This is Spa's 54cm tourer set up for me at 5' 10", 32" trouser, 65years old. Effective top tube 577 (but slack seat angle, so comparable with a shorter top tube on a race bike) head tube 157mm....(but long forks to clear big tyres and mudguards) all the numbers here.......http://www.spacycles.co.uk/smsimg/uploads/touringgeometry.jpg
Studying the geometry table by comparison with bikes I use to size customers in my shop, I agree with others that the 55cm is the best fit.
The 51cm is definitely too small. The 55cm is very close to a 56cm Cannondale Synapse or a M/L Giant Defy which would be the first size I'd try for someone of 5' 10" to 6' 0". The 59cm is big (it wouldn't be much too small for me at 6'5") and closest to a 61cm Secteur or Synapse or an XL Giant Defy.
The geometry is closest to the endurance/comfort/roubaix bikes from these manufacturers and not their out and out sport road bikes like the Allez, TCR, and CAAD8. The sport road bikes have geometries closer to those of professional road bikes with shorter head tubes and longer top tubes. The Raleigh is unlikely, therefore, as Colin says, to put the bars too low and too far away from you which is the most common complaint on a 1st road bike, and the reason for the popularity of these 'endurance' geometries. It may sit you more upright and less stretched than you will want with some miles under your belt but it is much easier to adjust stem and spacers to give you a longer, lower reach than it is to go the other way.
It's a very, very well specced bike for the money, and seems to be a well-thought out one. E.g. It seems to have deep drop brakes and eyelets so you can fit proper guards. The angles are slightly slacker than is fashionable which will give a nice stable ride with neutral handling. The gearing is OK for a road bike, and you can fit a slightly wider 30T, or possibly even 32T cassette for hillier rides. It wouldn't do for touring but you are supposed to get out of the saddle to climb sometimes on a road bike.
At that price, it must be worth a punt. A 2013 bike with similar spec will cost almost double.
The Raleigh Airlite Raceguard is a lightweight pair of mudguards which are designed to be used with 700c wheels and offers the ultimate protection from mud at the low low weight of only 266g a set.
Extremely close fitting and constructed from lightweight PC
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Last edited by Erudin on 15 Jan 2013, 12:39pm, edited 4 times in total.
Thanks again to all, especially Ant, 531Colin & Malaconotus.
I have been trying to locate a Raleigh in this range -100/200/300 with 55cm frame - locally to me (Huddersfield) to go and sit on and ride if they would let me, but nowhere has them in stock. I discussed the bike with staff in Evans Cycles in Leeds and they said all theirs were snapped up during the late summer!
I am buying the bike to train for and then do a 4-day tour of yorkshire beginning on 1st May (80 miles per day). I'll definitely ride to work in Leeds as part of my training once all set, which is about 18 miles one way. Living in Huddersfield I need as many gears as poss due to all the hills, so 20 is not bad to start with. I fully intend to carry on cycling beyond that trip, but I am not going to be racing. I'd say comfort on a days cycling is more important to me than shaving a few seconds off my 1km PB! I may use it for triathlons, but again, I am not competing to win, its more a battle with the distance.
So confidence was building that i'm looking at a bike which will, based on all your helpful comments on measurements etc. be the one for me. And if not, as Ant says, worst case is it goes back and i'm £25 down.
But then Erudin raises a concern over the brakes - what's the problem - is it that they won't allow space for mudguards - or something more problematic?!
Thanks again to everyone who has made time to help so far.
Its not really a touring bike......"road" bike means "racing" bike...or a lookalike. Touring bikes have lots of low gears for lugging a touring load up hills, big tyres for comfort , and room for mudguards....its the big tyres/mudguards bit that brings reservations over the brakes....there isn't room on this bike. Unfortunately you won't get a touring bike very cheap.
When I said tour I may have misled. Its an organised ride for charity - with support vehicles for carrying our kit. All I have to do is get me and the bike to the next overnight stop.
A mate of mine wants to ride to Southern Spain one day, but i'd say that's a few years off yet.
The raleigh is good value for what it is, IF that is what you really need.
I would suggest that before taking the plunge, you should look at both audax and CX bikes. Both can be used for various racing activities, but more importantly, they will more readily accept mudguards should the need arise and be more suitable for commuting/ light touring.
Look at EBC's website; you can presently get a Specialised tricross on sale for £549 or their own brand Audax for £599.
Although the Raleigh is good value in reality one lot of shimano bits works very much like another, so I'd also suggest the B'Twin Triban 3 as being worthy of consideration. It comes in 3cm size increments, will do everything the Raleigh will do (albeit with puportedly lesser parts, and similar mudguard difficulties) but it has wider range gears. If you dip your toe into these waters I'd expect you to be able to use the bike for a year or so and take about £100 loss (on a purchase cost of £299) when time comes to sell it on. Pretty cheap for a year's cycling, and a good way of helping to make your mind up for your next bike.
Brucey wrote:Look at EBC's website; you can presently get a Specialised tricross on sale for £549 or their own brand Audax for £599.
I hadn't realised you were local. Come and see us when you're in Leeds. We're just up the hill in Chapel Allerton, behind Majestic Wine and Kwikfit off Harrogate Road. Open until seven on Thursdays if it has to be after work.
Ask for me when you come in. I'm in tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. The sale has just ended but we have kept the Tricrosses on sale. I'll be completely honest and say that with our clearance sale ended we don't currently have a road bike offering better value than the Raleigh in terms of equipment for the money, but I'd be happy to talk through your options and show you the alternatives that Brucey has suggested which might offer a little more versatility. And he's quite right that all Shimano kit from 2300 up works very well, though personally I do prefer the ergonomics and feel of the Tiagra kit that the Raleigh has to 2300 or Sora.
Hi have a raleigh airlite 300 2010 and just love it. Excellent value for money. I am 5 10.5 with a 30.5 trouser inside length. My inside leg for cycle measurments is 33 (which is measured to the ground with shoes on). The 55 was too large for me and so I went for the 51 which fits me fine. However, the 55 maybe be better for someone wanting an aggressive position. I do find though that I have to have the saddle fitted right back for the best riding position/posture, depends on your thigh length though. I also have the cycle stem reversed to raise the handlebars so I have a slightly more upright riding position. This helps my back as I am over 60, and having a beer belly gives my knees a bit more room on the upstroke.
i tried one of these bikes and fell in love with it the value for money is unreal ! i was also looking at a boardman team carbon , it was only 3 pounds lighter than the raleigh and alot more expensive so try it out first you will love it
That Spa tourer is interesting. Looking at the Specs it is no lighter than my old 531 Touring frames. I also notice that they fall into the trap of extending the toptube length when they extend the seat tube. So they assume that if you are long legged you are also long bodied. How often does that happen in real life?
bigjim wrote:........... So they assume that if you are long legged you are also long bodied. How often does that happen in real life?
According to those who have studied these things, there is only a slight tendency for tall (men) to have relatively longer legs than short(er) (men).....in other words if you are tall, you more likely to have a longer body than a short (man) has than the same length body as a short (man).....some discussion here..http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=50886&start=45. The top tube length increases roughly half the size (ie, seat tube) increase, as do most manufacturers.
There was never any intention to make the tourer particularly light (there is an audax bike for the light tourer market), however the big sizes will be stiffer than a 531. If you fancy popping over the pennines for a play, there will soon be steel and Ti test bikes in all the sizes for both the tourer and audax bikes.
