newbuild100 wrote:Folks, I spend a few odd weeks in the year using an old bike for touring about on. (No camping gear, I hostel it or B/B with small ish panniers and a handlebar bag. ie travel fairly light) As I have just enrolled on our bike to work scheme, i want to spend a bit on money, maybe £1300/£1400. I first looked at Dawes and Ridgeback bikes, and whilst I realise Steel may be best for a touring frame, im a bit put off by the weight and the fact that those bikes seem to have running gear/brakes that arent the "Shimano's finest" (Not that im a parts snob, but I was a bit shocked when i saw the components lists !) I dont mind a bike with discs on, but id like to have my gear changers on the brakehoods and not on the bars (It seems a few do) One other bike that I like the look of is the Ribble CGR. Its alloy, seems to have better components than those above, but doesnt seem to be an out and out tourer. Theres too much choice out there !!!!!! Can anyone comment on the above please, or any helpful tips at all ? Thanks guys
Surly LHT.
Is there any other?
-- Surly LHT | Genesis Flyer | Giant Defy Advanced Pro | CBoardman 29er Pro London is a cesspit
honesty wrote:Downside of spa is they don’t do cycle to work schemes...
There are ways to deal with that - find a LBS that does, get them to buy the frame, build it up and sell you the bike. It might end up being a little dearer depending on the shop and the build, just remember when making comparisons the shop isn't getting the full value of the voucher.
I used a Giant TCX SLR, alloy frame, 11sp Ultegra, PX-2 wheels with 28mm slicks (came with 35mm knobblies fitted as standard). Disc brake with front thru axle for added strength & stability. Fitted Topeak pannier rack and carried enough luggage in the rear only for 9 days B&B i.e. no luggage at the front.
Only issue was the gear setup (46/36 and 11/28). Made the climb out of Cherbourg a bit harder than I'm used to, especially with the extra weight, but wound the cadence down and got up over OK.
On the Petit TdM flats and river/rail track got going at a fair old lick, especially on the drops, so an excellent bike for speedy touring.
Big plus for me is the tyre width the frame and wheels accept, so can be used on smooth tarmac and off road single track.
I also use it as a winter training bike with pannier rack removed and mudguards added.
honesty wrote:Downside of spa is they don’t do cycle to work schemes...
There are ways to deal with that - find a LBS that does, get them to buy the frame, build it up and sell you the bike. It might end up being a little dearer depending on the shop and the build, just remember when making comparisons the shop isn't getting the full value of the voucher.
He could do that with something like Bob Jackson, as well.
The OP was talking about Cycle to Work scheme. If he doesn't have all the money available now, a used bike at £700 might be less feasible than a new one at £1000.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.” ― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
The OP was talking about Cycle to Work scheme. If he doesn't have all the money available now, a used bike at £700 might be less feasible than a new one at £1000.
The only shops I know of who will do ride to work at sale prices are Evans and Wiggle. Hewitt would most likely want full price for the bike you linked to, which would take it over the ride to work limit.
newbuild100 wrote:I first looked at Dawes and Ridgeback bikes, and whilst I realise Steel may be best for a touring frame...
My tourer is steel, but I didn't buy it because it was steel and it wouldn't overly bother me if it wasn't. The fact of the matter is you can make good frames out of lots of things and you can make bad frames out of the same stuff too. Lots of people have done amazing tours on non-steel frames so unless the point is a custom build from someone who works in steel I'd say that insisting on steel is quite possibly a bit of an affectation.
newbuild100 wrote:One other bike that I like the look of is the Ribble CGR. Its alloy, seems to have better components than those above, but doesnt seem to be an out and out tourer.
Maybe not, but then "out and out tourers" are typically designed for heavy loads which you start off by saying you won't be doing. And the heavy loads thing is also why the gears tend not to be hood-changer friendly, so I wouldn't worry too much. If you're going relatively light then "out and out tourer" is not necessarily what you're after. When looking for a 'bent tourer for my wife we were over in NL trying various out, and the one she liked the most hadn't been on the audition list because it wasn't an "out and out tourer". But she liked it more than the "out and out tourers" and has been touring on it happily since.
whoof wrote:The only shops I know of who will do ride to work at sale prices are Evans and Wiggle. Hewitt would most likely want full price for the bike you linked to, which would take it over the ride to work limit.
It wouldn't hurt to ask.
Also the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op have done CTW scheme at sale prices, and likely plenty of independent shops, as well.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.” ― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
whoof wrote:The only shops I know of who will do ride to work at sale prices are Evans and Wiggle. Hewitt would most likely want full price for the bike you linked to, which would take it over the ride to work limit.
It wouldn't hurt to ask.
Also the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op have done CTW scheme at sale prices, and likely plenty of independent shops, as well.
If I remember right - in the days when Spa did it, they would sell at the same price as for cash, but also charge an "Administration" fee to cover the value of the voucher that they didn't get. This is typically 10 - 12.5% (I looked at them all when trying to convince a previous employer to sign up) if you take this into consideration when negotiating, I see no reason that a deal can't be struck with any retailer able to process the voucher.
hamster wrote:Firstly, the reason many tourers have bar-end shifters is that they use mix-and-match road and MTB groupsets to get low gears for load-hauling. MTB components won't work with road shifters (thanks Shimano). Bar-ends have the added advantage of being as simple as a knife and fork.
Having just taken part in a lejog adventure with a group of friends i can state, without reservation, that bar end gear levers are the work of the devil !!! What possessed me to ride with them on my Jamis Aurora still baffles me .. especially as I had been given replacement 105 levers by fellow WIMPS before the start.
They are awful, and to be avoided at all costs !!
Just a personal opinion of course ............
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
hamster wrote:Firstly, the reason many tourers have bar-end shifters is that they use mix-and-match road and MTB groupsets to get low gears for load-hauling. MTB components won't work with road shifters (thanks Shimano). Bar-ends have the added advantage of being as simple as a knife and fork.
Having just taken part in a lejog adventure with a group of friends i can state, without reservation, that bar end gear levers are the work of the devil !!! What possessed me to ride with them on my Jamis Aurora still baffles me .. especially as I had been given replacement 105 levers by fellow WIMPS before the start.
They are awful, and to be avoided at all costs !!
Just a personal opinion of course ............
Out of interest what did you find the problem was?
hamster wrote:Firstly, the reason many tourers have bar-end shifters is that they use mix-and-match road and MTB groupsets to get low gears for load-hauling. MTB components won't work with road shifters (thanks Shimano). Bar-ends have the added advantage of being as simple as a knife and fork.
Having just taken part in a lejog adventure with a group of friends i can state, without reservation, that bar end gear levers are the work of the devil !!! What possessed me to ride with them on my Jamis Aurora still baffles me .. especially as I had been given replacement 105 levers by fellow WIMPS before the start.
They are awful, and to be avoided at all costs !!
Just a personal opinion of course ............
Out of interest what did you find the problem was?
After using STI type levers i found them difficult. I am of the generation that was raised on down tube levers for racing and touring but i took to the STI type easily. Personally i never ride on the drops, i ride on the hoods all the time, and found having to move to the drops clumsy and uncomfortable.
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
landsurfer wrote: Having just taken part in a lejog adventure with a group of friends i can state, without reservation, that bar end gear levers are the work of the devil !!! What possessed me to ride with them on my Jamis Aurora still baffles me .. especially as I had been given replacement 105 levers by fellow WIMPS before the start.
They are awful, and to be avoided at all costs !!
Just a personal opinion of course ............
Out of interest what did you find the problem was?
After using STI type levers i found them difficult. I am of the generation that was raised on down tube levers for racing and touring but i took to the STI type easily. Personally i never ride on the drops, i ride on the hoods all the time, and found having to move to the drops clumsy and uncomfortable.
I still use down-tube as well as STI and bar-end shifters. I ride mostly on the hoods and sometimes on the drops. But I don't need to be riding on the drops in order to change gear with bar-end shifters. I just take one hand off the hoods and move the gear lever just the same as if I was using down-tube but only need to move ~20 cm to reach the bar-end rather than~40 cm to reach the down-tube shifters. As you say it's a personal thing. There was someone on another thread who said they couldn't change gear with STIs whilst on the drops.
