I’m looking to purchase a bike to travel from Paris to Almaty.
Looking for something that is lightweight and fairly quick that can carry the minimum amount of gear (tent and sleeping mat but essentially no cooking gear etc). I plan to stay in hostels/hotels/homestays wherever possible and camp only when necessary.
I’ve had a look at a couple of options:
- Canyon Grizl 5
- Decathlon Van Rysl range (seen some good reviews)
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/gravel-bike-aluminium-frame-sram-apex-1x12s-beige/348789/c296m8817973
- Ribble (steel frame)
- Surly (unsure which bike would suit requirements best – suggestions would be helpful!)
by Zestyclose_Tip_4181
3 Comments
I did two months of heavily loaded touring on a steel Fuji in Portugal and Morocco. I would not worry that much about the weight of the bike since you’re already planning to pack lightly. I would definitely try to do it on a steel frame bike if you can. Every day you’re out there you want them flex and comfort of steel. The rigidity and lightweight of aluminum are great on a race bike but they just become uncomfortable over a lot of miles and both aluminum and carbon are more fragile and nearly unrepairable if something goes wrong. A competent welder in basically any town in the world can fix a steel frame bike. I would look for something used if you can find it. Trek 520, Kona Sutra, Surly Long Haul Trucker, Salsa Marrakech or Marin Four Corners would all do the job but honestly there are tons of older steel frame bikes that are super capable of that kind of adventure.
This is going to seem mean, but asking about lightweight bike for that route suggests you’re not prepared for this trip. I recall you recently asked about using a carbon race bike for this trip, and you indicated it would be mostly smooth riding. As you go east, I have a hard time imagining that to be the case. I also have a hard time imagining how it’s possible to do this safely and self-supported with minimal gear and a “fast” bike.
I’m not trying to be harsh, it just sounds like you’re trying to rush into a pretty serious tour without the right experience. You could do a lot of awesome, shorter tours to build that experience and develop a system (gear, rig, mileage) that puts you in a a better position for that big tour rather than riding into a potentially miserable boondoggle.
I’d recommend the Ribble. I toured with a Jamis Renegade in new Zealand a few years ago. Steel frame, carbon fork, Tiagra gears. Worked great. I’ve toured on alloy frames with carbon forks and they were very good as well. Marin Gestalt. I did install triple cranksets in each bike.