Need to replace my stolen bike (no insurance, d'oh!). It was a nice specialized hybrid kitted out for touring, commuting and family leisure use (Hamax child seat bracket and Burley trailer hitch). Had it for 1.5 years and am in mourning, not least because I feel it is my fault it got nicked.
Anyway, I am now looking to go back to a drop handled bike and think a tourer is best. I know a CXer makes a decent tourer, commuter, general leisure bike and is also good for off road up to a certain level determined by the rider's skill levels. I don't want a crosser since I feel it time to grow old and go for comfort which IMHO means a tourer. Plus the ones I tried before tend to be short in length, I got the right bike size but my toes kept getting caught by the front wheel due to a kind of squashed up geometry. It was a big enough bike, the biggest size (well I am 6'5" tall so always go for the biggest sized bikes).
I only have about £600 to £800 if I squeeze my bank account hard enough. I was not insured so this expense was not planned.
I need drop handles because of the many hand positions it allows. I have dodgy wrists and elbows at times and found the flat bars of my stolen bike a bit painful after a few hours riding. Don't like butterfly bars. I do like drops, it's what I have been used to for nearly 30 years now.
Anyone got any recommendations? Seriously I wish I could afford a Genesis Croix de Fer or even a Tour de Fer and even better a nice Thorn cycle but my budget rules that out. I would seriously be stretching it at £800 so please anything good below that then I would appreciate the heads up.
I'm especially hoping to hear from the tourers on here. It would get mostly used for commuting and riding with family (toddler and partner). We have been planning to try touring so I am looking at a bike for that but it should be good for the main use too. My partner is a reasonably experienced tourer having done a bit in Columbia through to China and Eastern Europe. Longest was probably 3 or 4 months round China on a reasonably sound Chinese attempt at a MTB. Her touring has always been on a mountain bike because, well I guess it was really rough roads so made sense. We are not going to be doing that choosing nice cycle routes like Danube route. However UK country lanes and forest tracks / easy trails are going to be ridden too. I think a 700x28-35 tyre with 36 spoke rear wheel (could get away with 32 front I reckon) would cope well in a steel framed bike.
Anyone know about the different Reynolds tubing? 520, 525, 753, 953, etc.? I've seen a 4 digit number for the Cro Moly forks on one too, 4130 I think but probably wrong. I think 753 (or is that 725?) is heat treated so is pretty good for tourers but not sure I can get it at that price. It was easy 25 years ago when I got my old road bike. The standard good tubing was 531 but if you couldn't afford it then 501 was your last resort with Reynolds framesets.
Anyway, I am now looking to go back to a drop handled bike and think a tourer is best. I know a CXer makes a decent tourer, commuter, general leisure bike and is also good for off road up to a certain level determined by the rider's skill levels. I don't want a crosser since I feel it time to grow old and go for comfort which IMHO means a tourer. Plus the ones I tried before tend to be short in length, I got the right bike size but my toes kept getting caught by the front wheel due to a kind of squashed up geometry. It was a big enough bike, the biggest size (well I am 6'5" tall so always go for the biggest sized bikes).
I only have about £600 to £800 if I squeeze my bank account hard enough. I was not insured so this expense was not planned.
I need drop handles because of the many hand positions it allows. I have dodgy wrists and elbows at times and found the flat bars of my stolen bike a bit painful after a few hours riding. Don't like butterfly bars. I do like drops, it's what I have been used to for nearly 30 years now.
Anyone got any recommendations? Seriously I wish I could afford a Genesis Croix de Fer or even a Tour de Fer and even better a nice Thorn cycle but my budget rules that out. I would seriously be stretching it at £800 so please anything good below that then I would appreciate the heads up.
I'm especially hoping to hear from the tourers on here. It would get mostly used for commuting and riding with family (toddler and partner). We have been planning to try touring so I am looking at a bike for that but it should be good for the main use too. My partner is a reasonably experienced tourer having done a bit in Columbia through to China and Eastern Europe. Longest was probably 3 or 4 months round China on a reasonably sound Chinese attempt at a MTB. Her touring has always been on a mountain bike because, well I guess it was really rough roads so made sense. We are not going to be doing that choosing nice cycle routes like Danube route. However UK country lanes and forest tracks / easy trails are going to be ridden too. I think a 700x28-35 tyre with 36 spoke rear wheel (could get away with 32 front I reckon) would cope well in a steel framed bike.
Anyone know about the different Reynolds tubing? 520, 525, 753, 953, etc.? I've seen a 4 digit number for the Cro Moly forks on one too, 4130 I think but probably wrong. I think 753 (or is that 725?) is heat treated so is pretty good for tourers but not sure I can get it at that price. It was easy 25 years ago when I got my old road bike. The standard good tubing was 531 but if you couldn't afford it then 501 was your last resort with Reynolds framesets.
