Touring Bikes

My father and I are planning on cycling to Japan at the end of next year. Though I would love to do it on my Lo Pro I just don't think it's realistic!

My dad is having a custom Mercian built due to his size but I need a OTP tourer. My local bike shop recommended a Ridgeback Voyage? Does anyone have any further recommendations? Would like to spend no more than £600-700.

My recommendation?

Save a few hundred extra. Buy a Long Haul Trucker.

This is the very best bike you can get at a very good price for a steel machine that will do what you want it to do. I'm selling one of these to someone who wants to do something like what your doing at least once a week.
At least come and test ride it at the shop, and I can point out some things that you might want to think about if your thinking to get a bike. Might be able to do a bit of a deal on one aswell.

I've heard good things about the Thorn, which you can get through SJS. Problem is you can't test it first.
Maybe someone else has one that you could try?

Sounds like an awesome adventure.

I second the recommendation for the Surly Long Haul Trucker. I'm just back from a month long cycle tour - London to Spain - which was amazing with a friend who had a brand new SLHT. He loved it and fully recommended it. I'm saving up for one now too. He bought his from the states and had it delivered to the UK (so it was here in time for him to arrive from Australia for the trip). So, that's another option. He had to pay shipping and duty but it still worked out to be a good deal.

Budget defines everything.

Low OTP: Dawes
Low Custom: Surly Long Haul Trucker
Mid-range: Thorn Raven or Audax
Top end: Full custom

Note that touring generally isn't cheap... entry for a full bike is pretty much where your budget is... so either go Dawes or Surly.

I'd go Surly given your budget... but you'll have to keep the components good value and go for strength and durability over any fashion.

You might also want to keep an eye on CTC classifieds for second hand Thorns, Roberts etc - they tend to be done up nicely and well looked after on there

It's not that hard to find a good touring frame and work from there. And used MTB (go LX!) components make great touring stuff, and are not that costly.

That being said, I've heard nothing but love for the Long Haul Trucker, but depending on how tall you are, you may need to ride it with 26"s (if that's an issue - if I was touring with someone else, I'd prefer to have the same sized wheels as them).

Looks like it will be the Surly. Nhat I will coming and try one this week sometime. The surly was actually mine and my fathers first choice. My father even went so far as to contacting Surly to see if they could make a one off 67cm but the cost would be too great!

I can get the frame for just over £250 from the US and build it up to spec.

cycling TO Japan.. or In Japan?

To.

Awesome.

To Japan from the UK?? fucking awesome!

We can talk more about it at the shop, I'll be there everyday but thursday.

Do not get a new bike. £600-£700 on a new tourer will get you something very basic. The parts like wheels rims & drivetrain which you want to be super reliable/durable will be very basic stuff on a OTP new bike. Decent new tourers expensive.

Instead get a nice quality steel bike from ebay or CTC forum. Second hand you could get something extremely well specced and built around a quality frame like a bob jackson or something.

Have you seen raleigh Royal's? Nearly identical to spec of the ridgeback voyage but £100 cheaper.

I still think you should get a used bike, but if you might be interested in one of these let me know, I may be able to get a discount through work.

It's not that hard to find a good touring frame and work from there. And used MTB (go LX!) components make great touring stuff, and are not that costly.

That being said, I've heard nothing but love for the Long Haul Trucker, but depending on how tall you are, you may need to ride it with 26"s (if that's an issue - if I was touring with someone else, I'd prefer to have the same sized wheels as them).

MTB drivetrain stuff, is the same as touring stuff. Both long cage/wide rage gears. Probably best to stay away from compact drive chainsets though, bigger rings are more durable.

I am well excited about touring. I've just put my Denti out of action so I could put pretty tyres and spds on my Roberts. I even have it sitting in the hall with panniers full of sleeping bag and tent on it. :D

I managed to buy a Thorn Audax for £150 this month. I'd borrowed it last year and bent the big chainring, though, so that needs changing, along with the other two, the chain and cassette.

It also needs repainting (£65 Armourtex) and a new saddle/bartape/mudguards. Still, all in, I'm probably looking at £450. It has a full XT groupset and Hugi hubs.

I managed to buy a Thorn Audax for £150 this month. I'd borrowed it last year and bent the big chainring, though, so that needs changing, along with the other two, the chain and cassette.

It also needs repainting (£65 Armourtex) and a new saddle/bartape/mudguards. Still, all in, I'm probably looking at £450. It has a full XT groupset and Hugi hubs.
sounds bargainous nice buy!

maybe a bit out of price range, but info for anyone interested, the matey i got my new frame off has an amazing bob jackson tour bike, decked out with modern components, has wavered chainstays and that fancy lugging he is still licensed to use.... can fwd some details for anyone interested, i couldn't keep my eye's off it when i was there..

what do we think to touring on standard road/race bikes?

i dont really fancy buying a specific tourer when i already have several other nice bikes i could modify a bit, and i am more of an lightweight/creditcard tourer and not doing the massive distances. obviously there are issues. fitting racks and guards, the need for stronger wheels, lower gearing.

ive had success with large saddlebags and marathon tyres, and ive recently got a bar bag that im in love with, but my gearing is always wrong with all that extra weight.

what do we think to touring on standard road/race bikes?

I might be wrong but i'm thinking it would be a bit unsuitable since the weight is on the back wheel rather than the bb.

Since the rider weight is on the back wheels already, adding more luggage would put even more stresson the back wheel, and make it more likely to get puncture especially.

isnt it more to do with weight distribution between the front/back wheels rather than being over the BB? longer chainsatys bring the weight more towards the centre of the bike for better distribution; so that the back wheel isnt taking all the load. im sure theres a whole load more geometry science going than that, im no expert!

if your doing heavily loaded tours over vast distances on terrible roads, it would be pretty unsuitable. my experince of light touring i had no problems with this. my saddle bag had bulky items like clothes, but was eleviated by having the heavy stuff like the tent/sleeping bag on the front rack. it was pretty balanced, and i had no more punctures than i would expect.

gearing has always been a problem though. i think a tripple, or a wide range casette would be alot better. i dont know the deal with using long cage derailluers.

Personally I've always liked the look of the Koga's, and there are advantages such as availability of tyres etc. when going with 26" wheel.

It's not that hard to find a good touring frame and work from there. And used MTB (go LX!) components make great touring stuff, and are not that costly.

I've just built up a cheap CycloX frame for winter commuting, transporting the nipas, and as a potiental light tourer. I used a MTB Deore gruppo that I had, its not lightweight stuff but its very strong (has already survived a couple winters). I find the gearing to be spot-on for load carrying but will definitely fit a front rack before loading it fully again (poor front wheel traction).

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PS. Sounds like a fantastic (and demanding) adventure. All the best.

The Surly looks like it will be the one. However I won't officially start training till Mercian finish my fathers bike (January) so im going to keep looking on the CTC, ebay etc for any alternate possibilities.

Really looking forward to it. Gonna start planning the route next week sometime and then try to get all the Visa's sorted, being American we're not sure how much hassle this is going to be.