Best value touring bike with a £900 budget

[johnlambeth]

Hello,
I'm John, I'm arranging a touring trip from spain to the uk. aiming to stick to the roads so won't need anything that has to be durable enough for rough tracks.
I'm wanting to spend between £500 and £900. Can anyone help? would be hugely appreciated

I don't have much knowledge of equipment, here's what seemed to be one of the better deals I've found
http://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m115b187s86 ... wwod8YQA4A any good?

Cheers!

[Ant]

Hi there

have you tried the bike for size? I ask because there has been much talk about the geometry of Ridgeback tourers. Essentially they are quite 'long and low' which means you can feel quite stretched out on them.

I have a Ridgeback Journey, which has the same geometry as the Panorama (the 2013 year anyway) and can confirm it is a long bike, so much so that I am either going to convert it to flat bars (or possibly even swept back alt bars) or sell it. Have tried a shorter and taller stem but essentially the bike is too big in its current form. Unfortunately the next sizes down were a bit too low for me. I do have the long legs/shortish torso mix which is particularly unsuited to long low frames. I just really liked the Journey and specifically wanted another Alfine hub geared bike, which narrowed my options...

I can confirm that they are really well built, have a great paint job and are well specced. Details such as the seat stay mounted pump and cross top brake levers are really nice too. Plus specced with three bottle cage, a good rear rack and mudguards. The Journey is an extremely comfortable bike, even with no luggage and I can only imagine that the slightly higher quality tubes on the Panorama would be at least as good. For that price you can do much worse.

Looking at the site I would also consider the 26 inch wheeled Ridgeback Expedition, although if you are not going off tarmac then it is probably overkill.

Hope that helps, Ant

[Bicycler]

The Panorama is one of the most frequently recommended road tourers out there and is good value for that money.

But... I'd echo Ant's recommendation that you test ride a bike before buying. At least you need to be sure that you get the right size. A bike that fits and is comfortable is worth much more than getting a bargain or better components.

[don1]

I believe the Genesis Tour de Fer is in that same price range.
That link is my local bike shop who are also Genesis dealers. Although I can't see the Tour de Fer on the website though.

[Merry_Wanderer]

John

Chris Juden in the CTC Cycle magazine tested Spa Cycles steel tourer and rated it just about the best touring bike for less than £1,000.

If you can make it up to Harrogate you can call into the shop and have a ride on one, they have one of each size in the shop I understand. I have no connection with Spa but I have found them very knowledgeable and helpful.

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... b0s21p2983

[horizon]

The odd thing is that when I started posting on this forum, off-the-peg touring bikes were a dying breed and it was very hard to recommend one - it was the Galaxy or a hand built job. Mostly people got fobbed off with a Tricross. Now there's at least three bog-standard full ranges to choose from - Dawes, Ridgeback, EBC. The fact that Genesis has got onto the band wagon (through gritted teeth?) and there are plenty more (Thorn, Surly, OBW, Spa, Condor) above the £1000 mark seems to imply there's life in the old dog yet. The OP may be spoilt for choice!

Let me know if you think I've got this right.

[andrewk]

bikes2udirect.com are currently selling the Claud Butler Dalesman for £700...a hell of a lot of bike for the money.

[Sweep]

http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/road-bike ... -2014-p810

Over your budget but a very good discount and I know some folks rave about it.

I know nowt about it - al might

[al_yrpal]

http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/road-bikes-c5/touring-bikes-c41/salsa-vaya-3-touring-bike-2014-p810

Over your budget but a very good discount and I know some folks rave about it.

I know nowt about it - al might

I have a Salsa Vaya 3. I like its features - steel frame, sloping top tube, discs. Its a comfortable bike and reasonably swift and you can do a little rough stuff too. Unloaded or lightly loaded its a lively rewarding ride. The componentry is good, mine has the most comfortable saddle I have ever had. The bike is springy which absorbs road shocks and vibration well. This years model has stis whereas mine has bar end shifters. The stis are obviously an improvement. I did swap out the granny ring for a 24t one because I need a real granny to haul me up steep hills fully loaded. A competent modern tourer.

Al

[johnlambeth]

Cheers everyone, I'll get a test drive of most of the ones you've suggested and take it from there!

[mercalia]

The odd thing is that when I started posting on this forum, off-the-peg touring bikes were a dying breed and it was very hard to recommend one - it was the Galaxy or a hand built job. Mostly people got fobbed off with a Tricross. Now there's at least three bog-standard full ranges to choose from - Dawes, Ridgeback, EBC. The fact that Genesis has got onto the band wagon (through gritted teeth?) and there are plenty more (Thorn, Surly, OBW, Spa, Condor) above the £1000 mark seems to imply there's life in the old dog yet. The OP may be spoilt for choice!

yes and you can get a decent one for not too much money. I hope it translates into more riders using it for that purpose and maybe just maybe facilities for them around the country will be revived?