I know this is one of the most common questions here — and yes, I know the real answer is “just start pedaling.” I’m an experienced backpacker, so I fully get that travel isn’t about the gear. But choosing your first bike is part of the journey, and I’d like to start on the right foot.
I’m putting together an economic but reliable setup for my first bike trips. My plan is to start with 1–2 day tours near home (southern Italy), camping overnight and riding around 50–60 km per day, then move to longer weekend trips and eventually 7–10 day rides. Next year, I’ll travel from Europe to China, but I still don’t know if I’ll do it as a backpacker or by bike. So this first setup is also a way to find out if touring could be my next big way of traveling.
My starter budget for the bike itself is around €800–1,200, and I’m torn between buying locally (easier support) or online (better specs, but extra costs for shipping and assembly).
Here are the bikes I’m considering:
- Decathlon Riverside Touring 520 – €799: Super entry-level touring bike, fully equipped (racks, dynamo lights). I can send it for free to my local Decathlon and get help from their mechanics. My concern is the 1×8 drivetrain and the quality — will it be too limited for climbing with bags?
- Genesis CDA 10 – €929 (+ shipping/setup + racks): Read good reviews online, but I’d need to add racks (and pay for shipping and local setup), so total cost ends up around €1,150–1,250.
- Lombardo Volterra – €949: It's an entry-level gravel bike from the only one local shop here. It doesn’t have fork mounts, and I’m not sure it’s really meant for loaded touring.
- Lombardo Amantea City – €600: Another bike from the local shop here. The shop says it can handle weight, but it looks more like a basic city bike to me. Also having the a suspension fork…
- Kona Rove AL 700 – €999 (+ shipping/setup + racks): I read it has a good reputation and a solid frame, but it's maybe not a true touring bike.
- Trek 520 – €1,150 (+ shipping/setup): Great price for a classic entry-level touring bike with racks. It's ready to start bike touring and a lot of people suggest it. Once I add shipping and assembly, though, it gets close to €1,400–1,500 total.
- Genesis Tour de Fer 10 – €1,229 (+ shipping/setup): Real touring bike and probably the best spec-wise of this list, but after the extra costs it’s pushing my budget.
I’ve also looked at pricier models like the Cinelli Hobootleg Interrail, Riverside Touring 920, Riverside ADVT 900, Fuji Touring Disc LTD, Kona Sutra SE, and Ridgeback Panorama, but going over €1,200 for a first bike just feels like too much right now.
What I’m really wondering is:
👉 Is it possible to find something in this price range that could also handle a future Asia tour, or should I just start with the cheapest option (even a second-hand MTB) and plan to upgrade later with a €1,700–2,000 touring bike once I’m sure this is for me?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on value, gearing, and long-term reliability for these options. Any help would be suuuper appreciated!! 🙏
P.S. This subreddit has already taught me a ton, and I can’t wait to finally get out and ride.
by vincenzorizza
11 Comments
I would probably go for number 7 as it has everything you need including even bottle holders. Also drop bars don’t work for me on tourers. Not sure how comfy the saddle looks though…
Choose between gravel and touring position first.
Personal choice: the Lombardo
And, FYI, the Trek 520 has chain guards that will just fall off after a couple thousand kilometers. Can be fixed/replaced, of course, but still good to keep in mind
I’d start with a second hand MTB. I wouldn’t invest a lot of money until you know you’ll like touring. Any of the bikes you’ve listed will be fine but why spend that money on something that will halve in value the minute you walk out the bike shop. Also, the extras will really cost as much as the bike – Ortliebs panniers (the only ones you’ll ever buy), tent, decent sleeping system…it all adds up to a sizeable amount of cash.
…..also think about maintenance on a long cross continental tour…. Keep the bike simple, try and use kit a generation or two older than the latest/greatest new kit. Once you get into Turkey and head off into the Stans you will not have well stocked bike shops (no modern tyres, no modern drive trains, no modern hydraulic brakes). You need a bike you can either fix with what you carry or make the broken bike rideable to the next big city.
Your bike will break. The bit that breaks will be the item you don’t carry as a spare. So some knowledge of bike maintenance is good to have (changing spokes, chains, brake pads/blocks).
Assuming the bike fits you, #1 priority is long chain stays for longer chain line and more heel/pannier clearance. On that basis, I would eliminate Volterra, Rove and CDA10. You can roughly compare CS length by looking at the distance between the rear tire and the back of the seat tube.
Decide drop bars vs. flat bars. IMO, if in doubt, get drop bars.
Trek 520 or Tour de Fer would be my pick. I currently prefer gravel double crankset for touring, thus I would lean toward the latter. OTOH, Trek 520 is a tried and true, durable,
The Trek 520 is a tried and true touring bike, even though I think they switched from Reynolds steel to Chromoly a while ago. Btw, have you looked at Surly bikes? The LHT (if you can find a good used one) or Disc Trucker might be the best place to start. Amazingly well made touring bikes! Not sure if they’ll fit into your budget though, especially after shipping.
https://surlybikes.com/
I have a genesis tour de fer, it’s great. BUT I would buy a trek 520 in a heartbeat
As others mentioned: as you have dropbar and flatbar options: decide on riding position first.
Then my 2 cents: I would go for the Riverside (and mod it according to your needs whilst staying in budget) or the genesis on the last picture. The later seems like a good choice out of the box.
As I own a heavily modified Riverside 920 Touring myself let my tell something about the 520: 1×8 will be quite limiting when you start thinking about going Trans-Alp and you definitely want to upgrade there. 12s Shimano XT m8100 shifter+derailleur combined with a sram pg1230 cassette will work wonders without braking the bank. Otherwise you have a good enough starter gear on board (decent light, all the racks and a sturdy frame). It will just feel quite sluggish and like a traditional Trekking bike due to the heavy frame, heavy Fork and all the attachments. If you are a big guy or plan on carrying a lot equipment you might need to update wheelset as these are prone to failure on all the Riverside Touring models (these are sold as being capable of a total load up to 170kg but the wheels sets clearly aren’t up to the task)
https://preview.redd.it/n5sdzdi6liuf1.jpeg?width=4064&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7edc08677ba56cc1430878159214112dd4cbf8c0
I would always chose a drop bar for a touring bike because it offers way more hand positions which at some point will be crucial to avoid hand fatigue during a long trip.
Genesis Tour de Fer series without hesitation. Very happy of it.