Riding to Spain on a track bike. Yay or Nay?

ribble do some cheap winter trainers/tourers (well they used to) they will not be expensive

Yeah. My Rubble is based on a £120ish Winter/Audax frame. It's done Tour of Flanders, White Horse Challenge, Stage 1 Tour sportive, basically shitloads of longer rides where conditions are too crap for me to get the nice bike out. They're great.

I think marco's advice sounds really quite helpful, whatever your opinions on details like shoe/pedal choices. Don't take loads of guff. Don't take a spare chain: just fit a new one before you go. Don't take spare tyres: fit new ones before you go (might be good idea **not **to use a bike with 27" wheels, btw, in case you do need to buy a new tyre out there... stick to 700 or 26").

Have a think about loading more of the weight up front (lowriders, bar bag) than behind you on your bike, this will help in ascents, apparently. I think you can get a lowrider rack that can clamp onto any fork, or find a fork with the relevant bosses/eyes.

Have fun.

Me and a friend did a French tour last year. Things we learnt that might help (apologies if this sounds patronising):

Buy small panniers which will force you to take very little. We took stuff like, spare tyres, chains and nonsense like that. It all went completely unused.

Don’t ride in cycling shoes. The performance benefits are not worth the heat and discomfort.

Don't bother taking a tent. Stay in cheap hotels. You've just done 180K and are uber knackered. Beer is calling, the last thing you want to do is find a wooded area to pitch a tent. We used the tent twice in ten days and that was too much.

At least one of the group should have a GPS device. Maps are just going to piss you off.

Factor in some spare days. We had torrential rain on a couple of days and our final rest day on an Arcanon beach was dreamy.

This was our route (the big dent was to catch the TDF) :
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2hQdTJivWs0/SmhSu2LcZTI/AAAAAAAAAEU/cce4jsNlFlM/s1600-h/france1.jpg

That's 5 bits of good advice, i say.

Wow, thanks for all the advice every-one.

Every-one I've spoken to who's done a similar ride has re-iterated the mistake of carrying any spares other than inner tubes.
New tyres and chain from the getgo as Skully mentioned is a good idea.

Travel as light as possible just seems to be the big one but I personally think SPDs + mountainbike shoes are a must, I've used them on and off for the last four years and wouldn't do a long ride without them.

Good call on the flip-flops Hippy.

The bike isn't such an issue, that can be sorted out. Its more a case of what to take with you.
How many pairs of undies etc.

Whatever bike you get, make sure it is the right size/fit. Sounds stupid, but many peoples don't really fit them, and then do as much of your training on that bike as possible. A proper bike fit might be a good idea.

It was mean in the nicest possible way. And I meant, if you are going to spend £600+, don't buy a classic which has a collectors premium, unless you are a collector. You can get a decent second hand bike for around £200.

some other learnings from a 3 day-er i did to paris last summer :

• a quick link for a chain is all you'll likely need (if that)
  
• so too a patch kit instead of a spare tube (auto adhesive). lots of bike shops in france..
  
• with you on the spd's. i think the performance benefit, with that many cranks of the wheel, is definitely worth it. and even my cheap pair of specialised are designed to ventilate better than most pairs of trainers i know
  
• flip flops - yep, only other footwear you'll need
  
• one multitool (i like this one)
  
• bike (and luggage by the same token) should be the lightest thing you can afford. distance + weight = fatigue
  
• something for energy: caffeine gums, and maybe that muscle restorative mix at night if you're really caning it
  
• others: 1 pair superlight trousers, two cycling shirts to alternate (good quality so they're guaranteed to dry overnight), goretex outer, glasses, cap, sun and chaffe cream.... :)
  
  

mine all fit in a deuter race bag and that was fine. i expect, given the distance, you'll want to rig some paniers.

i loved cycling in france. roads are (when they're not cobbled) pretty lush, and the motorists are a lot more sympathetic. also was amazed at how restorative a steak frittes and half bottle of wine could be for that last 20 miles...

have fun!

Use a double-sided rear hub with a smaller sprocket on one side than the other. Or a larger one if you prefer. Turn the wheel around to ascend or descend. Don't take much luggage, keep it light. Hotels & showers much better than any tent & sleeping bag. Third day in will probably be the worst from a psychological PoV. Best not to use a fierce track geometry frame, go for something more chilled and relaxed. But really, jfdi and have a blast.

Cool, thanks peeps. I'll keep an eye out for an Allez or something similar.

I'm sure its no surprise that a wine bottle fits perfectly in a bottle cage....

There's a fella on here called Peteris, came to Easts a couple of times last year. Him and a another guy rode Stockholm to Barcelona fixed in 6 weeks, you can check out his ride here:

http://www.lfgss.com/post1037085-4112.html

They had about 1 or 2 rest days a week which sounded like a nice way to do it.

Mate of mine did Geneva-Nice on a single speed. http://www.chargebikes.com/projects/project/files/pluginthealps/
The trouble with fixed will be the DOWNhills as you'll have to spin like a MF for up to an hour at a time, on the way down those big mountains, while all your freewheeled chums will be coasting at 40mph.
Maybe fit a freewheel, or pay REALLY close attention to your chain tension. You do NOT want the chain to fall off.

The trouble with fixed will be the DOWNhills as you'll have to spin like a MF for up to an hour at a time, on the way down those big mountains, while all your freewheeled chums will be coasting at 40mph.

Yeah, I'm not doing it fixed anymore. There's no point in riding a range of mountains if you can't freewheel down the things.

Considering building a frame based on a condor fratello with a few tweaks and kitting it out with a veloce groupset. In the mean-time, train on the fixed gear like a MF. Job done.

Also, We're probably going go Bear Grylls style and camp most of it with the odd b&b here and there.

Yeah, I'm not doing it fixed anymore. There's no point in riding a range of mountains if you can't freewheel down the things.

Considering building a frame based on a condor fratello with a few tweaks and kitting it out with a veloce groupset. In the mean-time, train on the fixed gear like a MF. Job done.

Also, We're probably going go Bear Grylls style and camp most of it with the odd b&b here and there.

Be sure to keep us all posted of the latest developments.

Logs off. Drives to Bridgend.

Yeah, I'm not doing it fixed anymore. There's no point in riding a range of mountains if you can't freewheel down the things.

Considering building a frame based on a condor fratello with a few tweaks and kitting it out with a veloce groupset. In the mean-time, train on the fixed gear like a MF. Job done.

Also, We're probably going go Bear Grylls style and camp most of it with the odd b&b here and there.

So you'll be donig stupid things, eating shit and then staying in 4* + hotels. Please don't make a TV show.

Have fun.

So you'll be donig stupid things, eating shit and then staying in 4* + hotels. Please don't make a TV show.

Have fun.

So are you coming or what?

Only if you drop the Bear and go for a Mears type approach.

Only if you drop the Bear and go for a Mears type approach.

light a fire at every opportunity whilst everyone wonders how long it would take to lose the paunch if you really had to rough it and eat berries

From someone who has some experience with cycling holidays, you might feel it an achievement to do it fixed, but your friends on gear will enjoy it a lot more and will be a lot quicker than you. You will feel even worse being stuck behind!

Northern France is not totally flat, down the coast might be OK though, just get a geared bike off ebay and enjoy the satisfaction of cruising through europe at 25mph!

i was just looking here

http://www.campyoldy.co.uk/Bikes%20for%20sale%20Private.htm

there are some nice bikes for less then 500 pounds. I dont know how recent the ad are but worth a try if you decide to go on a bike with gears.

http://www.campyoldy.co.uk/images/site_Jan_09_Shrubb..jpg

400 pounds

http://www.campyoldy.co.uk/images/site_Jackson_Oct_09..jpg

this bob jackson for 300 pounds

Just read the rest of the thread.

All sound advice, SPDs are a must for any kind of considerable distance. I would say that you are far, far better off getting a good second hand road bike that was released within the last 5 years. I know vintage tourers/ racers look the nuts and some people would argue that quality is quality, but I certainly think you will get a lot more for your money and a lot more enjoyment out of a newer bike.

Other than that, just enjoy it, the cycling holidays I have done have certainly been the best experiences of my life!

... oh, and ride safe.

Something else to consider, I dont know how many hills you are planning to go over, but me and my mates rode with back packs rather than panniers. Why spend money on a light bike just to weigh it down. Get the weight off the bike, up the hills it makes a huge difference.

[QUOTE=well, is it;1175388]Yeah, I'm not doing it fixed anymore. There's no point in riding a range of mountains if you can't freewheel down the things.

Considering building a frame based on a condor fratello with a few tweaks and kitting it out with a veloce groupset. In the mean-time, train on the fixed gear like a MF. Job done.

well o.k then, the way to train like an MF is ride 5 days a week, all your daily trips around where you live for work on fixed, then sometimes a long ride or race 1 day, with orienteering race probably 1 day for about half of the weekends each year, oh yeah and do yoga 6 days a week morning and evening, keeps me out of trouble.

you might feel it an achievement to do it fixed, but your **friends on gear **will enjoy it a lot more and will be a lot quicker than you.

Natch. ;)

this looks well good. need to try this myself sometime. cant offer any advice for something like this, but Ive travelled light a fair few times. I do know there is no need to carry a gas cooker and camping shit if you end up camping out and its wet.

simply buy six cans of beer. drink them. cut them in half, trying to make the tops a little jagged. dig little holes in the ground, put the cans in them so they are stable like,fill them up with paraffin, or meths. light it, and just plonk some kind of metal plate (we used flimsy aluminium dishes) on top. youll need some form of oil, either way it gets hot enough to cook steak. and not rare either.

you can do it with fewer beer cans too, but, six is a good amount.

better way is with baked bean tin with several holes punched in just above the level of the paraffin.