Originally Posted by
mams99
But how does the current, closest variation of it at REI compare? So the 1.1 Adv gets middling reviews. Yet people who have the Novara Randonee and the Safari seem to love them... or is it all selective bias and even nostalgia?
I suspect the ADV 1.1 is just about as good as the Randonee was. But fashion has moved on to gravel bikes instead of touring bikes, so touring bikes are passe'.
One thing, the ADV has wider tires. I think the Randonee was sold with 32 tires 15 years ago, while the ADV has 38s. The wider tires are more stylish because they're gravel-ish. However, they're going to be slightly slower and heavier to pedal. If you're comparing them to a lightweight 28 tire, the extra width of the 32 is kind of marginal, but 38s are going to be perceptibly more sluggish. So compared to a lightweight road or gravel bike, the ADV 1.1 is going to be heavier in the frame and slower in the tires. OTOH it's still a solid pickup truck kind of bike for hauling stuff across the continent!