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Bike suggestion [UK] please-have done some search/research

Old 10-02-09, 09:52 AM
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Bike suggestion [UK] please-have done some search/research

Never done touring before but am planning a tour in the UK and France next year. I now ride a CAAD9 road bike and my wife rides a Bianchi road bike.

Did a lot of research and narrowed down to:

Jamis Aurora-my first choice till now
Bianchi Volpe
Surly LHT
Cannondale Touring

Jamis looks the best for us, as the Volpe has short chain stays and the Surly has bar end shifters which [while I have never tried], looks not that easy to use. Also the Surly may be overkill for our planned light touring.

We will not be doing fully loaded touring but about 80-100km a day and staying in B&Bs.

We live in India so the only locally available [with difficulty - no test ride and we just have to pay and order] touring bike is the Cannondale Touring bikes which are aluminium, and designed I think for heavier riders and loaded tours.

We could buy the Jamis on a US trip, but our next trip is to the UK. So, any suggestions for UK touring bikes that would be around 1000 USD? Something that we could buy in London and start our tour directly?
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Old 10-02-09, 11:24 AM
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You might also consider the Koga Miyata World Travler. An excellent touring bike and mostly available on your side of the pond. They are hard to get here in the states because no one seems to stock them. Anyway they are beautiful and proven and worth a look.
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Old 10-02-09, 11:42 AM
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Would it be possible to order a bike from an online seller in the US, and have it shipped to an address in the UK?

(This question, perhaps in a somewhat broader form, seems worth its own thread.)
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Old 10-02-09, 11:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Niles H.
Would it be possible to order a bike from an online seller in the US, and have it shipped to an address in the UK?

(This question, perhaps in a somewhat broader form, seems worth its own thread.)

I'm sure it happens all the time but I'm not sure if it works out $ wise. Shipping a bike by itself would be at least a couple of hundred dollars US on top of what you have to pay for the bike. I think your better off trying to find a dealer closest to you and order from them.
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Old 10-02-09, 12:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Dave Nault
I'm sure it happens all the time but I'm not sure if it works out $ wise. Shipping a bike by itself would be at least a couple of hundred dollars US on top of what you have to pay for the bike. I think your better off trying to find a dealer closest to you and order from them.
Sometimes there are deals in the US (or China) that aren't available in other countries. I don't know if the shipping would always be so much higher that it would cancel out the advantage in selling price.

It seems to me that the shipping rates I've seen for frames coming from China were pretty reasonable.

If a local shop had equal or similar prices, it would probably make more sense to buy through them; but sometimes they don't have the good prices, and sometimes they don't have the right items, or both.
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Old 10-02-09, 12:56 PM
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The Koga Miyata i mentioned above is a classic example, I couldn't find one here in the states at the time I was bike shopping and I could have ordered one from Holland but the shipping cost killed the deal. I bought a LHT frame instead and built it to the same spec as the KMWT. It still ended up being expensive but that is a whole other thread.
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Old 10-02-09, 06:44 PM
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You'll be able to get the bianchi or Jamis in London. For uk bikes look at the Dawea Galaxy or the Thorn bikes. You sound as if a sport tourers would be good for you. Those are ofthen called Audax bikes in the Uk. Email a good bike shop and they will be happy to help you and have your bikes ready for you

A great website is

www.wiggle.co.uk
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Old 10-03-09, 04:32 AM
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Thanks guys. I am unable to find Jamis touring bikes on any UK site and the Dawes and Thorns seem pretty much pricier than the Jamis.

Maybe I'll e-mail some shops like suggested.
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Old 10-03-09, 06:02 AM
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Originally Posted by deepakvrao
Thanks guys. I am unable to find Jamis touring bikes on any UK site and the Dawes and Thorns seem pretty much pricier than the Jamis.

Maybe I'll e-mail some shops like suggested.
I think that's a good idea. Here's a Time out article with some bike shop info. It might be best to find one close to where you'll be staying in London

https://www.timeout.com/london/around...ike_shops.html
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Old 10-03-09, 06:43 AM
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If you haven't done so already, I'd also suggest posting on some UK specific boards (e.g. cyclechat.co.uk, or bikeradar.com). They should be able recommend some good UK stores but also available bike models for you as well. Go to the horse's mouth so to speak.
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Old 10-03-09, 06:59 AM
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It would be a lot cheaper to buy it in Germany and have it shipped to the UK than to buy it in the UK.
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Old 10-05-09, 04:03 AM
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Hi guys,

I am able to get a Kona Sutra and a Cannondale T2 locally. Dont like the weight of the Sutra as well as its bar end shifters.

Is it stupid to get a aluminium tourer like the T2? Any idea of the weight of the T2?

Any idea what a Volpe would cost in the UK?
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Old 10-05-09, 04:07 AM
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Originally Posted by deepakvrao
Hi guys,

I am able to get a Kona Sutra and a Cannondale T2 locally. Dont like the weight of the Sutra as well as its bar end shifters.

Is it stupid to get a aluminium tourer like the T2? Any idea of the weight of the T2?

Any idea what a Volpe would cost in the UK?
I Ride Cannondale T1 , it weights 30 lbs.
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