Hi all,
I will start bicycle touring/ bike packing this spring and I need some advice on which bike to get. As the title suggest, I want the bike to be my daily commuter and touring bike.
I've been cycling to work and for fun for many years but I'm beginner in this. When I started exploring the most recommended bikes I found the Kona Sutra SE and I fell in love with it, but my love story was quite short as I realized it was complicated to get one from a local dealer. It broke my heart a little but not my motivation, so I decided to explore other options and I liked what I saw, The prices is a deterrent at this point and I prefer to get more experience on the road before spending a big amount of money on any of them (See discarded bikes in P.S.)
I know I don't need the best bike to start with, but I want something nice that I can use for everything until I find whether this hobby for me or not.
I checked the most popular suggestions here: Kona, Surly, Trek, etc. However, I'm in Norway and some of them difficult to get (I created a post for that here). Based on availability and people's recommendation, this is my current list:
- Canyon Grizl 6: https://www.canyon.com/en-no/gravel-bikes/adventure/grizl/al/grizl-6/3694.html?dwvar_3694_pv_rahmenfarbe=R075_P06
- Canyon Pathlite 7: https://www.canyon.com/en-no/hybrid-bikes/touring-bikes/pathlite/pathlite-al/pathlite-7/3291.html?dwvar_3291_pv_rahmenfarbe=BK
- Cube Nuroad One: https://www.cube.eu/no-en/bikes/gravel/nuroad
- Merida Silex 400: https://www.merida-bikes.com/nb-no/bike/4879/silex-400
- Ghost Road Rage EQ AL: https://www.ghost-bikes.com/de-en/road-rage-eq/?attrFrameSize=L
Which one would you choose and why? Btw, someone described the Merida as the Toyota of bikes, are they that durable?
My plan and context:
My daily commuter is generic hybrid and I make 60 km per week with it. It's been my only bike for more than 2 years, it serves me well but it's time to get another. My plan is to use my current bike as a winter commuter while the new one will be for touring and commuting the rest of the year.
Why? winters are very aggressive on bikes here, rust can damage your bike very fast if you are careless or you can't clean your bike when temperature are low. Thus, I prefer to use my current one as dedicated cheap commuter with winter studded tires.
My short/ mid-term goal is to do weekend trips. I'm not very fit at the moment because I just recovered my health after an accident, so I will start slowly but consistently to be ready when summer comes.
P.S. They bikes I discarded it because they are out of my budget are:
– https://pelagobicycles.com/stavanger/
– https://www.koga.com/en/worldtraveller
– https://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/product/genesis-tour-de-fer-30-vargn13110/VARGN13110/GN13110LG
– https://www.cinelli-milano.com/collections/hobootleg
– https://surlybikes.com/bikes/disc_trucker
– https://fujibikes.eu/collections/touring-1
P.S. 2 English isn't my mother tongue, so sorry for any possible mistake.
by Dummy_Plug_System
1 Comment
If your short/mid-term goal is to do weekend trips, just start with the bike you have. There is no need to get a new touring bike right now if you have never done touring, especially if you have budget constraints. Start with what you have, add rack, bags, and gear as you like, and go! Touring is simple freedom, and there’s no need to over-think it or over-complicate it. After you’ve done a few weekends it will be clear what you may want/not want in a touring bike and that will better inform your shopping for a bike than any advice you get from a bunch of online strangers.