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Anticipation is Raleigh Sojourn

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Anticipation is Raleigh Sojourn

Old 07-12-11, 05:35 PM
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Anticipation is Raleigh Sojourn

I had no idea cycling was such an addictive hobby and I've just begun. I've been trying to lose weight (365lbs this past Christmas). The last time that I lost weight I was doing 30 minutes of cardio on a stationary bike at the gym 3 times a week. Now I work in the office and don't want to be inside to get my cardio so I decided to get into cycling. I rode bicycles like a mad-man when I was in my early teens but quit shortly after getting my first car.

Well I needed a bike and the wife's old Schwinn Collegiate 3 needed new tires. I found tires for my wife's bike and found me a '83 Schwinn World Tourist on Craigslist (Shimano FFS with friction shifters). I was sick of looking for a new bike that I couldn't afford. So I paid too much for the Tourist but I was able to finally start riding a couple of weeks ago. Last Thursday I did five miles with an average speed of 12.7mph and I was excited as all get out. I live in the Pine Mountain foothills in West Central Georgia and I've been surprised by the amount of effort it takes to keep speed going uphill.

As I continued to read about gearing last week, because of these foothills, I decided Saturday to count the teeth on my chainring. When I shined the flashlight on the large chainring my joy turned to gut-churning disgust. I discovered that at least 6 teeth have broken off the large chainring (BTW 53/39 - 28/14). I called the LBS only to find out that they were on Vacation so I was left to stew with making a really stupid Craigslist purchase. I still swear I checked the chainring and didn't see the broke teeth.

Finally on Monday my decision was made. I headed to the bike shop but they were still on vacation and wouldn't open until 2pm. So I headed to secure some financing for a NEW bike, specifically a 2011 Raleigh Sojourn. I procured the financing and called the bike shop only to learn that they couldn't get a 2011 Raleigh Sojourn cause July is the end of the 2011 model year!!! I even called Raleigh in WA state today and they told me there were no 2011 Sojourns!!! Anyway, I'd prefer to support my LBS since they were so good to me when I had to buy the wife a bike cause her old Schwinn needed gratuitous repair other than just tires and tubes.

So, I anxiously await the 2012 Sojourn and pray that the components don't radically change and that the financing doesn't get re-purposed before September. Raleigh would only tell me that the color is going to change on the 2012 but not what components would be included. Oh.... anticipation is Raleigh making me wait

Off to cut the grass rather than ride today but Thursday me and the Schwinn have a date with the road whether or not she has missing teeth.

BTW, after you do 29m.p.h. on a '83 Scwinn, the price for a Raleigh Sojourn doesn't seem to be too much. I want new fresh steel between me and the asphalt.

Happy Trails or Trials whichever may be the case
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Old 07-12-11, 06:01 PM
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If you are missing teeth on the chainring, your chain and freewheel are probably shot too. None of them individually are expensive, but it is going to cost a little bit to change them all. You may have to search for the freewheel online though, and it will be a ***** to change even if you have the tool. Good choice on the Raliegh though, and try to keep motivated while you wait for it.
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Old 07-12-11, 07:52 PM
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Originally Posted by c_m_shooter
You may have to search for the freewheel online though, and it will be a ***** to change even if you have the tool.
The trick to removing a freewheel (once you've found the right freewheel remover tool) is to use a bench vise to clamp the flats of the tool, then use the large diameter of the wheel for leverage in loosening it. It's been a few years (quite a few, actually) since I've done it, but from the dim recesses of my memory, the steps are something like this:

1 - remove the QR skewer nut from the skewer, and remove the skewer from the hub.
2 - seat the freewheel remover on the freewheel - it "mates" through a series of prongs or splines that fit in grooves on the freewheel
3 - reinstall the QR skewer and nut, tightening it only enough to hold the remover in place
4 - turn the wheel over so the freewheel is facing the floor, and insert it in your bench vise so the flats of the remover are clamped in the vise's jaws. Tighten the vise.
5 - Grab the wheel/tire and muscle it loose. Stop as soon as it releases, since the QR will be in the way of complete removal.
6 - remove the wheel from the vise, remove QR again, and the freewheel will screw off the hub.
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Old 07-12-11, 08:25 PM
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Are ya'll mind readers?

I am absorbing the advice on how to tear down the Shimano Front Freewheel System. Although the World Tourist is a little tall at 60cm, I really like the Giant made frame. So once I get the 2012 Raleigh Sojourn, my plan is to tear down the Schwinn and learn how to rebuild it. My conundrum is whether to try and preserve the FFS or go with a modern rear freewheel system on the Schwinn. I admit that I really like the convenience of shifting while coasting

I am able to climb the hills around here with the Schwinn's 39/28 low gear so I am wondering if it is feasible to find a gear larger than 53 for some real monster mashing

Oh how the mind wanders when the body can't ride.
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Old 07-12-11, 09:25 PM
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Originally Posted by DaHaMac
I had no idea cycling was such an addictive hobby and I've just begun. I've been trying to lose weight (365lbs this past Christmas). The last time that I lost weight I was doing 30 minutes of cardio on a stationary bike at the gym 3 times a week. Now I work in the office and don't want to be inside to get my cardio so I decided to get into cycling. I rode bicycles like a mad-man when I was in my early teens but quit shortly after getting my first car.

Well I needed a bike and the wife's old Schwinn Collegiate 3 needed new tires. I found tires for my wife's bike and found me a '83 Schwinn World Tourist on Craigslist (Shimano FFS with friction shifters). I was sick of looking for a new bike that I couldn't afford. So I paid too much for the Tourist but I was able to finally start riding a couple of weeks ago. Last Thursday I did five miles with an average speed of 12.7mph and I was excited as all get out. I live in the Pine Mountain foothills in West Central Georgia and I've been surprised by the amount of effort it takes to keep speed going uphill.

As I continued to read about gearing last week, because of these foothills, I decided Saturday to count the teeth on my chainring. When I shined the flashlight on the large chainring my joy turned to gut-churning disgust. I discovered that at least 6 teeth have broken off the large chainring (BTW 53/39 - 28/14). I called the LBS only to find out that they were on Vacation so I was left to stew with making a really stupid Craigslist purchase. I still swear I checked the chainring and didn't see the broke teeth.

Finally on Monday my decision was made. I headed to the bike shop but they were still on vacation and wouldn't open until 2pm. So I headed to secure some financing for a NEW bike, specifically a 2011 Raleigh Sojourn. I procured the financing and called the bike shop only to learn that they couldn't get a 2011 Raleigh Sojourn cause July is the end of the 2011 model year!!! I even called Raleigh in WA state today and they told me there were no 2011 Sojourns!!! Anyway, I'd prefer to support my LBS since they were so good to me when I had to buy the wife a bike cause her old Schwinn needed gratuitous repair other than just tires and tubes.

So, I anxiously await the 2012 Sojourn and pray that the components don't radically change and that the financing doesn't get re-purposed before September. Raleigh would only tell me that the color is going to change on the 2012 but not what components would be included. Oh.... anticipation is Raleigh making me wait

Off to cut the grass rather than ride today but Thursday me and the Schwinn have a date with the road whether or not she has missing teeth.

BTW, after you do 29m.p.h. on a '83 Scwinn, the price for a Raleigh Sojourn doesn't seem to be too much. I want new fresh steel between me and the asphalt.

Happy Trails or Trials whichever may be the case
Not to rain on your parade but... there may be no 2012 Sojourn.

Previous reports indicated that the 2011 models were just leftover stock from 2010, and that there would be no 2012 production run. Which is a shame - I LOVE my 2009 Sojourn. It's a great touring bike.
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Old 07-13-11, 07:24 AM
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Raleigh has changed ownership so many times lately they may not know what 2012 models will be made.
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Old 07-13-11, 09:04 AM
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I think that Raleigh is soooo cool! I considered one for myself, but ended up buying a VERY similar bike with a steel frame (I wanted steel). If you have a local REI near by, look into a Novara Randonee!
https://www.bicycletimesmag.com/node/80261
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Old 07-13-11, 09:17 AM
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Originally Posted by mulveyr
Not to rain on your parade but... there may be no 2012 Sojourn.

Previous reports indicated that the 2011 models were just leftover stock from 2010, and that there would be no 2012 production run. Which is a shame - I LOVE my 2009 Sojourn. It's a great touring bike.
That's what both Raleigh and my LBS told me when I was ordering my Sojourn back in February. They were selling last year's stock out and that was it. When I took delivery on mine in March they told me there were only 7 of the 55cm Sojourns left in their warehouse and they were already sold out of the 57s. If they're telling you different colors for the 2012s then good luck buying one, hopefully they changed their minds on discontinuing them.
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Old 07-13-11, 04:15 PM
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Originally Posted by mulveyr
Not to rain on your parade but... there may be no 2012 Sojourn.

Previous reports indicated that the 2011 models were just leftover stock from 2010, and that there would be no 2012 production run. Which is a shame - I LOVE my 2009 Sojourn. It's a great touring bike.
I called Raleigh again today to find out the status of the Sojourn. According to Raleigh Sales the Sojourn was discontinued and production was stopped but Raleigh has decided to bring the Sojourn back for 2012. This first bikes will reportedly be available Christmas 2011 (this may mean September 2011 or March 2012 according to my LBS) and will be black.

Now, do I spend $300 to repair the Schwinn World Tourist or do I just buy the new Schwinn Voyageur 7 for less than $300 (if its still in stock at LBS) while I wait on the Raleigh?
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Old 08-08-11, 08:49 PM
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Okay, 2012 Sojourn is up on the website - based on a quick glance -

Color:Tan->Brown
Frame: Reynolds 520->Reynolds 631
R Derail: Deore -> Alivio
Brakes: BB5 -> Shimano R505 - both 160mm rotors
Cassette: SRAM PG-950 -> Shimano HG30
Rims: Freedom CTX2.3 Trekking -> Freedom Ryder 23 Trekking
Handlebars: WTB Mtn Drop, 31.8 -> Avenir 200 Series 31.8 Short Drop

No pump, SKS fenders became generic fenders.

Fork looks much thinner up front
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Old 08-08-11, 09:46 PM
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Are you set on a bike with disc brakes or this particular model?

There are lot of cool choices that are similar to the Sojourn, some with and without disc brakes. I'll let you use google to find more info on each rather than posting links, but here are a few that come to mind:

- Jamis Aurora / Aurora Elite - I had a 2008 Aurora and it was a sweet riding bike, though a little heavy like most touring bikes. Nothing I have ever had rode as smooth. The Elite is a higher spec model with a nicer frame. Jamis also makes a disc brake equipped touring bike similar to the Sojourn called the Bosanova.

- Salsa Vaya - This is somewhat similar to the Sojourn, but seems to be designed for some mild off-road riding. I test rode one thinking this might be what I wanted for my next road bike. If I had a huge garage and a pocket full of cash, I'd probably own one, but since I can really only afford one nice road bike, this just isn't light or snappy enough for my liking. If you really want to see a burly road bike, check out the Vaya's bigger brother the Salsa Fargo.

- Novara Verita - this is more of a classic style bike similar to the Raleigh Clubman or Salsa Casseroll. I really like the idea of this bike which is just a relaxed, comfy road bike. I probably would have bought this bike 4 months ago had I had the money and not had to settle for a cheapo KHS road bike like I did. It sees like a really good value for $1100 given you get a SRAM Apex groupo. If you are an REI member, you also get 10% back next year as part of your dividend and sometimes they put their Novara brand bikes on sale (usually about 15% off).

-Salsa Casseroll
-Kona ***** Inc.
-Marin Lombard (if you are interested in an alloy frame bike)
-Specialized Tricross

There is lots of cool stuff out there.
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Old 08-08-11, 10:13 PM
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Originally Posted by mmenke
Okay, 2012 Sojourn is up on the website - based on a quick glance -

Color:Tan->Brown
Frame: Reynolds 520->Reynolds 631
R Derail: Deore -> Alivio
Brakes: BB5 -> Shimano R505 - both 160mm rotors
Cassette: SRAM PG-950 -> Shimano HG30
Rims: Freedom CTX2.3 Trekking -> Freedom Ryder 23 Trekking
Handlebars: WTB Mtn Drop, 31.8 -> Avenir 200 Series 31.8 Short Drop

No pump, SKS fenders became generic fenders.

Fork looks much thinner up front

Interesting - I have a 2009 Sojourn, and they've made some nice changes, and some not so nice ones. :-)

On the negative side, I think the original Dirt Drop bars are awesome for touring. I don't see the new "short drop" bars on the Avenir site, but I presume they're fairly generic unflared bars. On the other hand, I can't get my bike into an Amtrak bike box without removing the bars completely, so perhaps smaller bars would help in that regard. ;-)

R505 brakes: Good lord, why? They get consistently worse reviews than the BB5's, which work great on the Sojourn
Amusingly enough, the website pic still shows BB5's!

Gearing: After three years, you'd think they would have finally lowered the gearing - this is a heavy touring bike, after all.

Other components: They're definitely going for lower priced versions of already low-priced parts.

Top-tube: Bring back the steel bar protector!

Biggie: Looking at the pic, it appears that they're routing one of the cables on top of the downtube. It also appears that there are no more bottle mount braze-ons there ( though they're still on the bottom of the downtube for the third bottle, and the seat tube, obviously ). If that's the case, then that is an stupid design change of epic proportions. One accessible bottle mount on a loaded touring bike? Seriously?

Positives:

Color: I like it!
Fork: They've gone from a straight fork to a far more aesthetically pleasing curved fork. My Sojourn is already a very, very cushy ride when loaded, so I'm curious about how the new fork will change the ride quality.
Frame: Nice step up to 531. Could be why they cheapened up some of the other components, to keep a similar price point.
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Old 08-15-11, 06:07 AM
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I did a 23 mile ride this weekend on my 2011 Schwinn Voyageur 7 and now I know even better why the Sojourn is attractive to me (avg 13.73mph). The main reason is that some of the roads I ride are in extremely poor condition and not much better than a gravel road. These are very rough country roads. However, I hit a short section of highway and the Voyageur didn't have anywhere near fat enough gearing to get me really moving. My goal is to be able to do century rides with as few stops as possible, weekend rides through the countryside ~30 miles, and commute to church (10 miles RT), and work (~40 miles RT) occassionally. If possible, I would like to get my average speed up to around 19-20mph. Not sure the engine is up for that though.

Things I like about the 2012 Sojourn.
700x35 beefy tires and rims
Wide Range on the Gearing; the 50x11 would help me get some more speed in the downhills and flats and the 30 ring would be used only when loaded or the engine was tiring out.
Fenders - I don't want Armadillo guts splashing on me
Rear rack for commuting purposes
I think disc brakes cause I don't trust the brakes on any of my current bikes (The Voyageur and '83 World Tourist).
I hear steel is more comfortable but I can't yet tell a difference between the WT and the Voyageur.
Price range ~$1000.00

I'll check out the other bikes mentioned as it will be sometime around March 2012 before I have the financing to pull the trigger. I am open to other suggestions and have looked at others but keep coming back to the Sojourn.
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Old 08-15-11, 07:45 AM
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You have plenty of time to decide and the current availability problem with the Sojourn isn't much of a concern if you are still more than 6 months out.

Do try and ride as many bikes as possible, including those with other frame materials. The difference between steel and aluminum may be more subtle than you think. The manner in which the frame is built will dictate the ride qualities as will the tires that are on the bike.

Most steel bikes seem to fall into the touring or randonneuring category which means that many will have 700x28 c tires or even bigger. I find that tire size makes a bigger difference than frame material in some cases. A cheap and/or poorly designed steel frame can ride worse than a nice alloy frame. When shopping for a new bike, I rode a Giant Defy (alloy frame/carbon fork) back to back with a Jamis Satellite (Reynolds 520 cromo frame/cromo fork) and the Giant rode better. These were on the each same road with the same size tires ( albeit different brands).

I ended up buying a Specialized Secteur Comp which has and alloy frame with carbon seat stays and carbon fork. The ride isn't as smooth as my old KHS steel bike which had 32c tires, bit those tires were doing a lot to dampen the bumps. I put some 25c tires on the KHS and was shocked how much the ride quality was degraded.

I would be willing to bet the 2012 Sojourn will be a bit smoother than the 2011 thanks to the higher quality 531 tubeset. That stuff has been around forever because it is good stuff. 520 is a newer product designed to fit a lower price point. There is nothing wrong with 520, but it isn't any better than a generic butted cromo tubeset. It is more for marketing so a bike company can boast Reynolds steel.
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Old 08-15-11, 08:02 AM
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Originally Posted by flippin_bikes
You have plenty of time to decide and the current availability problem with the Sojourn isn't much of a concern if you are still more than 6 months out.

Do try and ride as many bikes as possible, including those with other frame materials. The difference between steel and aluminum may be more subtle than you think. The manner in which the frame is built will dictate the ride qualities as will the tires that are on the bike.

Most steel bikes seem to fall into the touring or randonneuring category which means that many will have 700x28 c tires or even bigger. I find that tire size makes a bigger difference than frame material in some cases. A cheap and/or poorly designed steel frame can ride worse than a nice alloy frame. When shopping for a new bike, I rode a Giant Defy (alloy frame/carbon fork) back to back with a Jamis Satellite (Reynolds 520 cromo frame/cromo fork) and the Giant rode better. These were on the each same road with the same size tires ( albeit different brands).

I ended up buying a Specialized Secteur Comp which has and alloy frame with carbon seat stays and carbon fork. The ride isn't as smooth as my old KHS steel bike which had 32c tires, bit those tires were doing a lot to dampen the bumps. I put some 25c tires on the KHS and was shocked how much the ride quality was degraded.

I would be willing to bet the 2012 Sojourn will be a bit smoother than the 2011 thanks to the higher quality 531 tubeset. That stuff has been around forever because it is good stuff. 520 is a newer product designed to fit a lower price point. There is nothing wrong with 520, but it isn't any better than a generic butted cromo tubeset. It is more for marketing so a bike company can boast Reynolds steel.

I've got both the 2009 Sojourn with the stock 700x35's and a 2010 Secteur Apex with the stock 700x25's.

The ride difference between the two of them on flat pavement is noticeable, but not significant. I've outfitted the Secteur as my road/light touring bike.

On rough pavement, the difference between the two is huge. The Sojourn just glides over gravel/stone dust/broken pavement/dirt with nary a worry, even when very heavily loaded for touring. It's very, very predictable no matter what the conditions or the load. On the other hand, the Secteur gets very, very squirrily, even with just a light load under those same conditions. Some of that is from the tires, but it's really a twitchier bike in general ( though again, not nearly so much as a race bike ).

They're both good bikes, and I'm pleased with them. But they do excel at different tasks, so any purchaser would need to consider whether the extra weight/etc. of the Sojourn is really worth the difference in how they'll be using or riding it.
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Old 08-15-11, 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by mulveyr
I've got both the 2009 Sojourn with the stock 700x35's and a 2010 Secteur Apex with the stock 700x25's.

The ride difference between the two of them on flat pavement is noticeable, but not significant. I've outfitted the Secteur as my road/light touring bike.

On rough pavement, the difference between the two is huge. The Sojourn just glides over gravel/stone dust/broken pavement/dirt with nary a worry, even when very heavily loaded for touring. It's very, very predictable no matter what the conditions or the load. On the other hand, the Secteur gets very, very squirrily, even with just a light load under those same conditions. Some of that is from the tires, but it's really a twitchier bike in general ( though again, not nearly so much as a race bike ).

They're both good bikes, and I'm pleased with them. But they do excel at different tasks, so any purchaser would need to consider whether the extra weight/etc. of the Sojourn is really worth the difference in how they'll be using or riding it.
The Secteur is a lot quicker handling bike due to the frame geometry. I fully expect it to be twitchier. On my ride Saturday, I rode down a gravel road and was pleased in general. It was a bit sketchy in deep gravel, but I think some more aggressive tires like Panaracer Paselas or vittoria randos would cure much of that. No doubt will the Sojourn ride smoother, but I thing it has more to do with the frame geometry and tires than the type of material in the frame.
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Old 08-15-11, 01:59 PM
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Originally Posted by mulveyr
But they do excel at different tasks, so any purchaser would need to consider whether the extra weight/etc. of the Sojourn is really worth the difference in how they'll be using or riding it.
This is my main concern with the Sojourn... the extra weight. While I may occasionally ride with some cargo it is obvious that unless I find a group of people in my rural area interested in touring, that I will not do much fully loaded touring. However, I do want a bike that is stable on rough roads and can be relatively fast on smooth roads. I am thinking that the Sojourn fits that description but maybe there are other options more suitable for my style of riding?

I am interested in getting fit, enjoying the scenery, but still moving along rough and smooth roads at a good pace. Maybe I should just invest in a rear rack and a triple crank for the Schwinn Voyageur and look for a dedicated road bike for fast riding?

The anticipation makes the fulfillment sweeter.
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Old 08-15-11, 03:12 PM
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Originally Posted by DaHaMac
This is my main concern with the Sojourn... the extra weight. While I may occasionally ride with some cargo it is obvious that unless I find a group of people in my rural area interested in touring, that I will not do much fully loaded touring. However, I do want a bike that is stable on rough roads and can be relatively fast on smooth roads. I am thinking that the Sojourn fits that description but maybe there are other options more suitable for my style of riding?

I am interested in getting fit, enjoying the scenery, but still moving along rough and smooth roads at a good pace. Maybe I should just invest in a rear rack and a triple crank for the Schwinn Voyageur and look for a dedicated road bike for fast riding?

The anticipation makes the fulfillment sweeter.

You might want to check out a cyclocross bike fitted out with a triple if you anticipate going between smooth pavement and rougher roads or terrain. The Sojourn's forte' really is loaded touring; If you're not going to be doing that, I suspect you'll be happier with another bike. If you had asked me if the Sojourn was a good general purpose bike when I bought it, I would have wholeheartedly agreed. But now that I've had some experience with a more road-oriented bike ( even one as "relaxed" as the Secteur ), I'd suggest not having it as your sole all-rounder.
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Old 08-15-11, 03:25 PM
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if i were you, I would look for another steel frame and stop waiting on the raleigh. Bikes direct has a good inexpensive steel touring bike and there are other companies that sell frame only that you could build up. specifically buy a bikes direct bike for the group and put it on the steel frame of your choosing then sell off the bikes direct frame to recoup some costs. it could be a really good option for you.
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Old 08-15-11, 06:39 PM
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Not sure why but this bike seems very interesting to me: 2012 CANNONDALE SYNAPSE ALLOY 5 105. I know that it is not steel but I hear tell that Cannondale really has the aluminium thing figured out and my newest bike is Aluminium and comfortable.

The one thing that I am really unsure of is the gearing. The thing that I really like about the Sojourn is 30/39/50 Chainring and 11-34 Cassette. However, I really don't want to spend >$1000.00 for a bike and then start changing out the crankset. I'm not sure of the setup for Synapse though but I think it is 34/50 -- 11/28. I could live with that.

I suppose I am waiting for someone to reveal the 2012 Cannondale specs... I googled and couldn't find any specifics. Back to.. anticipation is making me wait...
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Old 08-15-11, 10:13 PM
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There are a lot of bikes out there now that are coming with SRAM Apex groupos which give you a 50/34 compact crank and an 11-32 cassette. Its kind of the best of both worlds between a triple's gear range and the ease of use of a double.

That said, my bike has a compact crank with the 11-28 cassette like the C'dale and is more than adequate. My old bike only had a 12-26 and I never needed a lower gear. For light loads, that should be all you need, but the option is out there for wider range gearing in a double chainring format. My last bike had triple (30/42/52) and 11-32 mountain bike cassette and I never needed the granny ring. That bike would climb anything, even with the overweight motor pushing it along, but it was overkill. A 12-25 cassette would have been more appropriate, but having that 11-32 allowed me to only need the middle and large ring. That is the idea behind SRAM Apex using the 11-32 cassette. Your low gear is 34/32 which is actually lower than the 30/25 gear on a conventional triple. The high gear of 50/11 is very close to a 52/12 on a triple. The gearing on a compact double with 11-28 cassette is actually closer to that of a conventional triple.

The low gear on the Raleigh is literally meant for spinning a heavy load up the side of a mountain at a pace equal to or slower than walking. Ask yourself if you are really going to be doing that. I think a bike that you are able to use all of the gear ratios more regularly would be more enjoyable to ride, but then again, you will never have a shortage of gear ratios from which to choose. If I were in the market for that type of bike, I'd look at the Salsa Vaya which is SRAM Apex with disc brakes and lots of room for big tires and fenders. I've always liked Salsa bikes.
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Old 08-16-11, 06:36 AM
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I looked the Salsa Vaya and it has 3 negatives for me; the orange color (shudders), nearest dealer is almost 200 miles away, and 700x42 tires. Those tires just sound huge to me even though I am riding on 700x38's. Don't get me wrong, the Salsa sounds like a really nice bike.

I've also looked up the Jarvis Aurora and while it is a nice bike the dealers for Jarvis are few and far between in my area.

My LBS carries Schwinn, Raleigh, and C'dale (thanks for the hint to abbreviate).

So far my top 3 bikes are:
Raleigh Sojourn
Cannondale Synapse Alloy 105 - has 700x25 wheels; will these be stable on rough country roads? I wonder if I can put wider tubes and tires on them? I believe this will be the fastest of all three bikes and I am still dropping weight and may not be a clyde by the time I buy it.
Raleigh Clubman - I really like the color scheme

Since finances are precluding as much as waiting for the 2012 models, I must still wait in anticipation while riding my Schwinns. I need to find a way to ride each of these bikes on a familiar route. Yet, I don't think the LBS wants to stock each one of these then I may have not chance to ride before hand.

I am still in the research phase... so any suggestions I am still researching.
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Old 08-16-11, 07:54 AM
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I love the orange on the Salsa, but to each their own. The 2010 models were a nice, muted metallic brown, but I doubt there are any of those left. Who knows what color the 2012 model will be. I am with you on the tire size. If I was getting a Vaya, I'd put some 32c touring tires on. I have found that to be the best compromise between speed/rolling resistance and stability on dirt or rough pavement.

I am running 28c Conti Ultra Gator Skins on my Secteur and so far love them. They handle dirt and a little gravel pretty decent and soak up rough pavement well. I was looking at the Synapse and think it will fit them. It might be.a squeeze getting past the brake pads. My Shimano 105 calipers seem to open up a little more than the brakes on the C'dale.
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Old 08-16-11, 07:56 AM
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Originally Posted by flippin_bikes
I love the orange on the Salsa, but to each their own. The 2010 models were a nice, muted metallic brown, but I doubt there are any of those left. Who knows what color the 2012 model will be. I am with you on the tire size. If I was getting a Vaya, I'd put some 32c touring tires on. I have found that to be the best compromise between speed/rolling resistance and stability on dirt or rough pavement.

I am running 28c Conti Ultra Gator Skins on my Secteur and so far love them. They handle dirt and a little gravel pretty decent and soak up rough pavement well. I was looking at the Synapse and think it will fit them. It might be.a squeeze getting past the brake pads. My Shimano 105 calipers seem to open up a little more than the brakes on the C'dale.
Interesting - I had tried to install some 28's on my Secteur Apex, and they didn't fit. Don't recall offhand what brand, though.
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Old 08-16-11, 08:34 AM
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Originally Posted by DaHaMac
I looked the Salsa Vaya and it has 3 negatives for me; the orange color (shudders), nearest dealer is almost 200 miles away, and 700x42 tires. Those tires just sound huge to me even though I am riding on 700x38's. Don't get me wrong, the Salsa sounds like a really nice bike.

I've also looked up the Jarvis Aurora and while it is a nice bike the dealers for Jarvis are few and far between in my area.

My LBS carries Schwinn, Raleigh, and C'dale (thanks for the hint to abbreviate).

So far my top 3 bikes are:
Raleigh Sojourn
Cannondale Synapse Alloy 105 - has 700x25 wheels; will these be stable on rough country roads? I wonder if I can put wider tubes and tires on them? I believe this will be the fastest of all three bikes and I am still dropping weight and may not be a clyde by the time I buy it.
Raleigh Clubman - I really like the color scheme

Since finances are precluding as much as waiting for the 2012 models, I must still wait in anticipation while riding my Schwinns. I need to find a way to ride each of these bikes on a familiar route. Yet, I don't think the LBS wants to stock each one of these then I may have not chance to ride before hand.

I am still in the research phase... so any suggestions I am still researching.
I'm confused, are you actually planning to do loaded tours or are you just looking for a bike to ride? why not the salsa casserole? cromoly, nice color (blue) and a 26/36/48 crankset? fwiw, I think the orange color on the vaya is kinda dope. it's a muted orange not crazy bright look at me orange. Also, why would you let tire size be a deciding factor? buy another set of tires duh! if you don't like 42's, put on 38's or 35s. I have some nashbar streetwise 700x35 tires on my commuter and they ride GREAT. I'm also nobody has mentioned the surly LHT yet?

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