Cycling UK Forum

The bent disc rotor issue.
How often is that likely?

If I was that concerned about it I'd carry a spare,and @ around 120g they ain't heavy,but TBH I wouldn't bother, in the knowledge that most if not all MTB shops will have a stock of rotors in varying sizes,160mm being the most common.
It's also worth a mention that discs stop better than rim brakes in wet weather,don't wear out rims,still work if the wheel is even wildly out of true,and the pads last far longer than rim pads under the same conditions.
I'd always carry spare pads though,like I'd carry spare rim brake pads.
Discs have far more going fo them than some would have you believe

I think Brucey's right to say don't get hung up about weight,if you want a durable do it all bike,and want it uber light be prepared to change it regularly.Otherwise don't get concerned about weight too much and look for a light tourer,aiming at 9 to 12kg.
And for a better ride look to steel or Ti,Alu IME is a bone ache over long distances,especially on narrow section high pressure tyres,and CF forks aren't the comfort they're made out to be either,they're also fragile in the rough and tumble of day to day and touring use.
My 2d's worth,YVMV.

I think that -at least as a stalking horse if nothing else- the Triban 520 is worth a look;

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-520-road-bike-sora-black-red-id_8322663.html#anchor_ComponentProductTechnicalInformation

this bike has a 3x9 drivetrain (which will accept a larger cassette to give properly low gears), shimano brake calipers (often this is an area that is skimped on) and has fittings (and room for) mudguards and a rack. The rear dropouts actually have two separate bosses so that mudguards need not be disturbed when fitting a rack. The fork has low-rider fittings, too. Do check, but I think there is room enough for 28mm tyres and mudguards, just; I suspect that the ride quality might be a bit poor on chip and seal roads with 25s but maybe the fork saves it...?

If you were to have a spare set of wheels (stronger for touring or lighter for sportives etc according to your fancy) then maybe you would have a pretty good 'jack of all trades' bike.

Downsides might be toe overlap with mudguards, the STIs have washing lines (which makes servicing the cables a doddle, but can interfere with a bar-bag), the frame is liable to be rather stiff (overly so for optimum comfort), and you can't fit fatter tyres if you want to.

The wheels I think have no-name hubs in them; I would advise that you immediately have them correctly adjusted (a little free play that just disappears when the QR is tightened is correct; no free play with the QR half-tight means the bearings are too tight and will fail prematurely) and lubricated with good quality grease; if you do this and stress-relieve the spokes, the wheelset should give good service.

Worth a look, I'd say? -you could spent a lot more and get a bike that suits your needs much less well.

cheers

A little left field and maybe worth a thread of it'd own, but you could pretty much forget the luggage carrying requirement and get a trailer for the times it's needed. My Audax bike tows a Bob Yak for the occasional times I get to combine an Audax with a weekends camping, it's a better option than loading it up. MickF has been up and down the country several times with a lightweight Mercian and a heavy trailer. Just an idea...
Back on topic, I had the predecessor to the Racelight T2 (Forget the model, Racelight T?) it was a nice bike and for me it dispelled the aluminium has to be harsh theory. I swapped the same components onto a Ti frame, then onto a steel one, and TBH didn't gain enough to warrant the time and expense, I may have well have stuck with the Racelight.

At the other extreme, it is possible to tour (in a fairly minimalist fashion) using large saddle and handlebar bags which can be added to pretty much any bike. No good for a month's long camping tour or Scandanavian winter, but fine for travelling light between hotels and B&Bs.

As Brucey said, it will always be a compromise...

A good touring bike is necessarily heavier than a good sportive / audax bike.

If it were me, I would look for a 26" tourer and save weight by (eventually) buying a second wheelset. Either start with touring wheels, and later buy lighter ones, or start with lighter ones and later buy touring ones, depening upon personal preference. http://www.cyclingabout.com/list-of-tou ... -cyclists/ has a good list of touring bikes for smaller women, though it is US oriented, there are some British-available and international bikes on it.

That said, winter commuting is pretty hard on bikes & components. Also, it's handy to have a second bike around in case the primary bike needs maintenance, etc.

what's wrong with the current bike? Could that be relegated to winter riding, and the new one selected for most of the listed uses, rather than all of them?

Thanks all for your contributions - plenty of food for thought!

I think it is definitely possible to get a do it all bike unless you actually want to race on it.
I think I have just that myself. For me it was a Salsa Vaya.

In my opinion the most important factor is comfort and fit and the abso!ute least important is weight
Within your budget if I were you and I could get a good fit I would buy a Spa steel tourer (or Audax if light touring and more sporty appeal's)

My bike is more tourer than sport but I can use it for anything and that includes long sportive rides, commuting, extended touring and even light off road stuff. And its comfy

Probably 2-3 kilos heavier than an ALU or carbon road bike but I really don't think all up bike weight matters as much as some people would have you believe.

Just my two penneth

How about one of these in extra small?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cinelli-hobootleg-2016/

Pretty much goes anywhere fast and is actually quite good on the road (you did say your club rides were laid back).

It was designed to reliably go through the middle of nowhere fast.

Had mine 4 months and absolutely love it

You are worrying way to much about the discs being damaged. MTBers stopped doing that 15 or 20 years ago. Count the bikes on the ferries and you'll see more disc braked MTBs than anything else.
Spare pads are easy to carry, lighter than blocks, and a disc can be persuaded back to shape by hand. Not that they get damaged. Yes you'll find some one to contradict me but your frame is many more times likely to be damaged than your brakes.
By considering discs you will open up a much greater choice. Look at all those modern "gravel" bikes out there. Maybe consider the less racy cyclocross bikes. They have all sorts of mounts.
Geometry isn't a big deal. All bikes are different, one will never be perfect for everything and you'll not notice it and if you do you'll adapt.
Black Friday coming up. Get ready to click!

Timuk wrote:I think it is definitely possible to get a do it all bike unless you actually want to race on it.
I think I have just that myself. For me it was a Salsa Vaya.

So good I've got two(in different colours )

In my opinion the most important factor is comfort and fit and the abso!ute least important is weight
Within your budget if I were you and I could get a good fit I would buy a Spa steel tourer (or Audax if light touring and more sporty appeal's)

Can't argue with that.

My bike is more tourer than sport but I can use it for anything and that includes long sportive rides, commuting, extended touring and even light off road stuff. And its comfy

That'll be the Vaya

Probably 2-3 kilos heavier than an ALU or carbon road bike but I really don't think all up bike weight matters as much as some people would have you believe.

Having sold a 9kg and a 10kg bike,and owned a fair few others. I've never considered the extra weight of the Vaya a handicap,as the comfort makes up for everything else,and it isn't limiting in the way bikes with narrow HP tyres are.
After buying it,it rapidly became my 'go to' bike,an allrounder that goes practically anywhere and will carry a load without fuss.A real 'Jack of all trades' and most importantly a master of almost all but real rough,stoney or deep gloopy stuff.
It's the only bike I've owned that I'd get really upset if it(they)went missing or broke.

Just my two penneth

And mine .

'Go to' meaning favourite, right? Please don't encourage Americans in their ongoing destruction of the English language. It is bad enough when Brits in their twenties and thirties speak some kind of hybrid American English, but at least they have an excuse

The next thing you know, you'll be 'reaching out' to someone and 'pulling the trigger' on something. Please, just stop, before you reach the point of no return and start using the word 'irregardless'.

Freddie wrote:'Go to' meaning favourite, right? Please don't encourage Americans in their ongoing destruction of the English language. It is bad enough when Brits in their twenties and thirties speak some kind of hybrid American English, but at least they have an excuse

Do you mean that language that's in constant flux and evolution,caused by globalisation,the language that has more 'foreign' words in it than enough(in your world perhaps)?
The language used is perfectly understandable,but if offends then tough,live with it!

The next thing you know, you'll be 'reaching out' to someone and 'pulling the trigger' on something. Please, just stop, before you reach the point of no return and start using the word 'irregardless'.

Oh,but we were all pedigree.

Or should I write in my own dialect and reely git thee back up?

The subject(Latin/old French origin) was a 'do-it-all'(possibly foreign origin term), bike(abbreviation)

Oh Pleeze,leaf it owt

Irregardless of what's been said before, before you pull the trigger on a new do it all bike, I think it's worth looking at budget. In my view you can get a good do it all bike, but by the time you have tweaked it and get it just right, you don't want to leave it anywhere as it costs so blooming much. I think if you have limited options it's good to go for a tourer like a Thorn club tour, or Spa Tourer and get another set of lighter wheels to use when not touring I'd also then get a cheap hybrid to cycle into town etc.

reohn2, there is nothing understandable about 'go to' to mean favourite or preferred. If it was an improvement on what went before, I would have no objection, but the English language is currently devolving, due to so much nonsense American metaphor (step up to the plate, pull the trigger, reach out....doesn't mean much to an Englishman) which obscures the meaning of what is being said. Why should we follow Americans down the path of incomprehensibility? Don't we have enough of our own metaphors to muddy the waters?

At least your own dialect has character and doesn't pretend to be typical English. Every time you fancy sticking a nonsense American metaphor in to your sentence, supplant with a bit of local dialect, that is much preferred. You live near Liverpool, not Long Island.

honesty wrote:it's good to go for a tourer like a Thorn club tour, or Spa Tourer ... I'd also then get a cheap hybrid to cycle into town etc.

The Spa tourer is a cheap hybrid. It's £950 worth of everyday bike that after three years of commuting, touring and going to the shops has paid itself off and more. And then just goes on and on. It could be stolen or lost once every five years and you would still be well ahead.

Just a thought anyway.