My first trip - Bike advice much appreciated.
09-10-05, 08:36 AM
#1
Newbie
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: London
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Bikes: Specialized Rockhopper, Ridgeback Cyclone
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My first trip - Bike advice much appreciated.
Hi guys & girls,
I am new to the board and would really appreciate some advice. I am just a regular 5 miles a day commuter who seldom does a few weekend tours on my bike. However, I have recently challenged myself to a trip from London to Sicily, 1867 miles, 6 weeks - 99% tarmac. Its not a credit card tour and I will be camping as far as possible along the route. I dont have any strict deadlines, so if the trip takes longer than expected, so be it. Now, I was originally planning to use my cheapish Ridgeback cyclone MTB and do the neccessary conversions, but based on the advice I have received recently from a few bike dealers, they are firmly recommending a tourer for the comfort and peace of mind in terms of reliability.
I am not small - 6 foot - 210 pounds and not in the best shape of my life, so comfort is important and I certainly need a bike that will get there in one piece!
So, based on my budget (<£1K), the general opinion from the dealers here in London is either the Ridgeback Panorama or the Dawes super Glaxy (Both around £899). Looking at the specs, the Panorama does seem slightly better and my local friendly dealer has one in stock ready to go. But I am a bit nervous about buying a bike that I cant find any discussion of on the web or even one independant review... (I hardly buy anything nowadays without browsing a few reviews!). So any advice or personal experience with these bikes or even another bike which may suit me would be really helpful to me. Since I am leaving so soon (Friday), I cant consider hard to get or custom built bikes.
Cheers,
Nick.
I am new to the board and would really appreciate some advice. I am just a regular 5 miles a day commuter who seldom does a few weekend tours on my bike. However, I have recently challenged myself to a trip from London to Sicily, 1867 miles, 6 weeks - 99% tarmac. Its not a credit card tour and I will be camping as far as possible along the route. I dont have any strict deadlines, so if the trip takes longer than expected, so be it. Now, I was originally planning to use my cheapish Ridgeback cyclone MTB and do the neccessary conversions, but based on the advice I have received recently from a few bike dealers, they are firmly recommending a tourer for the comfort and peace of mind in terms of reliability.
I am not small - 6 foot - 210 pounds and not in the best shape of my life, so comfort is important and I certainly need a bike that will get there in one piece!
So, based on my budget (<£1K), the general opinion from the dealers here in London is either the Ridgeback Panorama or the Dawes super Glaxy (Both around £899). Looking at the specs, the Panorama does seem slightly better and my local friendly dealer has one in stock ready to go. But I am a bit nervous about buying a bike that I cant find any discussion of on the web or even one independant review... (I hardly buy anything nowadays without browsing a few reviews!). So any advice or personal experience with these bikes or even another bike which may suit me would be really helpful to me. Since I am leaving so soon (Friday), I cant consider hard to get or custom built bikes.
Cheers,
Nick.
09-11-05, 12:29 AM
#3
Fatties Fit Fine
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Now in Eugene, OR
Posts: 409
Bikes: Bianchi (2), Surly w/ couplers, REI tourer, Giant OCR Touring
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The first rule of touring I learned is... never take anything untested.
