I have another update!

I decided not to buy the Dawes Fox as at the end of the day it's just a pub bike and not suitable for what I need it for. I took some of the comments on board - thanks!

The guy that bought the Ellis Briggs has done me a good turn. He has offered me a Dawes 301 Discovery and a Claude Butler 531 Criterium £200 for the both of them. The only snag is the Discovery is only 19" and I am 5" 11 and the Criterium as a bit of surface rust on the frame. The top tube on the Discovery is 21". When I stand over the frame of the Discovery there is about 3cm clearance. I'm currently trialling the Discovery for a few days and if I like it it will be perfect for touring.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...828b006501.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4772f035b1.jpg

Hope you did not get yourself too small a size.. but its a start..


Next is the expensive part , racks bags and everything that goes in them , dont cheap on survival ..
you can always buy another bike & add that gear, racks and all on the next one ..

If you don't like how it works for the purpose you bought it for.. then go shopping for a better, over a kilo Quid, bike ..







....

This bike is PATHETIC. There is ZERO chance you can tour on this mini mouse. It would barely fit a 5'2" girl.

Well, the answer is "Yes, somebody can certainly do it". But can YOU do it?

If you got Game, and keep it light, you can do it.

No, he didn't do you a good turn. That Ellis was a more valuable bike. You should also probably punch him in the mouth for being a jerk and screwing you on that bike. Now he's taking you for a fool and trying to pass off two bikes he doesn't want and get 200 out of you. You'll pay for his Ellis and he'll have 50 to spare. This guy is screwing you. Keep your money, walk away, and keep looking elsewhere. You need to find someone near you who you can actually trust who knows about bikes. That or you need to slow down for a minute and do a lot of reading before jumping into another purchase. The Classic and Vintage forum here would be a good place to start. Just to put things into perspective some for you, I sold an Ellis-Briggs 531 frame, Just the frame, for $250. It was a little nicer than the bike you were looking at, but you get the point. I'd have trouble selling that Dawes hybrid for $100. That guy screwed you. Anyone who would go buy a bike out from under you is Not someone you should be trusting. Think about it.

Where in the U.K. are you? Link to your local CL? Maybe someone here will be nice enough to look around for you.

I've adjusted the seat the bars and it rides good. I don't think I am going to do better for a ton.


I appreciate your feedback but I think your wrong. Anyway the guy that bought it who is offering me these bikes goes on bike buying sprees and he told me why and I totally understand. It's a bit personal so I won't repeat it here but he is not in control of it. The Ellis Briggs was a nice bike but I just didn't like the colour and it was a bit too far to pick it up on public transport. Any way if he ever sells it he said he would give me first dibs.

I want to tell you what a top bloke he is. He went all the way to Wales to pick up the Dawes Discovery and he planned to ride from Wales to the NW of England to show me this bike as I said I wanted a tourer. In the end the weather prevented him from riding all way and he got public transport some of it, but if you've seen the weather in the UK recently that is some journey he made just to show me the bike and after riding it for a few days I know it's going to be perfect for me with a few upgrades. He also knows I want a racing bike so he as offered to sell me his Claude Butler with a 531 frame for £100 which I think is a very good bargain as it is fully ridable as it is. So I have killed two birds with one stone for £200. Considering the Dawes Fox at the beginning of this thread was £140 I think I have done more than OK with this deal.

I hope your joking dude. It's a 19" hybrid, which is suitable for up to 5" 11. It rides well and that's all that matters at the end of the day and if I feel that it won't be cut out for the tour my dad said he wants it so I can't lose.

I have toured across the USA five times, and parts of Canada. I have seen all sorts of bikes out there including some REALLY low end department store bikes. Usually if they kept it light they did OK, and if not they generally had to replace the rear wheel at some point. In fact, my first tour of the Canada Rockies was on an $80 department store bike that I upgraded quite a bit. I kept it LIGHT and it worked just fine. 10-speed with NO small chainring. Granted I am a bit of a monster and can withstand a lot of discomfort but I have very fond memories of that tour and no horror stories. I even had my dog with me as she fit in my handlebar bag. And dog food.

All you need is a bike that is in decent repair. It's not rocket science. YOU are generally the weak link on a bike tour and the stupid weather plays a large part in the enjoyment of it.

You have to take some replies with a grain of salt on forums as there is no consequence for saying crazy stuff. After a while you learn to ignore it.

For the MATH challenged.... 19" = 48.26 cm. 23" = 58.42 cm. The black bike is likely 54 or 55 cm, likely could fit ok.
WhoTH is going to ride a 48cm bike?? I am 5'8" and have had FOUR bikes 23" or bigger. The seat has no adjustment, but that's OK with me.
The proper bike in this thread for the OP fits is the first one.
My first trip to Vietnam, I just wanted to putter around the city unloaded, so I just bought whatever in a SS for $75. So they were weenie girl loop bikes. I jacked up the seat and HB, put on a basket and rode. I forgot all about the minimum insert. I was wondering why they came loose several times. Only when I saw the photos, did I see how dangerous it was. But I never went up or down any hills either. Looking at the OP 3rd bike, I can see the same mistake happening.

You cycled in V!etnam? Great country, but HCM takes some guts. Mind you, so would the road between Da Nang and Hué, if for other reasons.
By the way, my touring bike there was a Brompton - 6 gears only, so, to the OP, yes 5 gears can be fine, depending on the terrain.*
To those non-UK habitants, do bear in mind that Dawes has a good name in the UK and is reasonably common. As to cycling in France, there's a good mixture of mountains, river valleys, bike paths and, of course, quiet roads with usually good support for cyclists not too far away. 5 gears should be fine for a lot of the country, depending on where you want to go.*