Want to go long distances on a bicycle, but also want to be able to off-road - ideas?

[MertzMan]

I ran a no name hard tail mountain bike with front suspension for quite a few years as an on and off road bike. Picked it up for £50 second hand and stuck some 'hybrid' (if that's the correct terminology) tyres on with a slick centre and knobbly sides. I used to cycle 60-80 miles a time on it with a comfy seat. Perhaps it's aiming a little low considering your impressive budget but I had just as much enjoyment as the guys on touring bikes who dropped ten or twenty times what I did on the bike. Plus I was fitter peddling all that steel about

 

[Minotaur]

First off watch the hybrid label a lot of them of are just mountain bikes with different tyres. The number one way to spot these is what tyres they can take if they cannot go to 28 or lower they are not hybrids. A hybrid is surposed to be a mix of the two types of bikes.
The big problem you have is that you want two bikes and the one does not exist so you need to pick the best compromise.
Hence my warning about hybrids as you may as well buy a really good mountain bike and change the tyres (down to 28 gator skins hybrids) and add butterfly bars.
If you get front suspension make sure you can lock it at the handlebars or you will hate every hill you find.
Also have a look at the cost of decent touring stuff you will be amazed who much it costs.

 

[greenshooots]

just bought a hybrid girls challenger meander purple with stickers which are off know 6 gears for bootling around town, cost me £89 with del from the bay, has rear pannier, bought 2 bike hut pannier bags for a £5 each making front panniers for a £5 each out of ex mod gasmask bags, just finished putting on rubber mudflaps onto mudguards next project is a bike repair stand ...

greenshoots

 

[mrcharly]

Well that's all good but I'm not sure what it has to do with long-distance riding!

 

[greenshooots]

what im trying to point out not too clearly ... is that you do not need to spend thousands ...

greenshoots

 

[mrcharly]

That is a reasonable thing to suggest, but as someone who cycles a lot, my experience of old, cheap bikes is that they very very quickly fall apart and cease functioning when subjected to medium mileages.

It's possible to buy an old second hand bike and make a really good distance bike from it, but you have to start with something that was decently built and be prepared to spend money on decent components. The parts that really can't be stinted on are the wheels. Lower-end gears aren't terrible (although the cheap shifters are usually fragile). But cheap rubbish wheels have bearings that fail after little use, spokes that corrode and rims that are weak and distort.

 

[sandbender]

The most long lived and furthest travelled bike I have owned was an 'own brand' for the Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative. It was quite cheap at around £160 (this was in 95?) and it averaged around 22 miles a day on work days and more at weekends. It now looks like they have stopped producing their own bikes which is a pity. Later on I owned a Canondale Badboy, which came in a gorgeous matt black and weighed about half the weight of the EBC one, I loved it but it didn't get as much use. For storage I used to hang them both from a pulley on the ceiling (very tall ceilings in many Edinburgh flats).

I don't cycle anywhere these days as Hungarian car drivers and cyclists both suddenly adopt a mental age of thirteen when they get behind the wheel or into the saddle.

 

[mrcharly]

they definitely still produce their own bikes (which are pretty highly regarded as being well designed and specced for the money)

This is their touring bike
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/pro...raveller-13?bct=browse/bicycles/touring-bikes

 

[sandbender]

they definitely still produce their own bikes (which are pretty highly regarded as being well designed and specced for the money)

This is their touring bike
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/pro...raveller-13?bct=browse/bicycles/touring-bikes

Good to know, not exactly local for the OP but well worth a look for any Scottish folks looking through this thread.

 

[yarrow]

I have an Indian Fire Trail by Marin and my wife has a Specialized Stump Jumper. At the time they both cost about 1000£ new, back then Marin & Specialized built their bikes in the US not in China. Both are about 21 years old and have lasted very, very well. I am running on the same Mavic rims, I have had 5 chains and 3 sets of sprockets replaced and loads and loads of brake pads and I did once snap my handle bars. Aluminium frames can some times break unexpectedly, but mine built back in 92 is so over built it will probably out last me. My wife has had a re-spray and a complete set of new components, I always go for shimano XT, not as pricey and light as XTR but very good all the same. Mine started out at about 10kg when new, and now with all my modifications is pushing 15kg. I have racks front & back and even got a basket on the front for my terrier. If I was going to spend 1000£ on a bike now I would pick the frame and components and get it built by a bike shop. Go for a steel frame if you can - but for that money you should be able to get something that will last a life time.

 

[mm010]

A 29" mountain bike with decent quality lockout suspension forks, pannier mounts and two sets of folding tyres (one road and one mtb) would probably be your best bet.

You'd be best off buying the components and putting it together yourself.

Something like an On One Inbred 29" frame (about £200), and then spend a good bit of money on the 'make or break' components: rear hub, suspension fork, cranks. Don't get anything carbon fibre, and buy predominately mountainbike parts.

You'll also get FAR more for your money if you buy second hand.

 

[Paul_B]

I got a specialized crosstrail disc sports in the old, 2013 model at Evans. £450 with 27 speed gears, decent hybrid tyres. I can swap out for perhaps as narrow as 25 but definitely 28 three or up to over 2" I think using 29er three. It has either 1.75" or 2" three on now.

I put a solid top peak rack on it and love it. Lockout forks work well. I nearly got a full 29er with handlebar fork lockouts but none in my size xxl!

My intended use is very close to the op and so far it's been great. Right now I'm mostly towing a child trailer on towpaths since getting it but it's a tough bike. As far as "paying for the name" as said earlier about spesh bikes I can say find me a similar specced bike for £550 full price let alone £450 all in. It's got the new acera black 9 speed, shimano through the bike, hydraulic disc brakes which has awesome stopping power. I nearly got a pinnacle cxers but glad I didn't. I thought a cxers was my only choice until I took a gamble on the weird flat bar bike. Not ridden flat bar since i got my Raleigh sports bike at about 8. My last flatbar was my first bike that came with stabilizers. I was worried I'd not take to float bar bike. I will say that for longer rides a drop bar gives more choice of hand positions. It can be important to be able to have over 3 comfortable hand positions as with drop bars. With my dodgy elbows (years of heavy whitewater paddling has messed my elbows, wrists and shoulders up) I'm struggling a little with wrist pain when using my flat bar bike.

The Croix de fee and cdf are good bikes, one more and one less than £1k. Spesh tricross has been rated as a tourer/off road use. Bear in mind there is a cycling guidebook out there dating from early 20 th century/late 19 th century showing routes in the lakes going over Scarth Gap. I doubt they had Reynolds tubing or all the fancy stuff we have now. I think you'd be surprised what a road bike can manage. My old Dawes sports bike went over a tough route across forest of bowl and once. Handled it easy too. That was early 80s I think.

I also have a Reynolds 501 tube Raleigh road bike that's getting to 25 years old. 23 Tyres on now but even reckon that would take say 32 tyres and go on easy tracks or even single tracks. Not going to as it's my old, trusted steed. Bought with my first summer job's pay. Cost £450 back then which would probably equate to possibly just over £1000 bike now. Weighs about 9.5kg, heavy for a roadie but not bad back then.

Look at Evans as they might still be selling off old models, also Wheelbase. Right time to buy a bike if last year's model is acceptable.

 

[franglais]

By rough terrain do you mean country/woodland tracks or serious mountain tracks, if it's the latter then the only way is a decent ATB, if it's for country tracks then a tourer would be your best bet as riding an ATB on the road uses a lot more of your energy than a traditional rigid. Others have already recommended ATB's, but if you want a tourer the British made Pashley Parabike or Countryman might suit, Moulton make fantastic folding cycles if you are considering carrying on the rough stuff, nothing like the cheap folders you see in most shops.
Alternatively what about getting a decent frame and building your own bespoke bike, choice of tyre tread is just as important, also Greentyres make solid tyres for most wheel sizes if you want a puncture free ride.

 

[woodstock]

I used a Giant Boulder for a few years and found it very versatile, I now have a Dawes Hybrid one of the older Hand built models very nice to ride but not good on rough terrain.

 

[The MAX]

Surly Long Haul Trucker with 26" wheels. Great bike.

 

[boatman]

Long ago I used my Mother's Palm Beach to cycle miles across the Downs and later my wife's Carlton. Both stood up to the rough stuff with no problems. The Carlton was a very comfortable and reasonably fast road bike. Good load carrier as well.

 

[Clouston98]

I've got a Kona Shred, it's a off road bike really but built like a tank, have gone on road but never for overnighters. I was £650 but has probably got cheaper now.

Hope this helps

 

[ebt.]

Hi,

I'm looking to spend about £1000 on a new bicycle (perhaps more) that could get me across the country, but also be able to go off-road in pretty rough terrain. It would of-course have to be capable of housing storage. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I should be looking at?

Thanks in advance

I think you need to define 'pretty rough', peoples perspectives vary wildly. Then work out the weight/storage system (frame bags/panniers etc), often carrying a large load can impact the rear hub.

Once you've got a feel for what you're carrying, I'd suggest you go for something mainstream (easier to get spares) and you'll get a lot of bang for buck by either buying 2nd hand (high end), or cutting a deal at a bike shop for their 'old' stock.

In the spirit of wild arsed guessing, I'd say go for a hardtail (front suspension only) MTB, with 26" wheels (the 'trendy' [aka marketing lead] option would be a 29" or 650B, but just about any shop will carry 26" stuff... even in the back of beyond). I dont personally buy into the 'steel is real' thing, just hop on and see how it feels. Once you've picked what you want, remember the silly stuff makes a big difference to comfort eg saddle, bar ends etc.

ps. for what its worth my luggage hauler is a 2000 specialized rockhopper, with trail tyres. its also done afan and the south downs a fair chunk. Its not as fun as my other bike, but its probably more capable than the leaky component that sits on top of the saddle.
pps. drop a tenner on 'zinn and the art of mountainbike maintenance', its worth its weight in gold. just plain simple common sense

 

[gobfish1]

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/forum/?o=1

 

[Paul_B]

I asked a similar question on a roadie forum and got a few comments from one interesting chap from Cumbria. He had a lot of different bicycles from hardcore full susser downhillers or xcers to the flightiest of road bikes. He does it all too.
He had a bike he used a lot. It was what he used winter commuting, winter riding and even did most of his mountain biking on it. What was it? Well, a drop handled cyclocross bike! Said it went over the fell top cycle routes as well as a tough 26 inch mtb, was faster by some way on the easy tracks or roads and only slightly slower on the rough downhills. I reckon he toured with it too.

The guy was a regular on the forum and a knowledgeable source of mostly good info. Reckon id go with his views on this. Id choose the CdF or more expensive version the crois de fer. Best thing for the op imho.