Another touring "what bike" thread - Sub 1K

[jowwy]

Don't overlook the vintage lugged steel stuff. One of these should fit the bill nicely:- View attachment 501923

Don't be fooled by the stripped-down appearance, a Raleigh Royal is a proper Touring bike and it's price when new in 1985 would be the equivalent of £1,000 in today's money, so a pretty high quality machine. I took the mudguards and rack off as I don't actually use it for touring, but it's comfortable enough to ride all day long. In fact, it's the best-riding bike I own, even running on factory-spec relatively narrow 27" x 1 1/8" Michelin Club Tour tyres. The frame is mostly Reynolds 531 DB, and in the condition pictured it weighs less than 26lbs, which is light for a long-wheelbase 23 1/2" size lugged steel bike.
I bought it secondhand last year and it owes me the princely sum of £33 so far, which was an absolute steal as Royals can fetch pretty strong money used, just like Dawes Galaxies often do.

That’s a disgusting looking mess to me

 

[Vantage]

That’s a disgusting looking mess to me

A nicer view than those stupid looking ebikes.

 

[Spiderweb]

That’s a disgusting looking mess to me

Why say that, is your post helpful to this thread and the OP?

 

[newfhouse]

That’s a disgusting looking mess to me

This is going to go well

What is it about an elegant steel bike that disgusts you?

 

[Cycleops]

Don't mind him, he just likes sniping.

 

[Blue Hills]

That’s a disgusting looking mess to me

I'm not a drops rider myself but that seems an odd comment.
But since it appears to be so strongly held, can we ask why?

Are you interested in touring and touring bikes?

 

[Bonefish Blues]

That's exactly the response that was desired I suspect. Anyhow, back to thread. OP there's plenty of second hand stuff around which would reduce your spend by 50%+. Might be worth a scan of the classifieds/a wanted post on cycling UK forum.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

What is it about an elegant steel bike that disgusts you?

Must be the lack of a big ugly battery pack bolted to the down tube! Real bikes don't need batteries.

 

[biggs682]

@SkipdiverJohn you are right about the Royals being a good old touring bike

 

[newfhouse]

Must be the lack of a big ugly battery pack bolted to the down tube! Real bikes don't need batteries.

There’s a time and place for electric bikes, and that’s a different discussion, but they are undeniably fugly when compared with the simple lines of a classic lightweight.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

@SkipdiverJohn you are right about the Royals being a good old touring bike

Never been into Touring, but I don't like a boneshaking ride and I find the Royal can cope with gravel without rattling my fillings, on it's original tyres. An MTB'er overtook me on a path yesterday and said that I needed a Hardtail like his if I wanted to ride off-tarmac. Cheeky bugger. When I caught him up on the road a short time later I told him to get himself a Royal!

There’s a time and place for electric bikes, and that’s a different discussion, but they are undeniably fugly when compared with the simple lines of a classic lightweight.

That's fair comment, they have their uses. Not my cup of tea though.

 

[faster]

I'm no fan of disk brakes on road bikes, but I think they make sense on a touring bike and if I was to buy a new touring bike, I think I'd go disk.

People often say they worry about fixing disk brakes, but as someone who's had a rim failure part way through LEJOG as the brake track wore through, I can attest that rim brakes aren't without their problems that aren't easy to fix by the side of the road.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I'm no fan of disk brakes on road bikes, but I think they make sense on a touring bike and if I was to buy a new touring bike, I think I'd go disk.

Even if you accept the alleged technical superiority of discs (which I don't, as rim brakes are perfectly capable of locking up a wheel if applied hard), they are just way too fugly to even contemplate tolerating on any bike I own. If I was in the market for a new bike of any kind, I would actively avoid anything with discs, along with anything with those horrid bulbous STI levers that look like a tumour growing out of your handlebars.
I've never yet worn out a rim by braking. It's a non-issue with steel wheels, and alloy ones seem to last well enough if the bike is not ridden fast or aggressively, necessitating frequent use of the brakes. OK, you can't avoid using brakes in hilly terrain, but I don't use the brakes that much on any of the routes that I ride, and most of my braking purely comprises coming to a stop from a low speed at traffic signals and junctions. I try to anticipate what is going on ahead so I can keep moving forward wherever possible. That will make my average speed lower than someone who rides flat out everywhere and brakes hard at junctions, but I'm not trying to prove anything.

 

[Pale Rider]

I've never ridden a bike for enough miles to come anywhere near wearing out a rim braking surface.

Same as Skippy, I regard having to use the brakes as a failure of anticipation.

Gaining momentum on a bike is too hard to chuck it away with braking.

I have had to disable a rim brake to allow progress on a pringled wheel, which I wouldn't have to have done if it had a disc.

Commuters on here report wearing out rim braked wheels which supports my view that commuting is the toughest use of a bike.

 

[Vantage]

Geography has a lot to do with it.
In hilly places braking can be pretty frequent and necessary. Off road riding also isn't kind to rim wear.
I've worn a rim to the point that it went straight through and my previous Ryde Sputniks were showing very hollowed out braking surfaces before the new bike was built.
I agree fully with @SkipdiverJohn that once the wheel locks up, any further braking power is completely useless but the heavier the bike and rider, the power needed to do that increases. Its a case of reaching the bottom of the hill with aching fingers or not or tyres blowing off because the rims got too hot. Touring bikes in general are indeed heavy brutes and more so when loaded up. They're also meant to be comfortable for long periods of time (I suppose that's true of any bike though) so a bit more braking muscle can only help here.
Apart from a bit of extra weight to lug around, I really can't see any downsides to using disc brakes.