pritch

Hello. Me and my friend are looking for new bikes. He wants one for under £200 and I want one for under £400-500

Basically we are riding 1000 miles and stealth camping so we need to carry everything with us as well.

So what characteristics should we look for in our bikes? Also is it normal to carry a backpack on your back or is it better to attach everything to the bike?

I was thinking maybe handlebars higher than the seat to ease the back. What do you think of these kinda bikes....

https://www.raleighbikes.com/bikes/index.html?sub=3

I like the look of the metro GTE myself and maybe the Metro LX for my friend.

What do you think?

Dahon.Steve

These are city bikes that are fairly high geared but we've seen people tour with 3 speed Bromptons so anthings possible The Venture is Raleigh's touring bike but it's probably more expensive.

I don't know how that rear rack will hold since it was not built for touring in mind. St. John's cycles has some excellant touring bikes but not for £200 unfortunately. I suppose these bikes could work if you pull a trailer.

pritch

The venture is £400 so pretty reasonable but I am still wondering about the height of seat to handlebar thing for your backs sake.

clayface

Have a look at the Revolution Country or Cosmos from Edinburgh Bike Coop at: https://www.edinburgh-bicycle.co.uk
Reynolds steel frame, acceptable components and ready to tour (don't be discouraged by the drops because they are comfortable for touring).
For the under-£200 bike I think it's better to go to the second-hand market.

onbike 1939

I second that but think again about the bars above the seat idea. O.K. for short rides but for touring you need a position which gives 60% of your weight on the saddle and 40% on the bars which translates into having the bars level or almost level with the saddle. Again it's crazy to think about rucksacks when you can carry your luggage in panniers attached to the rack. I suggest you have a look at any book on cycle/touring to get the basics before setting off.

pritch

Ok thankyou very much I've just never done this sort of thing before but have bmxed/stunt riding and mountain biked from a very young age. When I ride my mountain bike I sometimes get a stiff back and feel like I want to situp and stretch while riding(which I do). I guess though its an inefficient way to ride sitting up. Anyway thank you again for the help and I think for myself I am going to go for either the raleigh vulture and I will replace the road tires with hyrbid tires or I will possibly get the cosmos bike since it has such good reviews and do the same thing on the wheels.

gpsblake

I did my 1,950 mile tour on a $110 Schwinn Sidewinder and had no problems with comfort. Also had no problems at all with the mechanics of the bike.

Cheers,

https://poorguyonabike.crazyguyonabike.com

pritch

Wow you are my friend who cant afford a decent bikes hero

late

get a used touring bike. King of Mercia, Dawes Galaxy, that sort of thing.

pritch

Well I rode my new Edinbourough country today. First time I've ever used anything but a mountain bike and it takes some getting used to. At first when going slowly i kept nearly falling off. Then when I was going fast I decided to stand up to get a bit more power, then I was really really close to falling off! Also having no suspension is really nasty on the ass. Its much harder to do wheelies up curbs and things. All together though the bike is very light and I can take off so much faster than on my mountain bikes so I'm sure it will take me far on the road Must admit though in a way I'm kinda wishing i got a hybrid. I get the feeling I wont be able to do much on anything but flat roads on this bike. Or am I wrong?

jimmylee

My company is looking to do a coast to coast bike trip with high school students on an annual basis. we'd do group sizes of 10-12. We're looking to include the bike in the price of the trip. Ideally, we'd like to keep the cost of the bike $1000 or less. We'd carry all of our gear with us. Anybody have any suggestions with what bikes to look into?

cyccommute 

Fuji Touring. About $850 ea. They do have some issues with gearing but you might be able to work a deal with whomever you buy the bikes from. The bikes have a good spec and they are well built. They come with a rear rack but some people have said that the rack is weak. Again that's easy to replace and you might be able to cut a deal.

clayface

Tourers have sort of slow handling to let you carry heavy loads safely over a varied road scenario (including hardpacked trails). The Country's gearing is also consequent with this attitude and I'm sure its goals are beyond flat land.

trmcgeehan

Here in Kentucky, my local dealer carries Trek and Fuji. He is recommending I get a Fuji touring bike for around $800, rather than a Trek 520 which runs around $1,100. He says the Fuji is every bit as good as the venerable 520, which has been around since time began.