I want to tour the UK on this bike that i already own and was wondering how nice (or not nice) of a ride it will be.
by snoopyw00p
I want to tour the UK on this bike that i already own and was wondering how nice (or not nice) of a ride it will be.
by snoopyw00p
5 Comments
If you already ride it and it’s comfortable then it’ll probably be ok. Why not do some day trips and see how you feel. Perhaps a Brooks saddle could make a difference in terms of long term comfort. The gearing on that bike also might make things challenging if you take some hill routes.
Don’t. I toured the UK on a 14-gear bike and still frequently had to walk parts up the hill. The southwest will be undoable, the north will still be very hard work
I’m pretty sure this is a “pop into town for a coffee” sort of bike, maybe stretching to a gentle few miles on a sunny day. Not a “ride 50 miles a day” sort of bike. I have a bike similar to this, and I love it. But I’d be very hesitant about setting off touring on it. If I did, I’d be choosing somewhere mostly flat, and not planning to ride too far.
I’d say go for it.
T[his dude](https://www.etlehti.fi/artikkeli/ihmiset/pitkanmatkanpyorailija-matti-ramo-tien-paalla-olen-kotona) has done huge tours on bikes like [this](https://nozki.kuvat.fi/kuvat/Myyt%C3%A4vi%C3%A4/Helkama%20Kulkuri/Helkama02.jpg?img=img2048). We’re talking about riding from Finland to the Gibraltar and other crazy stuff.
As you ride more, you can figure out if you wish to make changes in your bike. Starting out with single overnighters and weekend trips you can get a feel for how it’s going.
When on the road, it’s useful to know how to fix a flat, and how to use the [barrel adjuster](https://www.chainwheeldrive.com/articles/how-to-adjust-your-rear-derailleur-pg1450.htm) of your rear derailleur (tool-free, typically takes seconds). These two skills have taken care of something like 99% of the issues I’ve run into on tours.
This bike is build for riding on mostly flat road and hard smooth gravel like tow paths.
Have you ever done a 3-4 hour ride on in? Is in comfortable?
Is would be perfectly fine touring in the Netherlands, northern part of Belgium, North east Germany, Denmark.
But not for real hills. It’s to heavy, no real light gears and the geometry is inefficiënt. And those brakes won’t stop you when you go down a steep Hill with a fully packed bike.