I'm looking for a touring bike and I finally located a shop that could
order a Cannondale t800 or a Rossano Touring/Tiagra, which seems remarkably similar to the t800 (
http://www.rosswheel.com/rossano/ind...touring_tiagra). Neither was
available for a test ride. I'm not sure if they'd be willing to order
one for me to test without a commitment to byu. Rossano is a Finnish manufacturer, that, as far as I know, does not export bikes. The Touring models have been getting good reviews. The price for the Touring/Tiagra is 1150 euro, and I'd expect the Cannondale to be about the same. I'm located in Finland, which is a small market and bikes in LBSs are expensive compared to e.g. the UK (I should pos this question on a local forum, but I figured getting comments worldwide would not hurt
).
I'm planning on touring, but most of the time the bike would be used for commutes and 30-100 km recreational rides in the evenings and weekends. I will steer clear of a race of any kind. People on this forum keep writing that the t800 is a very stiff bike that is best when ridden by a big cyclist and loaded heavily. I'm 6 foot tall (184 cm) but not that heavy (77 kg). I figured a steel touring bike would be best for me, but getting one seems to be a bother. The usual suspects (Trek 520, Biachi Volpe, Fuji Touring) are nowhere to be seen. Kona Sutra might be, but I'm not sure about the geometry, disc brakes or the price. One company does import Surly LHT frames, but I don't know how long it would take to actually get one, whether the shop would build the bike and if so, how much it would cost.
Considering I'd be riding most of the time unloaded, would the stiff t800 (or the Rossano for that matter) be a problem? Should get one now, or go through the trouble of finding a steel bike (and miss the best part of the very short summer waiting for it)? I may have to order the bike without a test ride anyway, so ordering a steel bike somewhere on the web might be just as well. Right now I'm inclined to base the decision, very wisely, on looks: the Rossano comes in boring black or even more boring metal grey, and the colour of the Surly LHT is 'hideous', as put by someone on this forum. I'm all for 'understated', but that colour is just plain dead. The 2005 version of the t800 is blue, which would not be my first choice for a bike, but at least is a nice, clear colour.
Mikko