Which Bike is best to get for touring?

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Aravis

Aravis

Putrid Donut
Location
Gloucester
If you do decide to go for a new tourer, I see Evans have a few 2017 Jamis Auroras on clearance (£599 down from £749), and for once, the ones they have left are in the range for average-sized guys - 55cm/57cm/59cm. I don't know much about them but they seem well-regarded.

https://www.evanscycles.com/jamis-aurora-2017-touring-bike-EV275262
https://www.evanscycles.com/jamis-aurora-2017-touring-bike-EV275262
Their site is showing just two of the 57s at branches nationwide - one at Sheffield, one at Castleford.
 
hoopdriver

hoopdriver

Guru
Location
East Sussex
Grolsche11976 said:
The full suspension on my mountain bike kind of takes up all the room where you could possibly add bags since it was built more for Trail and jumps. The road bike. Not sure If I would get much thicker than the wheels it came on as I bought it originally on the cycle to work scheme where I used to work and it was more to get me from a-b in the fastest time possible. Hence, why I thought maybe getting one that would suit racks and bags being attached to it and have slightly thicker tyres. Also, would you recommend drop handle bars or straight for touring? As I see some tourers have straight and some drop.

What makes a specific tour bike better than say a cheap mountain bike or a road bike. I would say my touring would probably start on like roads, cycle paths and tracks like canal tow paths. Nothing too off roady but hey you never know what I might expect. Does anyone have any thoughts on the ridgeback voyage touring bike mentioned above? Whose tried touring on a road bike with 700c wheels and what did they think of the entire journey?

Might even be nice to hear some stories of what people have tried and how they got on with it and if they was to start out again what they would recommend.
Click to expand...
I did a 10,000 mile solo tour around Australia twenty years ago on a tourer with 700c (35mm) tyres and had no troubles whatsoever. I very much prefer drops as they give me a variety of hand positions for long days in the road, rather than being fixed in one position all the time.
 
OP
OP
G

Grolsche11976

Member
Location
South Elmsall, Pontefract
Aravis said:
If you do decide to go for a new tourer, I see Evans have a few 2017 Jamis Auroras on clearance (£599 down from £749), and for once, the ones they have left are in the range for average-sized guys - 55cm/57cm/59cm. I don't know much about them but they seem well-regarded.

https://www.evanscycles.com/jamis-aurora-2017-touring-bike-EV275262
Their site is showing just two of the 57s at branches nationwide - one at Sheffield, one at Castleford.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if I'd like the bar end shifters. I likw stuff where I can reach them easily.
 
hoopdriver

hoopdriver

Guru
Location
East Sussex
Grolsche11976 said:
I'm not sure if I'd like the bar end shifters. I likw stuff where I can reach them easily.
Click to expand...
I’ve used bar end shifters exclusively on my tourers for more than 30 years. They are easy to reach and it is not as though you’re shifting constantly when you’re touring anyway. They also have the advantage, if you are touring in really remote places, of being dead simple and never breaking down.
 
raleighnut

raleighnut

Legendary Member
Location
One of the 'Elite'
Grolsche11976 said:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/..._dc|pcrid|161845658788|pkw||pmt||prd|606873UK

Anyone have or know much about this bike and it's features?
Click to expand...
Aluminium frame so probably not that good.

FWIW I tour on one of three different bikes depending on what I need them to do,
  • An old Raleigh Equipe set up as an 'Audax' style bike for light point to point rides of about 5 days, set up with a Carradice 'Longflap' camper saddlebag and a rear rack.
  • A slightly less old (90s) Raleigh 'Outlander' rigid MTB with a Topeak rack and bag that pulls a trailer for lengthier 'holiday' tours based mainly at one location with day 'rambles' from a bigger tent with Chairs.
  • A similar age Ridgeback CS 502 hybrid that is just a faster version of the 'Outlander' with again a Topeak rack and bag but also a pair of large Carradice panniers but not really strong enough to drag the trailer (lighter/narrower wheels)
Of them all the Ridgeback is the best compromise and does a fantastic job.

DSCN0073.JPG
 
Dave 123

Dave 123

Legendary Member
Location
Cambridgeshire alps
I'll give another shout for Spa. I have the titanium version of their tourer. It's bomb proof and comfortable.
I've used it on a tour around Holland and as my daily commute bike, where it gets a lot of crud and abuse thrown at it.

The only problem I've had with it is that the saddle broke (Spa Nidd) After sending them a picture of said saddle, they sent a new one out FOC immediately.
 
U

User32269

Guest
My advice would be to not spend a lot of money before you've tried touring. Rigid cro mo mtbs make great tourers.
I'm putting a rack and mud guards on my old Univega mtb to use it as a commuter / touring bike.

They are comfortable, 26" wheels can take the weight, offer a really good spread of gears with the triple chain ring, have no problem going off road, and are simple to maintain and repair.
One thing I do is to fit bar ends on, I find this gives you options to shift hand position on long treks using flat bars.
 
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