katanadan

Hi everyone. A friend of mine and I have a few months free this coming summer and we've decided to ride to the south of Spain on push bikes. I've made the trip a few times by motorbike, the first time I found it exciting, the second was good but the novelty had worn off. 2 years ago another friend and I back packed our way around for a month, but found we were spending days waiting on platforms for trains and missing so much as it all whizzed passed.

We're both pretty fit, we train at the gym 5 or 6 times a week and I am a qualified gym instructor and have studied sports for years so I understand the fitness requirements. However, I know next to nothing about road bikes. I've always had mountain bikes and am pretty handy with anything practical. I'm due to start University as a mature student in October so need to be carefull with the cash, another good reason to go by pedal power. However, I don't want to be spending a fortune on a bike. I asked around to see if anyone had one and a guy from my dads work had a 80's/90's raleigh sensor in the back of his garage which he had from new. He gave it me for free which was nice and it only requires 2 tyres. So I wondered if this would do the job? I will be going with just a single back rack with panniers and a sleeping bag. I weigh just over 13st.

Does anyone know if this bike will make the journey? It is only 10 speed so the Pyrenees will be tricky. It has mudguards as standard and is nice and light. If it you think it will be okay, does anyone know what tyres I should get? the whole trip will be almost completely on tarmac. I'll leave the post at that as I'm rambling. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks p.s i've tried to attach a photo of the said bike

njkayaker

"push bikes"?

You might want to translate "stone" for this largely American audience.

What is your friend going to use (the Sensor doesn't look like a tandem)? Other than the age (maybe, regarding parts) and the gearing, there's no real reason you can't use this bike. Good luck.

katanadan

Sorry I'm probably 190lbs? My friend will be sat with his legs over the handlebars

He hasn't got his yet, not sure what he's going for. Is it difficult to change the gearing?

Push bike.... wikipedia 'bicycle'

Cyclebum

In the US, a push bike is for very small children. Has no pedals. You push it with your feet.

People tour on everything imaginable. The bike you picture will work if you're willing to make it work. Wont' be the most comfortable ride out there most likely, but as saving money is important for you, physical discomfort may be offset by psychological satisfaction. With gearing designed for speed rather than climbing, be prepared to truly make it a "push" bike in the mountains.

Make sure saddle issues are settled before you leave. At least to the extent possible. Saddles are often a 'sore point' for tourers. If riding on those drop bars proves to be too uncomfortable, you may can change them without a lot of expense to something for a more upright riding position. Double taping bars for hand comfort is not unusual.

Have the wheels checked out. Spokes, bearings good, no rim cracking. The rear wheel is especially prone to spook breakage. Learn how to change out a spoke and retrue the wheel. Take a FiberFix temporary spoke along for piece of mind.

Make sure you equip with a pair of good, puncture resistant tires. Use the widest that will fit your bike. Lots in the forum about tires.

Do a couple of overnighters before leave to check your gear and figure out what you don't need.

njkayaker

It could be a bit tricky. Maybe, you could find smaller chain rings to fit. In the US, one can find parts for older bikes on eBay. You might even talk to a local bike shop you trust about what they would charge. I have no idea what the used market is where you are but it might be more reasonable to get something used that is a better fit for touring. One approach might be to ride it a round a bit now. That might establish your opinion about how well it would work in Spain. (cyclebum's advice is good, maybe unexpectedly for a "bum"!)

Dahon.Steve

It's hard to reduce the old ten speeds without having to replace the whole drive train. However, the OP can still buy a six speed megarange freewheel and it may work to lower his overall gears. I've seen them on sale on ebay and Sheldon's site has them for sale. He can even get a 32 freewheel for the five speed!

Dahon.Steve

One more thing, tires for the 27' inch wheel. Schwalbe Marathons are the best.

imi

Depends... you're young and fit, not carrying too much gear, so 10 gears may well be fine. FWIW, I first crossed the Pyrenees as a young man on a 5 speed (positron) Monark, and have done so several times since then on my road geared Miyata which evolved from 12 to 14 gears... only last year did I go to 27 (triple).

The passes close to the mediterranean aren't that bad at all if you don't mind standing up on your pedals...

LeeG

it looks like a fine bike for the trip. I'd suggest replacing the front crankset with a 110mm five arm double 34/48 chainrings . If you can get some 1 1/4 tires in there it would be nice. Those pedals are worth replacing. Have the shop go over the rear wheel, it looks like it hasn't been ridden much but it's worth checking. Get in some miles on the bike with your intended load just to see how the whole setup stays together.

katanadan

Thanks for the info guys. I've been advised elsewhere that the steel 27' wheels will be a bit lethal and it would probably pay to just sell/swap this for a mountain bike and go for a rigid mountain bike with road tyres?

LeeG

I'd be surprised if they were steel especially given your comment that it's "nice and light". Steel rims were common on cheap entry level road bikes in the 70's and that is a step above cheap. If that was the case then it would be worth replacing them and determining if 700c wheels could fit with the existing brakes. Either way you should take the bike to a shop. Look around on the rim and see if there's any print name on it, look around the valve.

LeeG

just out of curiosity have you actually stood over it and adjusted the seat height?