# Best touring bikes brands



## dalbo96 (3 Sep 2011)

I'm currently training for the lands end to John o groats expedition and I need advice for the best brands of touring bikes for the trip. anyone got any ideas or suggestions (preferably brands under £300-new or used)


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## memoman (3 Sep 2011)

Hello Dalbo, welcome to CC Forums. I'm sure you'll get helpful replies.

Many thanks


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## jags (3 Sep 2011)

not being a smart ass but under 300 you'll be lucky.


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## dalbo96 (3 Sep 2011)

thats what i said but my partner in the trip was complaining- memoman


jags said:


> not being a smart ass but under 300 you'll be lucky.


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## style over speed (4 Sep 2011)

Under £300





there's this:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/riverside-3-edn-man-2011-172072878/


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## mcshroom (4 Sep 2011)

You are not going to get a lot new for £300, especially if you are after drops (drop-bar tourers start at about £500). Flat bar then a Dawes Discovery 301 is within budget as an example. If you are staying in B&Bs instead of camping, then a road bike like the Carrera virtuoso would also work.

Used you will get a much better range at that price. Look for Reynolds 531 or 501 tubing on the bikes, and if a Dawes Galaxy or Horizon, or a Claud Butler Dalesman/Regent or a Raleigh Royal comes up then they are all established touring frames. Most steel framed racers would work, altohugh you would probably want to lower the gearing.


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## Nigeyy (4 Sep 2011)

Sorry can't help with brands or suggestions as I'm on the wrong side of the pond.... but:

Be wary of buying any bike (used or new) that don't fit the touring bill. For example, changing gearing isn't necessarily a trivial thing (e.g. if you are fully loaded and touring, gearing that comes on a traditional road bike will be too high -and that means potentially changing all the drive chain which can suck out as much money as the bike). Also it's not just purchasing new parts -don't forget if you are not mechanically inclined you will have to pay someone to work on the bike. 

If you are working on a tight budget and buying used, then it's definitely best to get a bike that is a match or the best closest match to what you want. Sometimes "bargains" can work out to be expensive.

One potential alternative is to buy a used '(rigid) early to mid 1990's mountain bike (mtb bikes of that era can have good road geometry) that is nicely below your budget. If you tour fully loaded (with good hills on the route!) then the mountain bike gearing is ideal -though you will spin out at around 20-22mph (which if you are touring, unless you are going down a hill, you're going to be lucky to achieve or keep up for long stretches anyway). Further, older mountain bikes usually have all the hardware -e.g. rack mounts. With the money you save, buy slicks, inner tubes and racks and panniers, or trekking bars or bar ends to extend your handlebar positions, etc. While I know this doesn't help you, it's not unusual for me to see touring potential used mountain bikes for under 100 quid here. This might be of interest -or inspiration -to you:

http://www.bikeforum...version+touring

Here's my conversion (since powder coated in black):

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G91oAUDO7iQ/SPag6Qil9DI/AAAAAAAAAGM/agmRZ5G39ZY/s1600-h/img46.jpg

Another alternative is to get a used hybrid bike, but the problem here can be the higher gearing.

If you think you might do touring seriously, I'd definitely advise to get the best bike you can and see if you can stretch your budget. If you think this is going to be more of a one off or that you might tour only very occasionally, then the used touring bike or converted mountain bike might be the way to go.

Good luck, hope you find a really good bargain!



dalbo96 said:


> I'm currently training for the lands end to John o groats expedition and I need advice for the best brands of touring bikes for the trip. anyone got any ideas or suggestions (preferably brands under £300-new or used)


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## middleagecyclist (4 Sep 2011)

Nigeyy said:


> Sorry can't help with brands or suggestions as I'm on the wrong side of the pond.... but:
> 
> Be wary of buying any bike (used or new) that don't fit the touring bill. For example, changing gearing isn't necessarily a trivial thing (e.g. if you are fully loaded and touring, gearing that comes on a traditional road bike will be too high -and that means potentially changing all the drive chain which can suck out as much money as the bike). Also it's not just purchasing new parts -don't forget if you are not mechanically inclined you will have to pay someone to work on the bike.
> 
> ...



+1


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## twobiker (4 Sep 2011)

I bought a very nice Specialized Sequia from a secondhand bike shop for 135 quid, but to convert it to what I wanted has cost a fortune , new gears,pedals, wheels,tyres, I don't mind because its now the type of bike I wanted, but it will eat up a budget and cost well over 300 by the time I finished.


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## vernon (4 Sep 2011)

style over speed said:


> Under £300
> 
> 
> 
> ...



And that's as good as it gets.

Nothing else comes near for the price bracket.

FWIW I have a Decathlon B'Twin tourer that was a hundred or so quid more that I bought in Orleans when my aging british touring bike fractured a drop out. It has proved to be a reliable and confortable tourer over the subsequent 4,000km of touring done in the past two and bit years.

I'm very happy with my purchase.


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## tbtb (5 Sep 2011)

Great advice above re old mtbs. And the b'twin was a good suggestion too, for a new option. I'd go secondhand myself but if you prefer new, here's another option to weigh up against that b'twin:







Edinburgh bike trailfinder £212 Heavy but solid, nice green colour. The silhouette is much the same as my mid 90s mtb and probably not by chance (great shape for easy touring). Just needs a rack.

Or, what about this big wheeled beauty, a Kona no less:




It's a Kona Dew, £275. Big wheels (700c) like on a drop bar tourer. Budget another 15£ for a rack, maybe something for mudguards. There's a version with rack and guards for much the same price but it has limited sizes left and it isn't a beautiful burgundy colour.


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## superbadger (5 Sep 2011)

I bought a new Trax Tr1 rigid MTB from Halfords (Yea i know there be some grief coming my way now). Anyway it was £90 and i spent another £90 turning it into a Tourer. Did a 6 day tour with 25kg's of weight;managed 470 miles and had no problems... Not even a puncture!!!. The bike took the weight no probs and the gears were fine; I even went over the 'Snake Pass' with it!!! Plus with it being new i still had it under warranty so i took my warranty with me in case something un-fixable had happened.... The only thing i didn't have time or the funds to do before my trip was change the tyres which would have made a big difference in my road speed but i did okay with the knobblies!! I know your trip is massive and i am not suggesting you do what i did; Just a point that most bikes can manage a big trip. I would go for the mountain bike option because of their durability...	good luck with your trip anyway


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## Brains (5 Sep 2011)

Under £300 !

To put that into car terms 

You are going to drive from London to Katmandu (I recon that is about 2 weeks of solid driving, same as LEJOG)
You have a budget of £3,000 for a fully fitted vehicle
Ideally you want a fully fitted Landrover

£3,000 would get you new tuktuk, and I'm sure it would get you there.
The same money would also buy you and old Landrover which would need a lot of TLC

A basic touring bike, including panniers, lights, locks, etc starts the wrong side of £1,000 new, with a top of the range one costing three or four times that amount.
Second hand ones in 'ready to go' condition start at about £500.

For £300 I think the old MTB route is the only way to go, and then fit it out as far as the budget allows, it's the equilivant of getting a good old solid landrover and then doing a wheel up rebuild yourself.


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## Brains (5 Sep 2011)

To answer the original question 
The best touring bike brands are:

What is a Touring Bike
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touring_bicycle

The best touring bike brands are:

Thorn
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/

Jackson
http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/default.php

Roberts
http://www.robertscycles.com/

Dawes (The Galaxy is the benchmark bike to compare all other tourers agains)
http://www.dawescycles.com/p-20-galaxy.aspx

Mercian
http://www.merciancycles.co.uk/

Condor
http://www.condorcycles.com/

Koga
http://www.koga.com/koga_uk/


Other will be along shortly to add to this list


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## Bigsharn (5 Sep 2011)

I have an old(ish) Galaxy and if I ever got the time off work, I could easily go and do 6 months on it without leaving the saddle; it's extremely comfortable (though I have put a £50 Brooks Saddle on it) and not the slowest of machines either.

My advice is to keep an eye on the For Sale forums on here, or look on a certain auction site... If you do the latter make sure to go and see the bike in person before putting a bid down


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## growingvegetables (5 Sep 2011)

> Just a point that most bikes can manage a big trip.



+1

Hey - no advice from me, just a fwiw. I've done several 200-250 mile tours on a Dawes Discovery 201 Hybrid, and am happily planning on LeJog next year. Not ideal – aye, but I know it'll work. It's worked for years - never a let-down, even carrying tents, sleeping bags, and cooking stuff for 4 people (the joys of touring with young kids).

I'll need to change the pedals and will put bar-ends on - and it'll go. I considered (briefly, VERY briefly) changing to drops, but that'd be silly (pity  ).

Flat bars again. I bought a Revolution Trailfinder – second-hand, £50, bloody good condition, supposed to be a 3-6 month cheap stop-gap for my daughter till we could afford a“better” new bike. Weeeeeell – it turned out to be one of those bikes that you kinda fall in love with; it's got looks,balance, handling, the lot ... just a bike that's “got it right”. I'd be even happier tackling LeJog on that.


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## Crackle (5 Sep 2011)

Virtually any rigid mtn bike can be converted to a tourer. For example this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Marin-Mountain-Bike-/290604740560?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item43a9646fd0

It has the Braze ons for mudguards and rear rack, change the tyres, fit butterfly bars or similiar and the gearing will be more or less right. You can also pick them up pretty cheap, leaving room in your budget for all the changes I mentioned and any repairs.


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## captainhastings (5 Sep 2011)

Never done a tour but sure you could find some thing on ebay.
I saw this on the feed back of a guy I won a bike off.
Would have been ideal ?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220824292915#ht_500wt_1156


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## Gongfarmer (6 Sep 2011)

Hi, I think the advice here is good and food for thought.

Perhaps buy an old good quality mountain bike and have the wheels either rebuilt or purchase a new set?

Last week on ebay I saw a Carrera Quattro,Reynolds tubing/shimano parts.These frame in there day carried alife time warranty.its a shame its Halfords some would say but its still abike.It was going cheap and thats the sought of thing I would angle for.

Cheap frame you can get away with but wheels they have to be the best you can afford.

Quality wheels will breathe new life into most old bikes.

Best of luck with it and enjoy yourself


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## oldfatfool (6 Sep 2011)

Ridgeback make a couple of models, you might pick up a voyage 2nd hand if you are lucky, I certainley like my Panorama.


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