Chuck Naill

KONA BIKES | ROAD | DEW | Dr Dew

staehpj1

My take on that is just a little different... While agree that $2k buys you a better bike than $1k and that the law of diminishing returns sets in quickly above that, I have found that at $1k the bikes are good enough that the overall tour experience is the same. Basically I have done most of my tours on bikes that were under $1k and when I think about my tours the bike itself really isn't something I think about all that much.

I am retired and not on an especially tight budget. I can afford to buy more expensive bikes, but choose to be more frugal. I think we tend to lose sight of the fact that good enough is good enough.

All that said, the Fuji is a pretty nice bike as is the 1.1 from REI. Both are reasonably priced and good bikes. BTW my two companions and I did the TA and a bunch of other tours on our Windsor Tourings and found them quite adequate. We paid $599 delivered, but I think they are $699 delivered now.

fietsbob

Finally, Get a bike you like and can afford, and go somewhere ..Touring is the trip , not the hardware.

Timequake

Totally. Those Windsor bikes are totally decent bikes. It seems like the Windsor Tourist, Fuji Touring, and Nashbar Touring are all essentially the same bike. Minor differences, and they would all make very capable touring bicycles for about $700.

autonomy

@apc65 If you're still interested, REI started clearancing their bikes at 15% off. You might get a better discount on a floor model if you can find one in store.

Doug64

The Coop 1.1 is priced at $1019 in their Labor Day Sale catalog.

autonomy

Correct. Are you saying that because it's $19 over the OP's request of "<$1000" then they should discard the option?

Doug64

No, I was adding to your post and showing that it is essentially within the OP's option

autonomy

Apologies for misunderstanding, you never know which way people lean these days on the net

LeeG

Exactly

DropBarFan

I'd think about used touring bike. Tourists usually maintain their bikes well & since there's a limited # of touring models it's easy to research quickly. I sold a 5-yr old Novara Randonée to a newbie tourer for 1/4 of original price, similar specs as Fuji Touring. Then if you catch the bug you can move up w/o worrying about having already spent a lot.

portlandareae28

find a 1980's japanese built bike, you will be LIGHT YEARS ahead of all of this. Or if you can find a deal on an early Trek 5, 6 or 7 hundred series bike.. look for Miyata 610/100, Schwinn Voyageur touring bike (not walmart hybrid), univega grand tourism, etc. etc. Call me crazy but these bikes can be had in the $300 +/- range and are far superior to the modern chinese bikes.

mstateglfr 

Ok, so this is tough for me to say since the 2 bikes ive used for touring are a Voyageur 11.8 and a bile made by Fuji in 1990 for a touring company. Clearly i love bikes from that period.

I couldnt disagree more with the assertion that someone will come out light years ahead if they get a 25-40yo touring bike, or that touring biles from that period are far superior.

Ill try to stick to facts.

- current tubing and frame builds are stiffer than back then. This is good since many touring bikes back then were viewed as too noodly.

- those bikes are 126mm DO spacing. This limits gearing to 7speed at most. Many bikes from that period need to be updated and you are then choosing either old stuff off ebay, or lower end heavier new components.
Yes, the frame can be coldset to 130. This means buying a modern wheelset, drivetrain, cables and housing, etc. Costs go up and the 'lightyears ahead' comment diminishes.

- current touring bikes can typically handle wider tires than older models. Many want to embrace the current trend of wider tires.

- canti brake posts on bikes from the 80s are often incompatible with current cantilever and vbrakes due to spacing differences. This limits you to using 30+yo canti brakes.

- many modern touring bikes have more attachment points which allows for personalization . The salsa/surly forks being one example.

- 27" tires. Yes there are 6 quality 27" tires to still choose from. But thats limiting for sure. Changing to 700c will open up choices but also add to the cost of the bike. Oh, and it may render the canti brakes useless.

- it appears disc brakes are valued by many potential touring bike buyers.


A miyata 1000, voyageur sp, etc etc are awesome bikes for touring...for those who are aware of the limitations and are both wanting to and able to work with/around the limitations.
I build my current touring bike up with the exact components i wanted and for less than a stock new Fuji Touring, but i think that is more the exception thst the rule.

jefnvk

You're not crazy, just misguided. Speaking as someone who just replaced an 82 Miyata 610 with an REI offering, no, the Miyata was not light years ahead, there really is no comparison between the two. In everything but cost, the Novara wins hands down.

I'd love to find a Miyata 1000 some day. It would make a very nice touring bike. It wouldn't be light years ahead of an off the shelf modern option, though. Nice bike? Yes. Perfectly suitable for touring? Yes. Far superior? No.

cougarkite

Also interested in Fuji touring but had the same problem where everyone was sold out & now that the price has jumped to $900, is it worth it to pay $100 more for the REI adv 1.1?

jefnvk

If you've got a Performance Bike near you, may be worth your while to go in and have them check the system for your size at another store. I know there was still at least one at a PB near me last week, they are generally willing to ship them between stores.

cougarkite

None close by in your opinion is the Fuji still worth saving $100 over the REI COOP bike?

mstateglfr 

Where is it in stock for $900?

As for which is worth buying- basically, its $100 more and you get known quality rims and 1 more cog on the cassette. Besides that, the componets are either identical or basically interchangeable in quality.
With that said- the geometry of each bike is pretty different. The REI bike has a higher stack height regardless of frame size. And it looks like the reach is a bit shorter on the REI bike. Longer chainstays on the REI too.

Which fits best is what I would want to base my decision on. No point in saving $100 or paying $100 more if the bike doesnt fit.

jefnvk

I've ridden neither, I can't say.

If you were originally looking at the Fuji for some cost savings, I'd be more inclined to look to the Nashbar touring model. $800 regular price, but if you wait for a 25-30% off sale (25% quite frequent, 30% generally once a month or so) you can knock a couple hundred off the top.

Otherwise, have you tried either one out? If you do have an REI by you, go check out the 1.1, they should have them in stock. If you like it, take it home and don't worry about what the Fuji would have been.

DropBarFan

One of those details that could turn out to be a good advantage. Recently put a new rack on the Disc Trucker (with long chainstays) & I was surprised that I needed to move panniers to rear-most position to avoid heel strike.

tyrion

I think the COOP 1.1 is well worth $100 more than the Fuji. Most of the components of the REI bike are 1 or 2 clicks above the Fuji.

Panthadad2

Consider the Nashbar Touring Bike (the one listed at $799.99, not the Nashbar TR1 Touring Bike). This bike is a re-badged Fuji Touring bike according to their customer service and specs. You can routinely get it at 20% off, and occasionally 30%, so $560-$640 plus shipping. The components are damn near the same as my 2016 Trek 520, so this is a good deal.

BTW, I'm about your weight and losing as well racking up the miles. Your weight is not a problem on these bikes, especially if you stick to 36 spokes (and occasionally adjust the spokes). I've put thousands of miles on my drop-bar converted 1993 Trek 750 while commuting with smaller loads, and it only has 32 spokes. Good luck and enjoy your riding!

jefnvk

30% off today. $559 plus $20 shipping plus tax (if you live in a state with a Performance Bike, grr...)

1-track-mind

I'm being tempted by the Nashbar touring bike which sounds like essentially the same bike as the Fuji Touring and Windsor Tourist. I think this is the last day for the 26% off sale, so I need to make a decision. Any words of wisdom ? It definitely was not my first choice, but it's hard to get past getting a new bike for under $600 delivered. The REI co-op bikes are around $1,000,even on sale.

cougarkite

I've had the nashbar for a couple weeks now and really enjoy it...it's really the exact same components as Fuji just different name. Only dislike is grip tape but that's easy to fix