markyjl

Hi All,

I'd like to buy a touring bike but not sure which is best. I'll be riding the bike everyday to work (21 miles round trip) and on weekend rides (40 -60 miles hilly terrain). I also want to start doing some cycling holidays with the family which means carrying the all the weight.

I'm in the UK and have a budget of £1000 (thanks to the Ride to work scheme!).

Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark.

jibi

hi Mark
I am english too so I use

www.bikeradar.com
for Uk based people

there you will find like minded people who have used the Ride to Work

good luck mate
george

fthomas

Checking out the website about it touring bikes I am amazed at the possible bikes you have to choose from. Also, it is interesting their prices! Wow!

For the same price you could order a bike - full kit - from the likes of Bruce Gordon and get a custom bike from the US for less than your top models.

bwgride

Thorn Sherpa may be in your price range:

https://www.thorncycles.co.uk/sherpa.html

(recent review of Sherpa: https://www.thorncycles.co.uk/thornpd...erpaReview.pdf)

Dawes Galaxy also:

https://www.evanscycles.com/dept.jsp?...ubdept_id=3401

Surly Long Haul Trucker, buy frame and components; here's link to UK distributors (at bottom):

https://www.surlybikes.com/dealers/pop_INTL.html

Here's a link that might be helpful:

https://www.cyclingforums.com/showthread.php?t=169252

MichaelW

Off the top of my head:
Thorn
Hewitt
Dawes
Edinburgh Cycles
Cannondale
Trek
Kona

If you go for disc brakes ( a good option for your riding) check that they integrate with rack/mudguards.
Do you need an MTB chainset for low gears?
Are sti shifters OK (I use them and carry spare downtube friction lever on tour for emergencies )

invisiblehand

For touring, I wholeheartedly recommend the Bike Friday New World Tourist. Great riding bike. Custom steel frame fitted to the rider. The small wheels are stronger than anything you can get -- at least, as far as I know -- for a full sized bike. Really easy to fit the bike into the trunk of a cab or rental car; in fact, I can fit two bikes into the rear trunk of our Toyota Echo. Often people fold the bike and bring it into their hotel. You can ride fully loaded with it folding racks and/or convert the suitcase into a trailer. And it fits into a flight legal suitcase -- I understand that this is more of an issue in the US than in Europe -- to avoid oversize charges.

markyjl

Thanks everyone for the advice. Looks like I need to do a bit more test riding than I first thought.

Michael, I probably don't need MTB chainset as I'm not a bad climber (even loaded) and won't be off-road on the tourer much if at all (I have a MTB for that).

ftGordon, yep, the prices in the UK are pretty high, especially with the exchange rate at the moment, the problem is if I were to buy a US bike and bring it in I'd be hit by import tax!!

Thanks again,

Mark.

becnal

When you do get your bike, for touring and carrying the lion's share of the family stuff, I recommend a Bob Yak trailer. I use it to carry all our gear while touring, and also use it for bringing home crates of wine and beer.

Why not a Raleigh? That's what I have. A hybrid, and I love it. Does it all!

stevage

Sorry to hijack the thread, but could you elaborate? I had the same thought when I got my bike with STI's, but wasn't sure if it was practical. How hard would it be to mount? Cut the cable, mount the shifter, thread it through and tighten? It'd be pretty reassuring for a long trip.

Steve