rotavator wrote:I went to see a Shand Daunder touring bike recently. I thought the welding and paintwork were good and you get a choice of colours but it has a press-fit BB and the salesman did not seem to know much about the bikes. I could not see that it was worth paying 4k for one.
rotavator wrote:I went to see a Shand Daunder touring bike recently. I thought the welding and paintwork were good and you get a choice of colours but it has a press-fit BB and the salesman did not seem to know much about the bikes. I could not see that it was worth paying 4k for one.
Very short chainstays on that model I notice.
Chainstays are 450 mm long for the medium and large. Do you think that will be too short for using panniers? I thought 440 mm was a sensible minimum for a touring bike but I don't pretend to be an expert!
John Holiday wrote:Have been pleased with my Thorn ‘Raven’ with Rohloff hub, which I’ve had now for twenty years. There are cheaper bikes about, but you will not regret buying quality. Not expensive, if it lasts for years.
I'll second that. My Raven has taken me on some great overseas trips as well as an end2end of Scotland
I have a Thorn tandem with Rohloff and i liked the Rohloff so much that I bought a Thorn Mercury also with Rohloff. Thorn spruiks the Mercury as a light tourer, Audax bike etc. I love riding it!
rotavator wrote:I went to see a Shand Daunder touring bike recently. I thought the welding and paintwork were good and you get a choice of colours but it has a press-fit BB and the salesman did not seem to know much about the bikes. I could not see that it was worth paying 4k for one.
Very short chainstays on that model I notice.
Chainstays are 450 mm long for the medium and large. Do you think that will be too short for using panniers? I thought 440 mm was a sensible minimum for a touring bike but I don't pretend to be an expert!
Assuming made to measure, you'll be able to spec what you want? If I wanted a Shand, I'd be speaking to them directly (and did). I ultimately ended up with a Stanforth because they were closer to visit than Shand and I wanted to discuss the frame build face to face.
Thorn are OK but they're not made to measure custom frames. Apples and oranges...
For anyone with average body proportions there is a very good chance that a really good fitting frame already exists, off-the-peg. My most used bike has an off-the-peg (Spa Ti Tourer) frame and if I were having a bespoke frame made I would just take the Spa frame and say "copy that".
Few people NEED a custom build, but if you can afford to treat yourself I'd say go for it. I had a touring bike measured up for me from Mercian some time ago, and it's not really any different from the off-the-peg Mercian I had before it other than choosing which brazings I wanted. It somehow feels personal though, and psychologically that's nice.
The geometrical aspects seem to be well covered above, but there are presumably quality aspects. For example, it was recently pointed out on here that the tubes on a made to measure lugged frame should be properly butted to fit to together whereas a mid market mass produced frame may have gaps. I have seen one failure due to this in my limited experience.
Lugged frames presumably now being no longer the baseline assumption this point may now be irrelevant but are there other likely quality differences, and how do you evaluate them?
wjhall wrote:The geometrical aspects seem to be well covered above, but there are presumably quality aspects. For example, it was recently pointed out on here that the tubes on a made to measure lugged frame should be properly butted to fit to together whereas a mid market mass produced frame may have gaps. I have seen one failure due to this in my limited experience.
Lugged frames presumably now being no longer the baseline assumption this point may now be irrelevant but are there other likely quality differences, and how do you evaluate them?
Yes, it does depend whether you want a traditional lugged steel frame, where as you say, corners cut cannot be seen.
My own experience was, that only after having a custom frame made, was I able to get an idea of what I really wanted (not the same as what I got!). A first custom frame is unlikely to be perfect for you, and your physique and riding habits will probably continue to evolve anyway. I don't regret treating myself, but did learn from the process.
I am very happy with my Hewitt Cheviot SE off-the-peg tourer. It does not have the caché or fancy lugs of my Roberts or Mercian, but it rides beautifully. The Roberts has a bit of toe overlap and the Mercian chain stays are a bit short; the Hewitt is better in both respects - it is longer, of course. Paul Hewitt no longer offers this model, so I would suggest that you take a good look at the Spa tourer.
bgnukem wrote:Steve Goff in Leyland, Lancs is good value vs. others, couple of people in my club have had frames from him in recent years, one of which was a touring-style bike. He's very slow though I gather. Hoping to place an order with him next year when I can get up there but don't expect the get the frame for a year or so!
Dave Yates also has a good rep but is based in Lincs these days and not the North east.
I think Dave Yates retired a while back - shame, as I thought he did really nice frames and had a great thread on YACF forum.
Raleigh Randonneur 708 (Magura hydraulic brakes); Blue Raleigh Randonneur 708 dynamo; Pearson Compass 631 tourer; Dawes One Down 631 dynamo winter bike;Raleigh Travelogue 708 tourer dynamo; Kona Sutra; Trek 920 disc Sram Force.
Many thanks all for taking the time to pass on a great deal of wisdom and experience. Lots of points there I would not have thought about and a number of names to look into - with some endorsed by others. Lots to think about - I'll enjoy the further research and purchase whatever I go for, and now have more chance of enjoying the ride too. Many thanks again to all. Kenneth
bgnukem wrote:Steve Goff in Leyland, Lancs is good value vs. others, couple of people in my club have had frames from him in recent years, one of which was a touring-style bike. He's very slow though I gather. Hoping to place an order with him next year when I can get up there but don't expect the get the frame for a year or so!
Dave Yates also has a good rep but is based in Lincs these days and not the North east.
I think Dave Yates retired a while back - shame, as I thought he did really nice frames and had a great thread on YACF forum.
Dave Yates still operates, I contacted him this week.
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
I thought Mercian were one of the go tos for touring bikes? Not cheap though.
Depending on your experience, you might want,as has been said, to try the second-hand route to see what suits you - there’s lots of Reynolds steel frames and complete bikes on Ebay.
You’d get more bang from your buck with a custom build if you’re really clear on your requirements - see also the Not the Nine O’Clock News Gramophone sketch.
Spa Audax Ti Ultegra; Genesis Equilibrium 853; Raleigh Record Ace 1983; “Raleigh Competition”, “Raleigh Gran Sport 1982”; “Allegro Special”, Bob Jackson tourer, Ridley alu step-through with Swytch front wheel; gravel bike from an MB Dronfield 531 frame.
