What bike for a 1000 mile+ journey?

[JordanEkland]

Hi all, I'm planning on cycling from Ipswich to Oslo, Norway in July and am new to cycling so would like some advice on what bike to get. I've been looking at tourers, but if anyone could suggest a particular model/make that would be helpful. Ideally around 300-400 pound as if I fail to sell it in Norway I'll be leaving it behind as I'm flying to Croatia from there. Advice on other gear I'll need would be great too.

Thanks!

-Jordan

[JordanEkland]

Obviously I am willing to go over 400 if it's going to get me to Norway in one piece though!

[RickH]

Decathlon's bikes are generally reckoned to be very good value for money & they have, I think, a presence in Sweden so selling on might be easier with a locally known brand.

Edited to add: the Riverside 7 is currently £549 (£100 off) - it is a little on the heavy side but includes mudguards, a rear rack & dynamo lighting. Buy some panniers & you're pretty much ready to load up & go.

Rick.

[Vorpal]

IMO, the best value for money tourer is probably the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op Revolution Country Traveller.

However, if you want to resell it in Norway, you are better off with a hybrid or mountain bike. Most Norwegians who tour either do so on converted mountain bikes, or continental type trekking bikes. The main international brands are available in Norway, so you'll probably get better resale value if you stick to those.

The place to sell a used bike in Norway is http://www.finn.no/ I think it's okay to advertise it in advance with an explanation. Most Norwegians understand English, so it's probably best to post it in English, rather than trying to translate it. Have a look at that site to get an idea about bikes and their resale value.

Tehcnically, if you are bringing a bike into Norway to sell it, you should pay 20% tax on it when you arrive. If it is of Chinese manufacture, the tax is much higher.

[JordanEkland]

Decathlon's bikes are generally reckoned to be very good value for money & they have, I think, a presence in Sweden so selling on might be easier with a locally known brand.

Edited to add: the Riverside 7 is currently £549 (£100 off) - it is a little on the heavy side but includes mudguards, a rear rack & dynamo lighting. Buy some panniers & you're pretty much ready to load up & go.

Rick.

Thanks mate, I'll take a look through their stuff! Ideally I'm looking for something light and fast though, as long as it's sturdy enough to hold together for the trip! I've been looking on Gumtree, but it only seems to have vintage tourers that don't look very sturdy!

[Vorpal]

Decathlon bikes aren't well known in Norway. They are available in Sweden, but import taxes on bikes are another 5% higher there.

[JordanEkland]

Decathlon bikes aren't well known in Norway. They are available in Sweden, but import taxes on bikes are another 5% higher there.

Do you think something like this viewtopic.php?f=40&t=92871 would hold up on the kind of trip I'm taking? It looks light and sturdy, but realistically I have no idea what those specs mean in terms of quality haha!

[SteveHunter]

How much luggage are you planning to carry, I assume you will want panniers, maybe on the front and back so will need the ability to mount them.
If I was planning to ride 1000 miles in one go I think I would be looking for something I could put some wider tyres on to be more comfortable.

[JordanEkland]

How much luggage are you planning to carry, I assume you will want panniers, maybe on the front and back so will need the ability to mount them.
If I was planning to ride 1000 miles in one go I think I would be looking for something I could put some wider tyres on to be more comfortable.

Well I have a one man survival tent that weighs next to nothing and a lightweight sleeping bag, then really it'll just be clothes and a day or so's worth of food along with my little portable cooker and gas. In terms of tyres I wanted to stay thin so I could cover as much distance as possible quickly, how thick would you suggest?

[SteveHunter]

The problem with tyres too thin is you need to inflate them very hard, that means the ride will be harsh and may well limit the mileage you can cover. If you want to spend more than 3 - 4 hours a day pedalling I think you really need to focus on comfort over speed. Narrower tyres aren't always faster either, depends on the road surface. I think you want to be at least 28 mm tyres, 32 mm would probably be better.

I'm not a long distance tourer, I'm sure some more experienced riders will be along to offer better advice than I have.

[LollyKat]

The problem with tyres too thin is you need to inflate them very hard, that means the ride will be harsh and may well limit the mileage you can cover. If you want to spend more than 3 - 4 hours a day pedalling I think you really need to focus on comfort over speed.

+1

If you are new to cycling you won't have had the chance yet to find out (the hard way) that light and fast may be too uncomfortable for long distance.

[Bonefishblues]

IMO, the best value for money tourer is probably the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op Revolution Country Traveller.

That's a very good shout.

[bikerwaser]

IMO, the best value for money tourer is probably the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op Revolution Country Traveller.

That's a very good shout.

+1 for the Edinburgh Revolution Country Traveller



not sure on your size but i found a couple of steel frame tourers on ebay ( i prefer steel ) :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/56cm-Reynolds ... 462fcfb6a6

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ridgeback-Voy ... 51c87f1614

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Koga- ... 5b09edde2d

[RickH]

Thanks mate, I'll take a look through their stuff! Ideally I'm looking for something light and fast though, as long as it's sturdy enough to hold together for the trip! I've been looking on Gumtree, but it only seems to have vintage tourers that don't look very sturdy!

The usual, & often quoted on here, adage is that you can have up to 2 out of light, cheap & durable. Sometimes you only get 1, particularly at the upper and lower ends of the price range.

Rick.

[iandriver]

Just to open up your options a bit, If you google expedition tourer, you'll see lots of bike that look remarkably like a rigid mountain bike. Rigid mountain bikes are what scores of us tour on. With slicks on, they are surprisingly quick and generally have a sensible spread of gearing for loaded travelling.

How many miles a day do you think you'll do?

If I wanted it for one off journey and planned to then get rid of it, this is a route I'd look into if I was looking at second hand bikes.