LEJOG bike recommendation for a newbie?

[peter2407]

Veeeeerrrryyyyy very new to cycling, planning to do LEJOG next year .... looking at Dawes Galaxy, where the basic model is £650 and the top model £1300. Is the extra money worth it? Or .... recommendations for any other bike please? Probably looking at doing this assisted, i.e. someone else carrying the kit and stopping at hostels and hotels etc

[rotavator]

Well if your luggage is being carried by someone else then you could use just about any bike within reason. What do you have at the moment?

[peter2407]

Hi - I have a Voodoo Marassa at the moment which is a hybrid rather than road bike. Ta. Pete

[TrevA]

Hi - I have a Voodoo Marassa at the moment which is a hybrid rather than road bike. Ta. Pete

No reason why you couldn't use that for LEJOG.

Many will use a traditional touring bike, but these are built to carry luggage. My wife has a Dawes Horizon, which is equivalent to the basic Galaxy. It's now 9 years old and still going strong but it is a bit on the heavy side. However, you don't really notice this when riding. More money will buy you a lighter weight bike, with more gears, but not necessarily lower gears, just more evenly spread. Whether you consider that to be worth the expense is up to you. As well as the Galaxy, you could look at the Ridgeback Tour £599 and Voyage £849 RRP but available cheaper if you shop around.

[pwa]

Veeeeerrrryyyyy very new to cycling, planning to do LEJOG next year .... looking at Dawes Galaxy, where the basic model is £650 and the top model £1300. Is the extra money worth it? Or .... recommendations for any other bike please? Probably looking at doing this assisted, i.e. someone else carrying the kit and stopping at hostels and hotels etc

Spa Cycles of Harrogate are going to be able to give you a better bike for your money. Their tourer is a good one to look at.

You need a bike that fits. You need a bike with good strong wheels. You need a bike with a low bottom gear, lower than you get on most road bikes. And you need a bike that will take a rack on which you can put your baggage. The bike rather than your shoulders should carry the bags.

[Vorpal]

Hi - I have a Voodoo Marassa at the moment which is a hybrid rather than road bike. Ta. Pete

Just make sure you are comfortable on it. Build up your miles gradually, and have a look at 531Colin's bike fitting guide http://wheel-easy.org.uk/uploads/docume ... 02017a.pdf if you are uncomfortable.

Also, if you don't have any bar ends on your bike, consider getting some. It's nice to have the additional hand positions.

[loch eck steve]

you don't say what sort of miles your going to be doing each day , but I would say whatever bike you choose comfort wins out over performance anyday, You could go for the lightest bike you could afford spending lots of money but if it isen't comfortable you won't enjoy the trip . Good luck with whatever you decide .

[horizon]

And you need a bike that will take a rack on which you can put your baggage. The bike rather than your shoulders should carry the bags.

He says it will be assisted so it widens the choice of bike. But I reckon doing it unassisted is part of the fun - HMMV.

[scottg]

index.jpg (11.14 KiB) Viewed 1247 times

[rotavator]

Based on looking at the current Halfords website, you have a good range of gears on the Voodoo Marasa so unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket, and/or you really want a new bike, and/or the VM is uncomfortable over your planned daily mileage; I would use the VM. As others have said, you could add bar ends (Ergon have some good but pricey ones) so that you can vary your hand positions. Also put some good road tyres on it; I like Schwalbe Marathon Supremes.

[Vorpal]

Based on looking at the current Halfords website, you have a good range of gears on the Voodoo Marasa so unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket, and/or you really want a new bike, and/or the VM is uncomfortable over your planned daily mileage; I would use the VM.

I almost agree. The only thing is, if the bike is the right size and they're not comfortable, they could spend alot of money without fixing the problem. I would say (again, if it's the right size) to work with the current bike and get it comfortable before buying anything else.

[pwa]

If the ride is supported, and you don't have to carry much baggage, the range of potentially suitable bikes is quite wide. But you still want a good fit, reliable kit and a nice low bottom gear. A bike whose smallest chainring (front cog near the pedals) is not smaller than the largest sprocket (cog on the rear wheel) will probably be hard work on steep hills when you are tired. You probably want the smallest chainring to have fewer teeth than the largest sprocket. And that is not the case on most bikes.

[NUKe]

index.jpg

Mick F did do it on a Chopper a couple of years back, just for the craic, but I doubt it is the best bike to recommend a Novice.

[ratherbeintobago]

Loop or Jones H bars on your existing bike?

[Whippet]

Agree with above that comfort and easy gears are more important than speed. Not sure you need the weight of a full tourer if you’re riding supported. Spa Cycles Steel Audax bike is on offer at the moment and a good bike for the money:

https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b17s21p32 ... -Double%29