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Old 07-30-09, 09:27 AM
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m_yates
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Originally Posted by jonsey02
Thanks everyone, some great advice..

Unfortunately I'm very much starting from scratch...no tools, no stockpile of spares etc.

I had a bunch of tools in the UK but moved to canada a few years back, and my garage full of stuff was pretty much left behind, so I think money-wise at this stage its a easy decision.

I'd definitely rather buy new, than used. For no other reason than I fancy a new bike.


The Windsor looks to be a good bike for the money, I'm assuming it would be worth upgrading the wheels or atleast spokes, as Ive read of a few problems with breaking/bending etc.

Another bike ive noticed to be of good value is the Aurora, not read too much about this, but a warranty on the frame and a good price certainly make it tempting.

One of the things I'm struggling with in all this is the naming and quality of the components, eg. models of brakes/cranksets/derailleur etc

Im really clueless as to the differences between qualities, I really dont know my deore's from my tiagra's. Is there a thread that deals with the 'perfect' set of components on a touring bike or are there any particular things I should be looking for?

I'm sure Im splitting hairs, I'm riding a crappy mountain bike full time so i'm sure anything better will feel awesome, but I guess i want the best I can afford, with as little a chance of stuff breaking along the way...

Thanks again everyone, this is a really valuable resource to all the newbies like me, the help is really appreciated.

Cheers
The Windsor Tourist is a very good deal. I have somewhere around 3500 miles on my 2008 Windsor Tourist. Most of those miles are commuting with rear panniers not carrying much weight, but I have taken a couple of short weekend fully loaded tours. The wheels aren't a problem, but I did break one spoke this year. After 2500 miles, I repacked the hubs and replaced two pitted cones. The front hub dustcap design is poor, but I think this might have been fixed (Fuji had a recall related to this).

My advice would be to just by the bike and ride it. Replace stuff when it breaks. To be safe, you should get it checked out by a bike mechanic first, but I wouldn't start by assuming new wheels are needed on day 1.

The stock tires and brake pads don't last that long, but you should easily get 1000 miles out of them, maybe more depending on your weight and how hilly your ride is. I now use Schwalbe Marathon tires and Koolstop brake pads that last longer. But, I would just ride the bike with the stock stuff until something breaks or wears out.

Building a bike up from scratch really isn't cheaper, the components cost way more individually purchased than when sold with a bike. In fact, the components on the Windsor Tourist probably would cost as much as the whole bike is purchased individually new. In fact, if you learn bike mechanic skills, you could sell any components you don't like as new on ebay, then set up the bike exactly as you want it. If I had it to do all over again, here is what I'd do (since I like bar end shifters, but this is all personal choice):

1. Buy a Windsor Toursist

2. Sell the Tiagra STI levers, pedals, handlebars, stem, and saddle as new on ebay.

3. Buy bar end shifters, tektro brake levers, nitto technomic stem, nitto noodle handlebars, Brooks B-17 saddle, and MKS touring platform pedals. I'd buy as much of that as possible on ebay using the paypal money accumulated by selling off components.
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