Cycling UK Forum

I starting cycling again after many years, at the moment I am using a 70 yr old Evans tourer with sturmey archer 3 speed
gears and am completely confused what to get if I find I get on alright. My main use would be on the road in rural yorkshire possibly up to about 40 miles Eventually if I can I would like to do some touring 40 years after my last one what do I buy

Oh, my god...people will be queuing up to offer you advice about what to buy to get you back to touring. the choice is pretty wide and it's going to be a difficult task to narrow your field down. I suggest lightweight steel frame, drops or butterfly bars, plenty of low gears, brooks leather saddle, cantilever brakes, gearshifts at your fingertips...none of the old downtube friction levers, plenty of clearance on the frame for mudguards (the chromoplasic type with those fittings on the front 'guard which shear if you get something trapped in the wheel and stop you going over the handlebars). I could go on and i'm sure that others will develop the theme!!...

Hi

I returned to cycling 18 months ago after a 20 year layoff. The bike I chose was a Ridgeback Velocity. Basically it was a reasonable price and pretty versatile. It can take mud gaurds and panniers, has a decent derailuer gear set up, if ok on roads and gentle off road, and comes in at under £300. I use it to commute and go touring and has been pretty good.

As a grumpy grandad myself, I would suggest you seek the advice of hardened tourists of your own age. You mention the age of your Evans, but not your own.
Have you cycled at all in the years since your last tour?
Do you want a more upright position on the machine, is the Evans to your liking?
In spite of all the hype surrounding the progress in bicycle manufacture, the hills and terrain remain largely unchanged.
If you are a man of advanced years, you probably don't want a position that is going to aggravate muscles that have lost their memory, so stick to something that you are comfortable on, and which isn't too heavy. If 40 miles is going to be your aim, I suggest you contact your local CTC group with a view to joining them one week, (assuming of course you have one locally), and see what they are riding.
Touring is a very personal matter, and what suits one will invariably not suit another. I don't like STI and always use bar-end shifters, I like Brooks saddles, I use toe-clips, I don't wear a helmet, I like lycra and goretex, the list is endless.
Use your current bike and work out what, if anything, you would change.

Iam 62 I have been running for the last 3 years half marathons but have had to give up on medical advice. I have done a couple of short rides recently but unfortunately the nearest ctc group is 30miles away so that s out of the question .

I did 120 miles with a heavy load at the age of 57
but never again.
At the age of 60 I can do 20 miles into town and back with ease and pleasure on a machine which only has one third of the output of an ordinary bicycle, a special.
I did 13.5 miles on Sunday and I had only just begun.

Is roadrunner on commission for recommending this bike? For 200 quid it can't be a lot of good.........you get what you pay for!!

You can't go far wrong with buying a Dawes Galaxy. I would prefer the Galaxy to the new Super Galaxy though, I don't like the look of theat head-set.