vicarious n+1

[zzpza]

Help me find the right touring bike!

I "need"* a geared bike that can take a rack for a cyclocamping holiday I have planned. I want to do the Devon C2C. It would be for the August bank holiday so time is of the essence!

~£300
22/23" 56/58cm
Gears and preferably a triple
Mud guards and a rack, or at least the mounts and clearance to fit
Not be made from recycled anvils
Would prefer 700c so I can use the spare tubes and tyres I already have
Delivery service (i.e. not collect only)

*I already have five bikes... the only one that can take a rack is my winter fixie. I'm not man enough to do Devon on a fixie.

I've never bought new before, I've always built up from parts. I get to pick the parts I want, but it's not cheap that way.

Found this at lunch time today:
Claud Butler Chinook 2008/2009  £369.99 Free Delivery

I'd just need to add a rack. But it doesn't need to be a new bike - I don't mind 2nd hand.

Comments, suggestions, etc gratefully received!

[rogerzilla]

There's an Orbit Gold Medal advertised on the CTC forum at the moment.

[MattH]

If you want a vicar-ous bike, it should be one of these.
More tea, Vicar?

[valkyrie]

Raleigh touring bikes can often be found quite cheap - I've got an alloy framed one that now lives on my turbo trainer but was a very decent bike for the money. Closest I could find on a quick search was a steel framed version which looks a bit nicer - http://www.ashcycles.com/power/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1440&currency=BP

Try searching for these on eBay, that's where I got mine.

[urban_biker]

If you can spare an extra £99 then the Revolution Country from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op is a lot of touring bike for £399.

My wife has one and we were both very impressed with the quality.

I would post a link but the EBC site seems very slow right now. There are also lots of positive reviews of this bike out there on the interweb.

[clarion]

The only drawback to the Revolution Country is the use of Al for a tourer.

[zzpza]

some interesting options! out of interest, why should Alu be avoided for touring? not strong enough?

i had found this Dawes - Bikes 2U Direct -- Leisure bikes : Hybrid & Trekking -- Dawes Discovery 301 gents but it's Alu too. they do seem to be cheaper than steel. i guess there's a reason for that.

[urban_biker]

The only drawback to the Revolution Country is the use of Al for a tourer.

I'm not sure that is an issue so long as it is made strongly enough to support the load. Which it appears to be.

I've ridden the bike and the ride doesn't seem any more harsh than my Reynolds 853 Galaxy.

[Chris N]

why should Alu be avoided for touring? not strong enough?

Because Clarion doesn't like it.

There's no real reason that you should avoid it - and for that sort of money you probably can't.  Steel bikes should be cheaper than aluminium, given the raw material cost, but the factories that mass produce are mostly tooled up for aluminium, so that's what you get.

Repairability is always trotted out as a reason for favouring steel but in practice it's not an issue.  Yes, if an aluminium frame fails it will probably fail catastrophically rather than gradually, and yes, it'll probably be unrepairable but they're generally so overbuilt that this isn't a problem.

Comfort is the other reason cited for using steel.  Fit a comfortable saddle and some decent tyres and it's unlikely to be a problem unless you specifically want it to be.

[clarion]

OK, so I'm in the minority here, but personally I'd not want to ride a fully loaded aluminium bike for any great distance.  The fact that people advise comfort adjustments like maybe improved bar padding, saddles and bigger tyres indicates that they recognise that steel is a more comfortable ride (if made properly).  Imagine how much better a steel frme with those adjustments would be!  Not that I'd want to have to go for bigger tyres to pedal against, really.

Having said that, I do think the Revolution Country is a good bike.  I was tempted by one when they first came out and I had some redundancy sponds in my pocket.

[Craig]

If you can spare an extra £99 then the Revolution Country from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op is a lot of touring bike for £399.

Except the Revolution Country Traveller now costs £500.

[urban_biker]

If you can spare an extra £99 then the Revolution Country from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op is a lot of touring bike for £399.

Except the Revolution Country Traveller now costs £500.

Good point - the site was down earlier so I couldn't check. £399 really was a bargain.

[clarion]

Oh dear.  That's a shame. 

[Polar Bear]

OK, so I'm in the minority here...

I don't think that you are.   It's just your unrelenting banging on about it that attracts a bit of ribbing.   

[Chris N]

OK, so I'm in the minority here...

I don't think that you are.   It's just your unrelenting banging on about it that attracts a bit of ribbing.