Flat bar tourer any suggestions?

Susan W · Post by **Susan W** » 29 Dec 2008, 8:31pm

I'm looking to replace/upgrade from my stolen Marin Larkspur.

I want a fun ride for my daily commute (30 mins), but something that can also cope with pulling a Chariot child trailer or Burley Piccolo with loaded panniers.

I was thinking I should upgrade to a tourer for strength and wide gear ratios, but drop bars won't work as I use a bobike front seat for my son. I can spend up to £1K, but would prefer not to.

I've looked at a custom build Surly Cross-Check at around £950. Surely there is another (cheaper) option?

random37 · Post by **random37** » 29 Dec 2008, 9:24pm

Thorn and Byercycles spring to mind.

ians · Post by **ians** » 29 Dec 2008, 9:24pm

Hi

is this any use?

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/sherpa.html

ian

stevew · Post by **stevew** » 29 Dec 2008, 10:44pm

Paul Hewitt's Cheviot is well under a grand, about 700 when I got mine and can be specified with flat or maybe butterfly bars. Mine has flats and bar ends and i like the bike a lot. Their web site is not brilliant but it's worth a phone call.
http://www.hewittbikefitting.co.uk/inde ... age=hewitt

Susan W · Post by **Susan W** » 30 Dec 2008, 10:45pm

Thanks for the suggestions. The Thorn Sherpa looks a beautiful bike. I was very tempted. But I think I will go with the Surly Cross-check. On close comparison it will work out the same price as the Sherpa and I feel more confident buying from a bike shop I have an established relationship with.

stevew · Post by **stevew** » 30 Dec 2008, 11:09pm

I suspect you have come to the best solution as it's really nice to work with a LBS that you know and trust. The Surly is a nice bike and it has a certain kudos that none of the others have although that possibly doesn't matter ! !
Just remember to go for really low gears with all that load carrying and trailer pulling. I suggest you use a MTB triple with a 22 / 32 /44 tooth front chain ring and perhaps a rear cassette of 11-30 or 32 teeth so that you have a low gear of about 19-20 inches.
Good luck with your purchase and don't forget to post a nice piccy here when you get it.

Freddie · Post by **Freddie** » 31 Dec 2008, 10:46am

Personally I'd go with the LHT over the Crosscheck, lower bottom bracket, longer chainstays and slacker angles will make it a more pleasant ride than the more race styled Crosscheck.

georgew · Post by **georgew** » 31 Dec 2008, 11:26am

Freddie wrote:Personally I'd go with the LHT over the Crosscheck, lower bottom bracket, longer chainstays and slacker angles will make it a more pleasant ride than the more race styled Crosscheck.

+1

The LHT with flat bars would be ideal.

CJ · Post by CJ » 31 Dec 2008, 2:12pm

Hewitt versus Surly is a nice illustration of how the UK market comes to be dominated by American brands. Both assemble a well thought-out touring bike out of far-eastern-made components - including the frame. Hewitt operates in a niche market of a medium-sized country on the edge of a continent that doesn't speak his language. Surly, on the other hand, operates in a similar market but in a country of 300 million people and quickly grows to a size where it can afford professional marketing and tout for foreign business, with the economies of scale that provide a retail margin so the product can sell in local shops.

In Britain we speak near enough the same language and so all the same marketing works just fine (better than fine, since we British have always had a weakness for the exotic) and so the American brand merely has to be good enough in order for it's better marketing, distribution and imported cachet to eclipse the homegrown.

The days are over when we could rely upon selling the rest of the world financial services to keep Great Britain Limited in the black. Buy the Surly and its true, your local dealer will make some profit, but so will Uncle Sam. Buy Hewitt and more of your money stays in this country. Which is why, personally, I'd rather buy a British made and branded product even if I have to get it mail-order from the other end of the country - provided, as in this case, it is at least as good.

georgew · Post by **georgew** » 4 Jan 2009, 6:14pm

CJ wrote:<snip>Buy Hewitt and more of your money stays in this country. Which is why, personally, I'd rather buy a British made and branded product even if I have to get it mail-order from the other end of the country - provided, as in this case, it is at least as good.

All true, but in this case it would be wrong to compare the two bikes in question. The difference in angles and clearances between the two frames is substantial as is the handling, and while both are tourers they are very unlike.

AndyK · Post by **AndyK** » 5 Jan 2009, 2:13pm

So Chris, if I buy a Claud Butler Dalesman (as I'm seriously considering doing - remarkably similar spec to the Hewitt but substantially cheaper if you shop around) how much of my money stays in Britain then? I think Falcon are UK-owned, but I imagine the frames are made in Taiwan same as they are for everyone else.

drjones · Post by **drjones** » 5 Jan 2009, 3:49pm

I wasn't aware the OP had asked for her decision to be guided by half-baked nationalist economic theory.

I would advise her to study carefully the differences between those two suggestions -particularly in terms of geometry- and arrive at a suitable option based on her requirements as a cyclist, and this alone.

emergency_pants · Post by **emergency_pants** » 5 Jan 2009, 4:15pm

They're all absolutely brilliant looking bikes and I'm glad I live in a place where we have that choice! Go for either! Though at £900+ I get the impression that they're both a bit expensive for what you're looking for? If not too expensive, the Cheviott, Sherpa and Long Haul Trucker are all bang on what you're asking about, as far as I can see. All will be ideal.

My money would be on the Sherpa but that's just purely on the impression I get from them more than any actual experience of them. I'd have bought one if I had the extra money.

If you're not so fussed about frame material, want to save some money and aren't too fussed about getting a pure tourer, how about a Dawes Sardar Trekking style bike (will handle the load) or a Dawes Discovery 501? About £350/£400. I looked hard at the Sardar but wanted steel, where the choice is more limited, as far as I can see. I general, there appears to be a sort of jump in prices from £500 bracket of bike to about £800+ with little in between!

PW · Post by PW » 5 Jan 2009, 8:42pm

It will probably be argued that I'm not in the same market as the original poster, but if you wish to buy British there's still the artisan builder to look at. Having had 5 frames from Edison in Clowne, N. Derbyshire you can tell where I prefer to spend my money, and I'm well satisfied with the results.