Touche

Evening

My work has announced the cycle to work scheme so I'm getting my first ever brand new bike. I'm Currently commuting on a borrowed 10 year old mountain bike, stuck in gear and forever getting passed by people on road bikes.

After a bit of looking a round I have pretty much decided on a pearson touche. I'm shit with spanners so the less to go wrong the better.

1. Any people with this bike i would love to hear your comments

2. What gearing is best suited for manchester. My commute is pretty much flat apart from a steep exit and uphill section from the underground parking at work.

3. There is an option to get riser bars (i think) instead of drops. I currently seem to spend more time using the bar ends of the MB bars at the moment apart from when I need to brake so will these feel similar and give the same kind of leverage when pulling away from lighsts etc.

Thanks in advance

M

whatever u get, dont get a wrongster, gangster, londonster or whatever that thing is called

Touche is well regarded and an excellent choice.

The touche's a nice bike, as for the bars, there's a reason road bikes use drops, and you generally ride on the brake "hoods" anyway, which gives you an elevated bar end feel. gear wise ,do you prefer to grind or spin on your MTB?

The touche's a nice bike, as for the bars, there's a reason road bikes use drops, and you generally ride on the brake "hoods" anyway, which gives you an elevated bar end feel. gear wise ,do you prefer to grind or spin on your MTB?

A bit of both really. Thanks for the quick responses guys.

I recently bought a hanzo from pearson, but with the wheels they supply with the touche. I rode both and just preferred the feel of the hanzo. You could save some money on the frame and spend that on some upgrades or kit. Both are nice though and the service is good - nice friendly shop, knowledgeable staff, terrible location!

My mtb is stuck in gear and it tops out pretty quickly. I can pedal fast to get past someone but quite often people on Hybrids coast past me hardy pedaling. Don't think the big mtb tires help much

I recently bought a hanzo from pearson, but with the wheels they supply with the touche. I rode both and just preferred the feel of the hanzo. You could save some money on the frame and spend that on some upgrades or kit. Both are nice though and the service is good - nice friendly shop, knowledgeable staff, terrible location!

In what way did they feel different?

I ride 46*17 in Manchester. But its all dependent on how fast you want to go, how much stopping and starting you want to do, how much you like your knees...

Check out http://www.ibikemcr.org.uk/ for bike related goings on that might interest you in Manchester. Where abouts do you work?

I ride 46*17 in Manchester. But its all dependent on how fast you want to go, how much stopping and starting you want to do, how much you like your knees...

Check out http://www.ibikemcr.org.uk/ for bike related goings on that might interest you in Manchester. Where abouts do you work?

I work pretty much in the middle

As Markyboy says, great shop, nice folk, shit location.

I have a touche. Really love it. I went for the courier bars (as below) option as I didn't want drops. (for same price). Got a nice carbon stem for free too. Came with 48:18 which is perfect for across London, so I'm sure OK for Manc too. Ran it SS for a few months & fixed for the last 6 or so. Stock chain is made of cheese though, go for the upgrade there & I got a crap saddle which they swapped for me after a couple of weeks. Almost paid for now - cracking value for £275!

Looks nice. What are the courier bars like to use on a daily basis? I was initially thinking of getting a blue one but it does look nice in black.

the courier bars (basically bullhorns) have a similar feel to riding on the brake tops of drop bars, especially when the brakes are fitted like that, aero style. At least in my experience :)

When you say bar ends do you mean the turny up bits you get on the ends of mtb handlebars? It you like riding on them you'll probably like bullhorns, it'll be a similar sort of riding position, i'm guessing.

When you say bar ends do you mean the turny up bits you get on the ends of mtb handlebars? It you like riding on them you'll probably like bullhorns, it'll be a similar sort of riding position, i'm guessing.

Yes that's what I mean by bar ends. I use them all the time apart from when I need to brake.

I've been going to Pearson's since i was kid and I can vouch for the excellent service. They've been at that shop since about 1860 and it's still run by the Pearson family.

Those bullhorns help climbing hills and locking the back wheel at speed when riding fixed - easier to balance your weight over the front wheel to rise the rear.

What are they like for commuting and weavng through traffic?

What are they like for commuting and weavng through traffic?

Very good, because of the two distinct hand positions. Its personal preference really.

I have risers atm, but might dump them for bullhorns.

what are risers?

i wouldn't recommend bullhorns for really dense traffic because you can break your hands when you clip a wing mirror. put a brake up by the stem.

In what way did they feel different?

Difficult to say really, the hanzo was just more comfortable for me - probably the slightly different geometry suited me better. You'll need to allow for putting decent pedals on it and upgrading the chain. And if you do go for the hanzo, I would suggest swapping the wheels. I went for the bullhorns as I ride my geared bike with drop bars in the way you describe. I was half-expecting to swap them but, so far, I've liked riding with them.

Go on, you know you want to.....

so they are not as uncomfortable as they look? The bars that is...

what are risers?

i wouldn't recommend bullhorns for really dense traffic because you can break your hands when you clip a wing mirror. put a brake up by the stem.

even 40/42 cm ones?

If you clip the horns at any decent speed you will lose control and fall. This happened to me outside the houses of parliament. Some Arabic dude was crossing the road when it was green for me, and, trying to be clever, I decided to carry on riding and go behind him. Well, my left horn got caught in his robes! Down I went, in front of lots of tourists.

It does really depend how aggressively you take gaps. I dunno, bullhorns made me nervous in tight spots.