Touring - bike WORLD RANDONNEUR

hi since we are starved for choice of bikes here i came across this one
and was wondering what you thought of the specs the other choices i can get are T800 buts costs a lot more here or i could get an LHT frame and build one up this bike is about 1300 USD here

http://www.viventebikes.com//product/cid/6/category/WORLD%20RANDONNEUR/parent/0/t/product

not sure why they did not put lower gearing on it though and if the rims and dyno hub would hold up

hi since we are starved for choice of bikes here i came across this one
and was wondering what you thought of the specs the other choices i can get are T800 buts costs a lot more here or i could get an LHT frame and build one up this bike is about 1300 USD here

http://www.viventebikes.com//product/cid/6/category/WORLD%20RANDONNEUR/parent/0/t/product

not sure why they did not put lower gearing on it though and if the rims and dyno hub would hold up
Not Sure where you are based. Based on this bike I'm thinking Australia or New Zealand. If so, there are also the Trek 520, Fuji Touring & Orbea Arama as options too. Among these the gearing varies a little bit, let's face it the gearing often comes down to personal preference, but I would think this could be tweaked by the shop with little or no cost to suit your requirements. My tourer came with 48/38/28 and 11-34 which I find suits me perfectly. I've seen Randonneurs using dynamo hubs and they cover LOTS of km's but the quality might vary a bit.

I must say, the Vivente bike looks pretty good though. At least the wheels are 36 spokers. I must say, after wearing out a set of rims on the long downhills on my last alpine touring adventure in Europe, the concept of being able to go with disc brakes is attractive, but that wouldn't necessarily suit everyone

hey,

if you're in melbourne i know that bike life in auburn has got a trek 520E on the floor that's been there for about 6 months. it's the 520E (the aluminium version in purple) and i tihnk it was about a 20" though i can't be certain. ph: 9815 1880.

just checked on the trek site and there's no info available on the 520e so they might have stopped manufacturing it. i think the tag on the one at bike life was at about $2000 but don't quote me on it. i've seen one of them hooting up and down auburn road from time to time - looks pretty snazzy.

LHT complete is also being advertised in Australia. Not sure about supply.

Where are you? If in Melb, there are a few shops with tourers, eg. St Kilda cycles, Brunswick St Cycles; plently of shops with touring hybrids, no drop bars but more bang for your buck. St Kilda Cycles and Abbotsford cycles also do custom builds (Abbotsford - usually LHTs).

Cheeky Monkey in Sydney is good, lots of interesting bikes there.

Where are you?

Im in New Zealand and thanks for all the comments the LHT complete maybe the one to wait for
cheekytransport.com.au does seem like the place i just need to dream up a reason for work to go to Australia

in the mean time I will check with the importer here to see if they are going to get any in

Careful with airlines, used to be they would carry bikes as sporting equipment (nominal 5kg) but now Jetstar at least charges $$$ for carrying bikes. This sucks because Jetstar is the best Melb-Christchurch connection (which I occasionally fly). Check with your airline, you can probably still travel with a "proper" airline to Sydney if you decide to visit Cheeky there.

Do you definitely want a road tourer? MTB is pretty practical in Aust and NZ where a lot of the interesting roads are gravel or dirt. A road tourer with good clearances and big tyres will still cope fine, of course, but I'm just raising the question.