Touring - Dublin to Istanbul and back.

Hey,

I'm new to this so bare with me please.

I'm planning on taking a few months off next year and doing a cycling trip from Dublin to Istanbul and back.
Doing it in a loop through England, down through France then work my way across, then back up through all the eastern countries.

The problem is I have no experience of long distance cycling, and what bike I should look for!
I usually just ride a town bike about, a Giant Expression.
Just a little heavy for what I'm planning!

I like the idea of having a trailer because I plan on camping everywhere I go.
I can imagine it would be handy for this length of journey.

What kind of bike should I be looking into??
Willing to spend up to �800 or so, hoping to pick up something second hand,
but I'm 6 foot 2 so it can hard to find one that fits me.

I read an advert for a Giant FCR 1 in my local paper, to me it looks the part!
Thats the height of my knowledge!
He is looking for �700. Is this a fair price??

I need to get into training for this soon.

How would you approach it, any words of wisdom are taken in kindly!

Cheers
Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Nice route you've outlined for yourself. It'll be an adventure you'll never forget and who knows where it'll lead.

You'll no doubt get loads of advice here and elsewhere. Be a lot to filter thru, trying to decide what's right for you and your budget.

Anyway, you've got time to do your research. Just try not to get too bogged down deciding among the many, many choices. Which bike, what gearing, which tent, panniers or trailer. Goes on and on.

When it comes to bikes, Fit is First. All I'll say about that.

Saddle is critical for comfort. Our bums are very sensitive when left in the same spot for too long. Many prefer the Brooks brand of hard leather, the B-17 being most popular. Takes a lot of breaking in and some TLC. Some hate it. Others will ride nothing else.

Panniers vs trailer. The arguments are endless. Most use panniers.

Components. Strong, well built rims are very important. Most use 36 spoke wheels, either 26" or 700c. The drive train would be next in order of consideration. Gear combo, hub and bottom bracket quality.

In the end, you'll have to make all the decisions. Fortunately, we're adaptive creatures, and can usually figure a way to make most anything work. Besides, you won't be leaving the civilized world, making it easier to fix what won't work. Will help to iron out a bunch of problems if you'll do a few days of touring before leaving.

If you haven't already discovered it, here is another great site (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/?o=RrzNp) for the touring crowd. Lot's of excellent journals, many with equipment list for you to peruse. Do some searches and you'll find journals covering your route.

have you checked out chainreaction for gear there pretty good.sounds like one hell of a trip.

Is your 800 euro budget just for the bike? Or does that include panniers/racks/tools/other equipment?

Hey, yeah the 800 is just for the bike, want to pick the bike up soon, leave the rest till next year.

Hey, yeah the 800 is just for the bike, want to pick the bike up soon, leave the rest till next year.

Hey,

I can highly recommend the Dawes Horizon. I've done nearly 8000 miles of touring on mine (including a ride to Istanbul) and had no problems with it whatsoever.
The only thing I changed was to fit a Brooks saddle and a stronger rear wheel. You can pick the Horizons up for about £600. But to be honest though gear is massively
overated in my opinion. A friend of mine cycled 2200 miles (also to Istanbul) on a £180 Dawes hybrid, he spent nothing on upgrades, and the bike did just fine.
So I guess you can tour on anything.

http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=177&products_id=9404