Lejog bike for £350?

Specific board for this popular undertaking.
wilbo
Posts: 39
Joined: 27 Feb 2009, 2:49pm

Lejog bike for £350?

Post by wilbo »

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice about a bike for my Lejog this july. The plan is to do it in 9 days, unsupported, staying at YH or B&Bs.

I need some advice about suitable bikes. At the moment, I have an aluminium saracen mountain bike with front suspension. Can I get away with using this along with some kind of saddle bag and bar bag? I know it would be possible but it's been well used off road and I don't want problems half way through my trip.

Can you recommend a touring/ audax (not sure if that's the same thing) that would be good value? Max budget is about £350 for the bike without acessories I will need.

Thanks
Wilbo
User avatar
fatnslow
Posts: 82
Joined: 11 Feb 2009, 12:15pm
Location: Tewkesbury, Glos
Contact:

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by fatnslow »

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2008

this is what i have bought for my JOGLE in June.

seemed to tick all the boxes and is a great little bike

just needed to swap over pedals and hide the bell and reflectors they send you
User avatar
chrisw
Posts: 76
Joined: 12 Apr 2008, 9:44pm

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by chrisw »

I would recomend splashing out on a new bike.

A couple of years back my friend and I cycled down to the Picos mountains in Spain, roughly the same difference as LEJOG. I was on my Super Galaxy, my friend on an aliminium framed mountain bike. He'd stuck pannier racks on it as well as narrow tyres. We got as far as Biaritz before his frame snapped at the rear drop out, that was it, game over no way of repairing the frame. May of been bad luck, dodgy frame I don't know but In my opinion for that distance you need to get a bike built for it and I definataly wouldn't want to do any kind of touring on a bike with front suspension, to me it feels like riding through treacle all day!

However for three hundred quid you would be lucky to buy a brand new bike that would be better than what you have. I'd buy secondhand, for example theres a Dawes Galaxy on here two hundred quid at the moment. Thats what I did with mine I bought it second hand 14 years ago at a vastly cheaper price than new and it's still going strong now.

As well as Dawes Galaxys theres a whole host of really good touring bikes pop up from time to time on here. I'd be more inclined to buy from here as well espicially if your not to confident buying secondhand. I've seen some bikes on Ebay go for vastly inflated prices and owners talking complete cobblers about their bikes just to inflate the price.
wilbo
Posts: 39
Joined: 27 Feb 2009, 2:49pm

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by wilbo »

I was considering the idea of keeping my frame (with suspension) and changing the wheels and tyres and gears and shifters, I don't know if this is even possible. Is it really that hard on a bike to cycle for 9 days in a row with 5-7kg of luggage attached to it? I'm 10kg lighter than I was last summer so technically the bike is still carrying less weight :?

If I can stretch my budget to £500, does anyone think this is a good idea? A Dawes Audax Sport 2009?

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/dawes/audax-sport-2009-touring-bike-ec000398

Or what about the Dawes horizon for £450, what's the main difference? I'm new to non MTB
boink
Posts: 589
Joined: 3 Aug 2007, 4:25pm
Location: Stone, Staffs

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by boink »

My mate bought a Revolution Country Traveller from Edinburgh Bicycle co-op for our Lejog last year and loved it.
Very like a horizon and half the price of a Galaxy at the time. Cost him £399. He particularly liked the aero breaks and the break/gear shifters.

I can't see any for sale at ENC's site which might mean they're a thing of the past and the newer version is £600+.
Heres a link to a review:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... ller-31956

I also go with the advice prev given re second hand. My 15 year old galaxy was brilliant. £200 and now 2,000 miles and a lejog on its still going strong. I'd like a shiny new bike but theres just no reason to get rid yet.
wilbo
Posts: 39
Joined: 27 Feb 2009, 2:49pm

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by wilbo »

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll go the second-hand route and start browsing the ads.

One more question since I'm a touring noob, are these pannier racks necessary because imo they always look hideous. I'd rather get some kind of saddle bag behind the saddle if it's possible, to keep a change of clothes and other bits I need, and a wee bag on the handlebars for maps etc. Do these bags people have above the back wheel always attach to a rack, or do they mount on the seat post?
User avatar
EdinburghFixed
Posts: 2375
Joined: 24 Jul 2008, 7:03pm

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by EdinburghFixed »

I don't like racks either but put up with it for the commute. However for my E2E I'm travelling light with a Carradice Barley (possibly with the addition of a bar bag).

Any kind of serious load will require a rack though.
vorsprung
Posts: 214
Joined: 20 Feb 2009, 12:33pm
Contact:

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by vorsprung »

I like this saddlebag, it's huge and waterproof

http://www.carradice.co.uk/saddlebags/s ... ebag.shtml

I use it with a SQR quick release on longer rides
wilbo
Posts: 39
Joined: 27 Feb 2009, 2:49pm

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by wilbo »

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but where does it attach on your bike? I was thinking a saddle bag mounted on the seat post, but obviously I'm wrong because that looks far too big. Do you need a kind of flat "shelf" above the back wheel?
User avatar
Si
Moderator
Posts: 15191
Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 7:37pm

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by Si »

wilbo wrote:Sorry if this is a stupid question, but where does it attach on your bike? I was thinking a saddle bag mounted on the seat post, but obviously I'm wrong because that looks far too big. Do you need a kind of flat "shelf" above the back wheel?


You can get different types of 'frames' to mount them on (see picture), or some people just hang them from the back of the saddle (depends on how much room there is between the saddle and back wheel)

Image
User avatar
mill4six
Posts: 932
Joined: 10 Feb 2009, 7:42pm

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by mill4six »

I really hope a £300 front suspension aluminium MTB with a seat post mounted rack is ok cos that's what I'm taking. I've had it for 10 years, must have done thousands of miles without incident. Treated it to a new Deore groupset and wheels two years ago and wow! what a difference. I also have a secret weapon, "Specialised all condition pro" tyres, only 25mm wide, designed for your normal MTB rims but they run at 110psi. Now I can keep up with the roadies, no riding through treacle effect with my forks either, I just don't break my wrists if I hit a pot hole. Grip and stability is spot on too I can whizz down hills on slimy country lanes while my road going mates wobble nervously behind, to prove a point, one of them took a fall on a wet road this week, of course maybe I would have too but the bike feels superb. At £25 each though the tyres are not cheap and you need the narrowest 26" tubes with high pressure valves. I also had to beef up my rim tape as the pressure was forcing the tubes into the spoke holes! They are folding tyres so I can carry a spare but they are tricky to find 26" versions of in the shops so I ended up buying on the internet. My wrists would never tolerate dropped bars so the wide flat bars on my MTB are my personal choice. My last long distance trip was also on an MTB in the Pyrenees, that one did have some stability issues when unevenly loaded with camping gear coming down from the Port de Larreau at 45Mph but then I was being a bit stupid.
Neil Fat Man On A Bike
Posts: 411
Joined: 2 Oct 2008, 10:11am
Location: Sutherland
Contact:

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by Neil Fat Man On A Bike »

Just spotted a 23"mercian tourer on ebay, currently £ 285
Looks excellent value.......
wilbo
Posts: 39
Joined: 27 Feb 2009, 2:49pm

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by wilbo »

Does anyone have an opinion about Scott bikes? I'm thinking about the Sub 20 Hybrid and sticking a saddle bag on it, although I'm still leaning towards fitting new wheels and transmission to my MTB frame.

Here's the one I'm thinking about:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/sub-20-2008-hybrid-bike-ec001306
Greg
Posts: 162
Joined: 9 Feb 2007, 8:39pm

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by Greg »

Scott make some good mountain bikes. However, for a LEJOG trip and your budget, I'd really recommend the Giant SCR 3 from Wiggle for £375. It's a roadbike with rack/guard mounts and space for mudguards, basically an audax bike. The SCRs look excellent and I've heard nothing but good things about them. At that price, they also look good value.

[Let it be said that I have no connection to Giant or anybody related to Giant!]
amaferanga
Posts: 264
Joined: 31 Oct 2008, 7:03pm

Re: Lejog bike for £350?

Post by amaferanga »

That Dawes audax would be ideal for the trip you're planning. But there's absolutely no reason why you couldn't do it on you mtb. Swap the suspension forks for some cheap rigid forks and get some mtb slicks. Anyone claiming that an alu mtb frame isn't strong enough for touring and you need a steel framed Dawes Galaxy instead is a little blinkered. My alu framed mtb (a cheapo Carrera from Halfords actually) survived a 4 month tour in Southern Africa on terrible roads so I'm pretty sure it'd survive a LEJOG!

Don't turn LEJOG into more than it is. Its just a 1000 mile tour. You could do it on almost any bike....
Post Reply