The touring/ bikepacking bike that I am looking for:
- • Very relaxed geometry for 12hr rides day after day
• Under £1300
• Under 10KG
• Disc Brakes
• Drop Bars (maybe flared drops)
• Tiagra/ 105 or similar
• I don't like 1x setups- seems like a waste of gearing options
• Mudguard mounts
• Rack Mounts front & back
• Not a mountain bike- no suspension
• Capable of going anywhere- some gravel/ mud riding- wide tire clearance etc. I'd like to take it on big cycling adventures.
• I'm not that bothered about material but I'm worried about carbon fibre breaking (even if I could afford it)
Also FYI...
Problems that I've always had with my Dawes Galaxy AL touring bike:
- • The gears are really unreliable. Sometimes it works fine and the rest of the time it just gets stuck on the middle chainring.
• The brakes are really bad. I've changed the brake pads but it's never been exactly safe. I didn't like this when I bought the bike but it was cheap so I didn't care at the time.
• The bike is SUPER heavy. Just the bike alone is about 15Kg! I could have all my kit on my Cannondale for less than that weight
My Cannondale:
- • Gets uncomfortable after about 4 hours.
• 9KG is nicer to ride
• good brakes
• Can't have racks or mudguards (without modifications) so it's very impractical
• It's terrible on even slightly bumpy terrain.
• The more racy geometry is more fun than the Dawes but I've never found a way to make it more comfortable. Either the bike doesn't fit or it's not designed for 12 hour rides.
Thanks for any advice you can think of!