Touring - 2011 Jamis Ventura Sport for Touring?

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piscashew
06-22-12, 03:26 PM
Hey everyone. I found a 2011 Jamis Ventura Sport in my size for sale on craigslist.
I've been looking for a decent bike for a few months but it's hard to find one in my budget (less than $700) and that is also my size.

Would this bike be appropriate for touring? I plan on riding the PCH from Astoria, OR to Los Angeles, CA in about 3 weeks.

The bike is selling for $500. It is used, but I was told is has less than 500 miles on it and that it has been recently tuned up. It has 32 spoke wheels, comes with two water bottle cages and two water bottles, and a new garneau helmet. It also comes with Hutchinson tires.

What do you think? This would be my first touring bike.

I plan on only having back panniers.

OldZephyr
06-23-12, 11:01 PM
The specs I see for the bike on the Jamis website indicate a compact double crankset with a 12-26 cassette. This gearing will be awfully high for the hills along that route. To get lower gearing, you'd have to get a mountain (long cage) rear derailleur and a new cassette, maybe an 11-32, but even that gearing would be higher than I think desirable. The chainstays are 415mm, so there might be problems with your heels striking the panniers.

If your budget is $700, a bike that might work a bit better is a KHS Flite 223, I've seen some advertised for under $500 -- the triple front crankset gives you a lower low gear (and you could have the shop swap out the stock 30-42-52 crankset for a touring triple crankset like a 26-36-48 or better yet, a mountain triple with 22-32-44 chainrings, or you could have the shop swap out the derailleur and the cassette to get lower gearing). The chainstays are long enough (430mm) so that heel strike is less likely a problem.
piscashew
06-25-12, 11:26 AM
Thank you for the information! I will look up the KHS Flite.

fietsbob
06-25-12, 02:13 PM
We see all sorts of bikes on tour down the PCH, Touring.. its a thing you do,
not so much a specific Bike kind..

just have to be able to tolerate riding if for a month. [More or Less]:innocent:

as far as the wheels go have them checked before you start,
and bring resources to spend for a replacement along the way if they get damaged.

I'd overhaul a used bike before I left, on the tour,
so I knew all the internals were OK, and the cables New.

But same thing, Be prepared to fund repairs along the way..