I right in thinking it has low-rider bosses in the fork blades but no second set of eyes at the dropouts?

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
indy
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Joined: 17 Jul 2010, 6:06pm

Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by indy »

O.K, theres been loads of advice here so I've been able to get together a list of possibilities. The Ultra isn't out/available for a month so it'll give me time to have a talk to each company and hopefully allow me to whittle my choice down to 3 but hopefully 2 bikes for a final decision.

I just quickly want to address some points made since yesterday...

I've not known any other person have a 'decent' bike stolen (although my Super G was only worth maybe £150??) but after my initial feelings of anger and thoughts that it wasn't worth getting a similar replacement my attitude has mellowed with time. I don't think that there are many people these days that can drop a decent amount of money on a new bike without thought and I'll admit there's going to be some belt tightening and looking where savings can be made in other bits of our budget but I do honestly feel that a decent replacement is the way to go. I'd be interested to hear from anyone thats had a decent/costly bike stolen and how they moved on.

A number of people have suggested a much cheaper non-tourer bike i.e. TerryH and nmnm to name just a couple. I'll be brutally honest and say I haven't got any rational reasoning for not doing that. The Edinburgh Cycles Tourer looks great at least on paper.

Anyway thanks for all the advice information and thoughts people its been much appreciated.

I'll post a follow up when I've made a decision/purchase or if its really close I might just ask for a bit more help!
Cheers
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stephenjubb
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Location: East Yorkshire

Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by stephenjubb »

http://www.bikefriday.com new world tourist, touring bike that folds up
Malaconotus
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Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by Malaconotus »

indy wrote: The Edinburgh Cycles Tourer looks great at least on paper.


EBC, (where I work part-time) will be launching a new premium tourer in the next few weeks. I had a sneak previews on Wednesday night and was hugely impressed. It has the same Reynolds 525 frame as the current Country Traveler but has a full Deore LX touring groupset, and will be only £800.

The purists may dislike the butterfly bars and adjustable stem but this is exactly the kind of bike the Europeans use for touring and it is a niche which is almost unfilled in the UK (the Dawes Karakum is similar but has much inferior Alivio/Tektro components and a higher RRP, although it is widely discounted) IMHO, it looks a competitor to the likes of Koga, Santos etc. at around half the price. We're quite excited about it.

The Country Traveller will continue almost unchanged apart from a classy new paintjob. 2011 bikes are currently on sale at £500. You have to spend an awful lot more to get something appreciably better.
Ambler
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Location: Surrey

Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by Ambler »

Great news.
When I was looking last year I found out there is a dearth of flat bar/butterfly bars steel tourers.
nmnm
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Joined: 14 Nov 2010, 6:03pm

Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by nmnm »

Malaconotus wrote:The Country Traveller will continue almost unchanged apart from a classy new paintjob. 2011 bikes are currently on sale at £500
£360, not £500. I almost got one just for the colour. It'll be interesting to see the new colour scheme.
bogmyrtle
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Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by bogmyrtle »

indy wrote:I've not known any other person have a 'decent' bike stolen (although my Super G was only worth maybe £150??) but after my initial feelings of anger and thoughts that it wasn't worth getting a similar replacement my attitude has mellowed with time. I don't think that there are many people these days that can drop a decent amount of money on a new bike without thought and I'll admit there's going to be some belt tightening and looking where savings can be made in other bits of our budget but I do honestly feel that a decent replacement is the way to go. I'd be interested to hear from anyone thats had a decent/costly bike stolen and how they moved on.


http://www.cyclechat.net/forums/stolen-bikes.24/
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/thieves-after-high-value-bikes.96839/

If you look at the number of stolen bikes people have reported on the above site alone, you will see how common theft is and what is being stolen.
Did you ever search for your bike? If you had looked on Gumtree and E-bay when it went missing bike you might have come across something remarkably similar.

You haven't said anything about the circumstances when your bike was stolen but I know if it happened to me I wouldn't want to put everything I had on a replacement which could potentially go the same way.
A bike does more miles to the banana than a Porsche.
Malaconotus
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Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by Malaconotus »

nmnm wrote:
Malaconotus wrote:The Country Traveller will continue almost unchanged apart from a classy new paintjob. 2011 bikes are currently on sale at £500
£360, not £500. I almost got one just for the colour. It'll be interesting to see the new colour scheme.


Sorry, I'm forever getting the steel Country Explorer (now £500) and the aluminium Country Traveller (now £360) mixed up. The new bike is the same steel frame as the Explorer.
Brucey
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Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by Brucey »

after a bike theft years ago I basically gave up having bikes that looked worth stealing if I had to leave the locked up anywhere. I have a couple of 'hack bikes' that ride nicer than they look (not difficult) and others which get used as and when...

My favoured 'hack' bike looks terrible, but beneath the tatty paint etc there lurks handbuilt frame and wheels. It presently needs a respray, and weirdly I don't want to make it too good....else it'll get nicked I expect.....

cheers
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matt2matt2002
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Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by matt2matt2002 »

Brucey wrote:after a bike theft years ago I basically gave up having bikes that looked worth stealing if I had to leave the locked up anywhere. I have a couple of 'hack bikes' that ride nicer than they look (not difficult) and others which get used as and when...

My favoured 'hack' bike looks terrible, but beneath the tatty paint etc there lurks handbuilt frame and wheels. It presently needs a respray, and weirdly I don't want to make it too good....else it'll get nicked I expect.....

cheers


Interesting theory this.....
So tatty bikes are less likely to be pinched?
Any evidence for this?

Surely one important factor is the thief and his mind set?
Does he want a quick ride home or does he want to sell it on fleabay?

Perhaps this subject has been covered elsewhere, so sorry to digress from original topic.
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CREPELLO
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Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by CREPELLO »

matt2matt2002 wrote:
Brucey wrote:after a bike theft years ago I basically gave up having bikes that looked worth stealing if I had to leave the locked up anywhere. I have a couple of 'hack bikes' that ride nicer than they look (not difficult) and others which get used as and when...

My favoured 'hack' bike looks terrible, but beneath the tatty paint etc there lurks handbuilt frame and wheels. It presently needs a respray, and weirdly I don't want to make it too good....else it'll get nicked I expect.....

cheers


Interesting theory this.....
So tatty bikes are less likely to be pinched?
Any evidence for this?
This is hardly an extraordinary theory; it's common practise to dress down a decent hack. Beyond oportunist theft, most determind bike theft is concentrated on machines that will sell. An old manky 531 frame bike with decent hand built wheels and a saddle held together with gaffer tape is hardly going to be top of most theive's lists.

Of course, in a theft hot spot, leave anything, even with a decent lock, and it will look like a shoul of paranhas has made a visitation.
TerryH
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Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by TerryH »

Brucey asked: "BTW am I right in thinking it (the Trek 7.3FX) has low-rider bosses in the fork blades but no second set of eyes at the dropouts?"
There is a set of eyes at the dropouts, currently accommodating the retaining screw for the front mudguard. No reason why it couldn't also secure a low-rider, given a longer screw.

Incidentally, I think the picture you showed is of last year's Trek 7.3FX. This year's model is in glossy black - smart. I'm pretty chuffed with mine, as you may have gathered, but I put decent pedals and an old Brooks B17 saddle on it. Also, Ergon bar ends. I've now done 3,500 winter miles on it in just over four months, and am planning to fit Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres. The original Bontrager Nebulas are surprisingly good - very good grip - but I don't think they will last too long. I could ride around the world on this "tourer" - in my dreams! It's not a speed machine, but I reckon it would make a good tourer
Brucey
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Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by Brucey »

may be of interest to the OP

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/dawes-galaxy/98492854

BTW re the bike theft thing; I've experienced both types of theft....my one-time house-mate had a rather nice 1967 claud butler frame (which I had sold to him some years earlier) which was set up with a fixed gear (this was well before it was 'trendy') and had a tatty 'disguise' hammerite paint job. Although locked, it disappeared one night, but was 'found' a mile or so away the following day. The thief had presumably sought 'home from the pub' transport, but one can only assume that the fixed gear wasn't to his liking- the bike was hurled into the hedge, well away from civilisation. So even tatty bikes can get pinched; mind you it was locked up with the flimsiest lock imaginable.

(BTW I eventually bought the frame back from my chum, and passed it on to another friend who (by dint of riding with just one pannier on his commute to work, despite my advice to not do exactly this) broke a seat stay near the top eyes. I repaired the frame, and later added canti bosses. He still uses it as a touring bike, and it wears a nicer paint job now than it ever had whilst I owned it. The slide into hack-dom isn't just a one-way street.)

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
helsinkifox
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Re: The frustration of a (long distance) bike buyer...

Post by helsinkifox »

Dawes Galaxys often pop up on Ebay - try 'touring bike' for other models.
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