I’m planning on doing some (hopefully a lot) of touring this summer across Scotland, Ireland and mainland Europe. Some small trips and fingers crossed some bigger ones to!
My bike knowledge is very very limited though and research has only made me scratch me head, so many opinions and options for bikes but I’ve seen a couple of bikes that are on sale at the minute and was hoping someone could give their opinion on what’s best or why I should stay away, the bikes are these two:
https://www.ridgeback.co.uk/ridgeback-tour-varrb2350
https://www.ridgeback.co.uk/ridgeback-voyage-varrb22510
I’ve seen them both on sale for £750 and £999 respectively so they’re within my budget of £1000.
I’ve also been looking at the touring bikes from decathlon just because they’re so cheap and ready to go, especially the 520 but mixed reviews from what I’ve read in past posts.
I’m all ears on opinions!
by RegularDepartment1
5 Comments
Neither of these are amazing. The first one has a pretty crappy 8 speed drivetrain but is otherwise decent for the price. The second one is almost perfect for a serious touring bike but I would never buy a new bike with rim brakes in 2025.
If possible get the Voyage. The frame is smoother (aluminium is stiffer) and the used groups are better.
I would add a front pannier low rider for my front bags. Also add at least a backlight with reflector. That can be a battery operated one. Also add a good headlight. Preferably detachable so you can also use it as an flashlight.
Since you seem to have a bit of time imo for £1000 budget you should do your homework and go used, get a used gravel or touring bike off ebay or fb marketplace. The used market in the UK is great if you know what you’re looking for.
To start you off on your search you could look for a Genesis Croix De Fer, quite a few of those around last I checked for a reasonable price like I said you just have to know what you’re looking for and you can get much more for your kinda budget than buying new.
If you want to go New then the Decathlon GRVL 520 or Triban 520 are well priced for new bikes, though the Triban 520 will likely need bigger tyres if you plan to go off road.
Idk if its avaliable in your country but if so, the giant toughroad at 800€ has been my gravel touring bike for 2yrd now and its just abolsolutely amazing. Check it out and do your research but I highly recommend. Feel free to ask me any question
Here comes some opinions:
The Ridgeback Tour you have linked has a crankset and cassette gearing for road riding, and not for loaded touring in hilly areas like Scotland, I would not head out on that bike if I was you. The Voyage is much better in this regard, and this alone makes me recommend the Voyage out of those two.
The eyelets on the fork on the Tour model seems to be angled a bit towards the back. This means you won’t be able to add a traditional low rider rack (or a surly front rack, or anything else that need a regular low rider mount), but will only be able to use cargo cages. The Voyage has regular low rider mounts.
The Voyage has rim brakes, which I wouldn’t get if I was buying a new bike today (rim brakes are fine, I have them on my current commuter/tourer, but hydraulic discs are the future). However, the Tours entry level mechanical disc brakes are most likely not gonna be very nice, and will probably require a lot of regular adjusting, so again out of those two models I would actually get the Voyage with the rim brakes.
Also, steel is real.