Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
Post Reply
RideToWorky
Posts: 218
Joined: 23 Oct 2015, 1:14pm

Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by RideToWorky »

Hi all,

Bought a winter commuter bike. Bit of a revelation.
1. Low gears - triple
2. Panniers - vs heavy laptop rucksack etc
3, disc brakes - awesome downhill rainy braking

Only real Issues is:
1. So heavy - I won’t be able to lift easy for train trips or into car etc. No way my tiny missus will be able to Shift around easily either

It’s inspired me into looking at a bike build:
1. light commuter / tourer
2. Light Panniers and mudguards
3. Disc brakes still - cable fine
4. Low gear range - double front ring possibly
5. 165 crank length

I see you can get pretty cheap bikes out there that seem to tick most of the boxes up above. For example the Decathalon RC 520, for £530.

I’m thinking buy a bog basic, competent cheap bike. get a local bike shop to add the last adjustments, for example 165 crank length, lower front rings.

The bike, will be a summer bike for the missus to use as well, light weight/weather duties, but still up our horrible hills in Bristol. I’ll hang onto my current commuter, for the really wet nasty winter stuff et cetera.

Any advice on where to start with this?
Is the Decathalon triband RC520, a good place to start? Will certainly wait until next spring, and see the reviews of how this bike has lasted over the winter for people buying it this year.

Great to hear your thoughts
Cheers
Martin
RideToWorky
Posts: 218
Joined: 23 Oct 2015, 1:14pm

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by RideToWorky »

I should’ve said:

My new commuter has:
Shimano Sora components.
The local bike shop mechanic, says the Sora cable disc brakes are really good and reliable.

I’m happy with this level of components, Tiagra et cetera.

To keep the costs reasonable, for example with the triban Rc520 as a base Bike to build up, I’m hoping that I can get low enough gears and still have a double front ring. That way I can keep the bikes hoods, and the fdr and rdr etc. That comes with the base Bike.

Hoping with this trickle down technology I can get a fancy praxis low teeth double front ring etc to work with a tiagra groupset etc.

Otherwise I understand triple chain sets are a possibility when below 105 etc, and also cross groupset compatibility is also an option.

I’m happy enough with basic branded component reliability 8)
Brucey
Posts: 44517
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by Brucey »

it might help if you say what your idea of 'lightweight' is

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RideToWorky
Posts: 218
Joined: 23 Oct 2015, 1:14pm

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by RideToWorky »

Brucey wrote:it might help if you say what your idea of 'lightweight' is

cheers


Morning Brucey,

How are you? 8). Seasonal greetings! Hope you have a great Christmas coming up :-).

It’s been ages since we posted. I think you were the first person to reply, years ago when I posted my first message on this forum :-)

Good point about weight wanted. Well, the commuter feels 3 times heavier than my carbon 105 synapse, also a lot larger and ungainly to move around. Shop did say it was a long Bike though. Heavy duty oversized everything.

Unfortunately the missus and I are quite small so we would struggle to get bikes like these onto a train for cycling wkends away etc.

I’d like the next bike to be literally half the weight. The commuter is a bristol Bike’s expedition, size small all. I couldn't find the weight in the Website i’m afraid.
Brucey
Posts: 44517
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by Brucey »

2015, huh.... blimey.... two and a bit weeks until the shortest day, three weeks until Christmas...eeek!

I understand what you mean by 'heavy' now; yes the Decathlon bikes look interesting given your needs. The B-twin brand is being phased out and similar bikes will just be known as 'Triban' which will become a brand name rather than just a model name. The RC500 model looks like it is good value to me; the RC520 has 'better' parts but it is more money and not everyone gets on with the TRP HyRd brakes. HyRd brakes are powerful and self-adjusting when they are working properly, but are slightly finicky to set up and don't always tolerate regular wet-weather use in the long term.

By comparison the Promax (300R?) brakes on the RC500 are a much simpler design but they do need to be manually adjusted regularly. They are much the same as Avid BB5 brakes in many respects; they are likely to work OK if you use sintered pads in them, but with organic pads and wet weather use the wear rate is often a bit too high I suspect because the pads are fairly small in size.

Do check that the mudguard clearance is adequate for the (possibly heavier, thicker) commuting tyres that you may want to fit. Also be aware that 'tubeless compatible' rims may tend to make all tyres a tight fit on the rims, which can make punctures more of a hassle. I have not had the chance to look at these new models in person, so I don't know if these are likely to be legitimate concerns or not.

In any event if I bought a bike of that sort I would stress-relieve the wheels, and service the hubs (using more, better quality grease) as a matter of course, if I wanted the wheelset to last well without troubles. Obviously adding mudguards, a rack, tougher tyres and lights is liable to add ~2kg to the bike.

Season's greetings
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by Jamesh »

I'm not a great fan of decathlon bikes Thier frames look very crude and the finish looks like a galvanised farm gate. Compared to a Boardman which always look a degree better finished and lighter too. For £500-600 a Scott speeder would be a better buy.
https://m.startfitness.co.uk/scott-2016 ... g8EALw_wcB
Or a white Sussex
https://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m16b188s11 ... zZEALw_wcB
Or a cube attain pro disc
https://www.tweekscycles.com/cube-attai ... ign=477705

Cheers James
tim-b
Posts: 2091
Joined: 10 Oct 2009, 8:20am

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by tim-b »

Hi
Plenty of bargains out there:
Merlin Cycles
Women's geometry might suit?
Regards
tim-b
~~~~¯\(ツ)/¯~~~~
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by thelawnet »

Wiggle/CRC's Vitus range are ok.

They make:

Zenium - alloy disc road bike with full carbon forks. sub10kg. Tiagra/105. ~£720/£830
Zenium SL - lighter alloy weight disc road bike with full carbon fork & seatpost. 105/Ultegra ~£980/£1300

(There is also a cheaper flat bar road bike with discs, the Mach 3, if you are interested)

I believe all these have rack mounts. Beware the prices which are run on permanent and fluctuating discounts.
The
Note that in terms of pricing/groupsets, that the brand-new RS7020 105 has the more ergonomic hydro shifters, whereas the previous one, and Tiagra. does not. So if you are going to fork out for 105 you should look for the new groupset, or a good-sized saving. Tiagra will be updated next year and presumably will be the same as 105 but 10-speed and slightly heavier. So again 4-year-old Tiagra should warrant a good saving over new 105 to be worth it. (Vitus are still on MY 2018 until about February so their 105 is outdated).

I think the RC520 is a bit of a scam with the weird off-brand brakes, at that price. Proper 105 hydaulic brakes would presumably have messed up their price point.

Some choices:

RC 500 10.6kg Sora mechanical £530
Zenium Tiagra (I think it's sold out?) mechanical
Zenium 105 hydro (old 105) 9.4kg £830

105 R7020 is the one to buy at the moment if you want hydraulic Shimano. But I'm not sure how many, if any, cheap bikes are sporting it at the moment. Perhaps wait for the 2019 Vitus range in February-ish? The Zenium VR has a fake RRP of £1100 but I guess there will be £200 off that straight away so perhaps initially chucked out at £900?

Otherwise save lots of money and get mechanical discs & Sora or Claris or whatever. Or wait for 2010 my with Tiagra R6020 or whatever they will call it. (Though again I suspect many will cheap out of actual hydraulic brakes & provide Tiagra mechanical shifters.)
User avatar
foxyrider
Posts: 6044
Joined: 29 Aug 2011, 10:25am
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by foxyrider »

Maybe look at a CX bike ad a base, some brands do models tricked out with guards etc with discs and low gearing. My focus even came with a hub dyno.

Weight will vary but you could expect @ 12kg
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
pwa
Posts: 17369
Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by pwa »

It may be stating the obvious but no bike with panniers on will be light for getting onto a train.
NetworkMan
Posts: 727
Joined: 25 Aug 2014, 11:13am
Location: South Devon

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by NetworkMan »

So heavy - I won’t be able to lift easy for train trips or into car etc. No way my tiny missus will be able to Shift around easily either

Just make sure you don't confuse the two:-

Lifting - 1 kg off a 12 kg bike is 8.3% - probably significant.
Riding - 1 kg off a 12 kg bike with a 50 kg rider is only 1.6% which may not be noticed. If it is it will only be when climbing or accelerating.
RideToWorky
Posts: 218
Joined: 23 Oct 2015, 1:14pm

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by RideToWorky »

NetworkMan wrote:
So heavy - I won’t be able to lift easy for train trips or into car etc. No way my tiny missus will be able to Shift around easily either

Just make sure you don't confuse the two:-

Lifting - 1 kg off a 12 kg bike is 8.3% - probably significant.
Riding - 1 kg off a 12 kg bike with a 50 kg rider is only 1.6% which may not be noticed. If it is it will only be when climbing or accelerating.


Hiya,

Yup, exactly that

Physically lifting it, into car or train, would be a horrific struggle. it is really heavy by itself, even after taking off the panniers etc.

Riding it is fine, a good commuter, except for those damn hills 8)
RideToWorky
Posts: 218
Joined: 23 Oct 2015, 1:14pm

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by RideToWorky »

Jamesh wrote:I'm not a great fan of decathlon bikes Thier frames look very crude and the finish looks like a galvanised farm gate. Compared to a Boardman which always look a degree better finished and lighter too. For £500-600 a Scott speeder would be a better buy.
https://m.startfitness.co.uk/scott-2016 ... g8EALw_wcB
Or a white Sussex
https://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m16b188s11 ... zZEALw_wcB
Or a cube attain pro disc
https://www.tweekscycles.com/cube-attai ... ign=477705

Cheers James



Hi James,

Thanks for the info on the Triban frames

And thanks for all the advise from guys on this thread, much appreciated.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thinking more about it:


1. FRAME
- I remember now the adage, buy as good a frame as you can, the rest is consumables.
- Cheap frame, plus cheap components, may not be the best idea -good food for thought


2. BRAKES
- Ah, suspect wet durability of cheap Disc brakes, may not be a good idea as well!
- One of the key points from Bike build for the missus is safe, reliable brakes in the rain.


Will need to ponder some more and probably put more cash in the budget for a better base bike to build up from.

Fantasy budgeting:
Hoping there will be pre-spring 2019 sales in the offing, for a Specialized Diverge or a Trek Checkpoint as a base bike maybe 8)
Brucey
Posts: 44517
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by Brucey »

re disc brakes; there is very little to actually go wrong with cheap cable operated discs, but they do need adjusting as the pads wear. Most riders will at least notice that the lever is coming back closer to the handlebar and therefore know that something needs doing, even if they may not know exactly what.

However if you have self-adjusting hydraulic brakes, it is commonly the case that the pads wear out completely before anyone notices, which is quite likely to ruin the brakes completely. With these brakes you need to proactively check for pad wear; there are otherwise no 'symptoms'.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: Advise pls-Bike build for hilly commuter, light tourer

Post by Jamesh »

Also look at frame geometry my cx bike has a very similar geometry to my carbon race bike. I wouldn't want to tour on it.

It's a good all rounder but not a relaxed ride. A shallower angle seat tube and head tube with longer chainstays. Makes for a more relaxing ride but not so Bible in traffic.

Alu will get you a cheaper lighter bike than steel as well.

Cheers James
Post Reply