Hi, I'm taking part in the Ride Across Britain next year, JOGLE in 9 days- an average 114 miles per day. I've read loads of the posts on here about best bike for JOGLE, but would like some help with my specific ride please!!!
I currently ride a Raleigh hybrid, and have always ridden mountain bikes, but want to get a bike with drop handle bars and thinner tyres and will be spending about £700- £1000 on a new bike. If we were doing this with luggage, I'd go for an all out tourer, but as we won't have to carry anything and we're going to have to keep a reasonable speed to cover the distance each day, I'm not so sure. I've looked at road bikes, such as Bianchi C2C and Specialized Allez's, but having tried out a road bike recently, I'm not sure if it's going to be very comfortable to do the distances on?
As far as the 'best bike' is concerned, there isn't a best bike. There are some more suitable than others and I would ensure sufficiently low gearing and comfort were the main priorities. Many people tour long distances on both dropped and straight barred bikes so I would choose a bike you are happy with and comfortable on rather than follow what others may recommend as the 'right' bike. Good luck and enjoy choosing.
Then why not look at something with a better quality frame and equipment that is of a similar geometry and size.
The other thing is that it is important to make sure that you are comfortable with the new machine and make any changes a long way before you do the ride. Last minute changes are a major cause of ride discomfort.
If you are thinking of shelling out for a new bike - and I can think of a lot of worse things to do with the hard-earned £££ - I suggest you need to think a bit longer term; what sort of cycling do you intend to use it for after your End-toEnd? Unless you then intend to buy another new bike - and I can think of a lot of worse things to do with the hard-earned £££ - you need to take that into account.
Nowadays "road bike " more or less = "racing bike." This generally means no clearance or fittings for mudguards; ditto carrying luggage; gears more appropriate to superfit athletes riding in a bunch than to mere mortals struggling up big hills or into a headwind; a stiff frame which may not be comfy for a dozen hours in the saddle; wheels and tyres more suited to racing on smooth roads than more general riding. Absolutely nothing wrong with any of these features so long as you understand what they involve. We do get posts on here from people with that type of bike who realise that they now would like to fit lower gears, panniers, heavier tyres and all the rest of it.
Looking purely at your LEJOG and without consideration of your other riding, I'd suggest that what you need is what is often called an Audax bike although that expression has different interpretations. I mean gentler frame angles than you get on a racer, clearance for mudguards, perhaps a lightweight pannier rack, and more suitable gears.
I've no idea how much you know about this so please don't be insulted if this is too basic for you. A true road bike will have a double chainwheel and an inner chainring of 39 teeth. The largest back sprocket might be 23T To put it in perspective, that's what Lance Armstron, Contador and I'm pleased to mention Brad W climb on. You can get a triple on many lower end road bikes or a compact double with a 34T inner which might be OK for you. My point is, you need to think about this. If you have a hybrid your gears are probably similar to a mountain bike and the gears on a true road bike might come as a shock. Check which ratios you tend to use on your present bike. We do get a lot of posts on here from people wanting to fit lower gears but avoiding that from the outset would save you a lot of money. While the lower gears are more important to many of us than the higher ones, remenber that the top gear on a true racer will be something like 53T x 11T. That is to prevent being "twiddled-out" in a high speed bunch, not a problem for most of us. No point having a triple if the big chainring never gets used. If you prefer the appearnce of a road triple, at least go for 48-38-26 rather than 52-42-30.
Whatever you get, pay attention to the wheels. A lot of even quite expensive bikes come with wheels which are not built to a particularly high standard. This isn't something that's easy to deal with if you buy a bike off-the-peg but well-built wheels make the difference between a reliable bike and constant faffing with spoke replacements. If you are doing something like the End-to-End, you are not going into uncharted territory so there are plenty of bike shops but you still want reliability for maximum enjoyment. Limping along looking for the next repairer is not the recipe for fun.
You could do a ride like this on anything. There were reports earlier this year of somebody using a unicycle and Mick F is planning to do it on a chopper. I'd say, depending on what sort of cycling you intend to do in the longer term, if you are buying a new bike, get one that suits the purpose. Have a look at St John Street Cycles. You can also get some good bikes second-hand, so long as you have a reasonable idea of what's what.
Sorry again if any of this comes across as patronising. OTOH if any of it sounds complicated, don't hesitate to post again. Somebody may explain things better and even with one of my typical long posts, I may have missed something pretty obvious.
Thanks for your posts, it's certainly given me something to think about! I'm not looking at doing serious racing after the End to End, just some sportives and randonees so I think maybe a true road bike is not going to be the best.
In that case, I'll explain a bit more about mudguards - again sorry if you knew already. For something so apparently simple they can cause a fair bit of aggravation. Tne starting point is that without mudgurads in wet weather you generally get a lot more (mucky) water thrown up from the road than ever falls as rain. Decent mudguards + flaps keep a lot of that off you, and off the chain etc. Some riders - perhaps an increasing number, possibly influenced by the design of road bikes - never use them. fair enough. Riding alone it's a personal choice. However, a lot of water is also sprayed backwards all over anybody riding behind. In many ways, probably no big deal - racing cyclists ride without guards in big bunches and nobody is any the worse for that. OTOH a lot of riders, especially BOFs like me, could do without riding in somebody else's wake. For long enough, mudguards were compulsory in Audax events and I think it's fair to say that not everybody welcomed the rule change. There was a time when you could identify a club rider by their having a rear mudflap - a long narrow strip of plastic attached to the bottom of the back of the back mudguard. There are still riders who would take somebody to task for what they see as a breach of etiquette. Obviously, the choice is for the individual, but it's handy to have the background info when making a decision.
If you limit your choice of bike to one that'll take conventional full mudguards then you won't have much choice! And besides, Crud have just released some fairly revolutionary mudguards that'll fit most road bikes (Google Crud Road Racer).
Also, don't let the what manufacturers tag their bike override your common sense. Just because a bike isn't labelled as audax or sportive doesn't mean its not going to be comfortable. Most 'race' bikes can be set up to be perfectly comfortable for long days in the saddle by adding a couple of spacers under the stem without affecting the looks or handling in any way. I have a Kuota Kharma, a low-ish end carbon race bike, but I find it perfectly comfortable for 300km plus rides. Labelling a bike audax or sportive often just gives manufacturers an excuse to inflate the price IMO.
What about the Bianchi C2C bikes? Really like the look, but haven't had chance to try one out yet. Are they 'race' bikes or can they carry a light weight pannier and comfortable for touring? The name suggests more of a tourer, but so far everything I've read contradicts that!
Have a look at a pic - in the Sora version which is the one within your budget - it's an "entry level" racing bike but with a compact chainset (50 - 36 chainrings) and a 25T big cog. That's a bottom gear of about 38" plenty low enough for a fit young rider to sail up just about anything without a lot of luggage. As I said above, the only way to see if it would suit you is to compare with the gears you use on your current bike. (I remember as a teenager riding up Sutton Bank [1:4] in 44 x 25 and feeling undergeared "Ah yes, I remember it well....")
I'd not disagree with what amerferanga says. Names often mean nothing. In this case Via Nirone is famous as the home of Bianchi, rather as when Raleigh used to name some of their bikes after Lenton Boulevard (and others after the River Trent ) I cannot imagine that C2C has anything to do with any of the various Sea to Sea routes in the UK. It's also true that including mudguard clearances in your spec reduces your choice considerably - I suppose if you want something off the peg you are into Dawes Galaxy territory. If, in your heart of hearts you are set on a racing bike, I'd be the last one to try to dissuade you. OTOH we've had several threads on here from people with a road bike, seeking suggestions on how to fit panniers and lower gears. I don't think I remember any from people with some sort of touring bike asking if it could be converted for riding the Tour de France.
I know Sutton Bank...I used to live in Leeds, never cycled up it though! Thanks for answering my last question, that's settled my mind on the Bianchi then as I'm definately going to be needing lots of nice easy gears to start with anything... maybe one day I'll be able to fly up hills in higher gear than bottom
Have read loads of good things about the Thorn Audax Mk3 so planning on going to have a look at one if I can find a supplier near me, I like the look and the sound of it and think it'd be worth to up my budget to get something comforatable!
Getting the right gears is obviously pretty central to getting the right bike. The fact that you already have a bike makes it easier. Again, if you knew the next bit already, sorry. What you need is a means of comparing gears across different bikes without riding them. The normal UK way of doing this is to calculate the gear in inches (this is the theoretical wheel diameter of a penny farthing to get that gear.) The formula is number of teeth on chainwheel multiplied by the diameter of the wheel (treat 700C as 27") divided by the number of teeth on the back cog. (To save time, tables are published such as this one from the CTC http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3521)
Perhaps the most critical gear is the lowest since that dictates what hills you can climb. It's easy to believe that a big top gear is a must but for most none competition uses 48 x 12 (108") is more than enough IMO, although this is purely a matter of individual taste. The big choices are between mountain bike systems, which generally offer much lower gears with bigger steps between and road systems (which don't) Most mountain bike set ups have a triple chainset, while true road stuff has a double (with triples for people who like the appearance of road stuff but want a smaller chainring than 39T). There is probably going to be some duplication of gears, especially with a triple. It's worth considering what the lowest gear will be on the middle chainring of a triple because that may save changing down onto the the inner at every hill.
Think I have finally made a choice- going to try out a Specialized Tricross Triple for size- it seems to tick every box I want it to for this ride and future... fingers crossed now it's a comfortable fit! Have realised I will not be racing, or atleast not in the foreseeable future, so a racing bike is not needed and I'd rather go for comfort and gears than pure speed. Had a look at the Dawes bikes, that look pretty good but... the Specialized just looks lurvely
I'm planning on doing the Ride Across Britain too. I'm a bit unsure on the best bike to use as well. The Tricross should be fine if you change the tyres over to something with a bit less rolling resistance. Have you ordered it?
Aberdeen_lune wrote:I'm planning on doing the Ride Across Britain too. I'm a bit unsure on the best bike to use as well. The Tricross should be fine if you change the tyres over to something with a bit less rolling resistance. Have you ordered it?
Hi Aberdeen_lune- glad I'm not the only one trying to make the decision! Haven't ordered yet, but have chatted to a couple who have done the Tour D'Afrique (12,000km from Cairo to Capetown- my ambition one day!) on a Tricross and they regularly did 150- 200km days on and off road, they just changed their tyres to suit the daily conditions. So I think if it is good for that, then it should be good for the RAB, but as you said with the right tyres.
Hi Binkybunny, well my options are to use my winter trainer/touring bike which is a Van Nicholas Amazon or use the new race bike I've ordered an Orbea Orca. The Amazon has full mudguards which may come in handy but it is a bit slower, It also has a compact chainset which may be ideal for tired legs. However the Orca should be a flying machine so to speak and will be much lighter so the standard chainset 53/39 may be fine with a wide ranging cassette on the back 12/27 or 11/28. I think I'll wait to see how comfortable the Orca is on long rides.
Are you in shape for the 1000miles Binkybunny? I have some serious training to do. I know I can do 120miles no problem but doing it for nine days on the trot will be really tough.
) I cannot imagine that C2C has anything to do with any of the various Sea to Sea routes in the UK. It's also true that including mudguard clearances in your spec reduces your choice considerably - I suppose if you want something off the peg you are into Dawes Galaxy territory. If, in your heart of hearts you are set on a racing bike, I'd be the last one to try to dissuade you. OTOH we've had several threads on here from people with a road bike, seeking suggestions on how to fit panniers and lower gears. I don't think I remember any from people with some sort of touring bike asking if it could be converted for riding the Tour de France.