I know, it’s another one and i fully expect to hear go try them out / tdf bandwagon comments 😉

But i’ll post anyway, i’ve been hankering for a while over a road bike. Been holding off due to housing circumstances (I have no more room for new bikes..) and using a hardtail for fitness on canal paths etc for a while, but i’m still lusting, and watching the sunny TDF for 3 weeks has made the want come back!

I want something that I can tour on quite happily, long days in the saddle without much in the way of problems so needs to be fairly decently put together. I can’t really tell from sitting on one in a shop and a quick test spin how it’s going to feel after 40-50 miles though, so what bike for long blasts in the sun that’s fairly lightweight and quick? I’d like 1 bike for everything so ability to carry kit a bonus, as well as being light and quick – not sure if I’ll find something that ticks everything?

I keep coming back to the Canyon Ultimate AL for ¢999, but maybe a Ribble audax / other winter training bike would suit better, or is carbon worth the extra considering Planet X are putting out £1000 carbon bikes?

Also anybody also got a clue on canyon sizing? I’m 6’2 with 32″ inseam and probably a shortish torso for height – canyon seems to think i’m a small size in both road and mtb…. yet my 2 mtb are 19″ suss and 21″ ht which makes me think I should at least be a large?

Any input appreciated 🙂

DO you need rack mounts to tour or are you using a saddle bag ? A cyclocross bike may be suitable if you dont want a full blown tourer

At 6ft2 you’ll more than likely want a 58cm frame. I’m 6ft and reckon I’m borderline 56/58cm. The Canyon sizing guide seems weird, it tells me I want a medium, but although that’s what I mostly have I know I’d be better on a large for XC/road.

As for bike recommendations, I personally prefer road bikes to be road bikes, I’ve got a tourer and while it’s great for lugging heavy luggage about, it’s much slower than a racer, can’t figure out why as I’m the same ‘engine’ so it must be down to stiffness.

If going fast isn’t your thing then I’d say take a look at stuff like the Planet-X kaffenback, genesis equilibrium, singular peregrine, and the like. All (I think) have eyelets to take a pannier rack, but have the geometry to put you in a proper roadie position when you want to go quick. Build them with shimano hubs, 32 spokes and mavic open pros (or open sports if on a budget) with 25mm schwalbe blizzards and it’ll do light touring, then if you start to do club runs then get some slightly more aero wheels like fulcrum’s or shimano factory wheels (or another set of handbuilts but using less (and bladed) spokes, with something like Stans Alpha rims and conti GP4000s tyres.

I went for a Sabbath September. Very happy with it indeed 🙂

Fast rides without rack pannier…

Sunny Sunday Afternoon by simondbarnes, on Flickr

Commuting, light tour etc with a rack / panniers…

Harvest Time by simondbarnes, on Flickr

I’d like 1 bike for everything so ability to carry kit a bonus, as well as being light and quick – not sure if I’ll find something that ticks everything?

My Peregrine is easily my most ridden bike, as one bike for everything I find mine is pretty much it. Mine tends towards a tougher build, rather than a lighter build, as it gets used for quite a bit of what used to be thought of as ‘XC MTB’ing’ too, but with lighter wheels and the right tires, it’d be plenty quick enough.

In addition to the short-list above ^, an’ coming at this with a bit less off-road, bit more Audax/day-touring emphasis, it’d be worth having a look at stuff like the Singular Osprey, Salsa’s Vaya, or a Condor Fratello too.

Agree with 58

edit what I said above, I meant the osprey, the peregrine’s the ‘monster cross’ bike.

one of these, Hewitt Alpine carbon from

wait for it ………………

Paul hewitt cycles in Leyland

love mine, Carbon, rack mounts and room for mudguards and 28c tyres

P1040343 by eastham_david, on Flickr

and he fit’s it for you 😀

Edit my first post: it’s the Roadlite AL 6.0 I was looking at.

I think it’s gotta be a quick bike first, with long distance comfort a priority due to a bad back (hence the idea of a more touring biases bike), and then panniers etc 2nd. Would rarely get used for that, but the idea of a long weekend on the bike with a small tent/kit appeals, without having a car. Reality would be it would probably get used with a car anyway, so maybe not so important.

I’ve done 60miles each way to camp with a rucksack, uncomfortable but do-able without sacrificing the bike for the other 364 days of the year, just flipped the stem up and raised it with spacers to shift the weight off my hands and onto my backside. I also knew someone who spent a summer touring Italy on his race bike towing a BOB.

thorn audax
fits 35mm tyres,or 28 with guards.
I’m running 28mm on my racing bike,I think it’s faster/as fast as 23mm.I gain about 5kmh on the downhills.I tried riding a road bike with 38mm tyres and it’s a bit of a boat,but the traction on curves and the comfort is nothing short of amazing.I think on really long rides,ie 8h+ the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.especially if you ride that long day after day.ie touring.
back to the thorn-
every braze on know to man.
some excellent thorn carriers.
takes both 135 and 130 hubs.so you could even build it up with a hub gear for winter.
comes in lots of colours.
comes with a steel fork,seatpost,hs.
had mine for..5ys?def reccomend.commuted every day for 4ys.couple of spills.the bike is as new.

a racing bike is comfortable going fast.
An audax /touring bike is comfortable at a different pace.
a racing bike is uncomfortable going slow.
slow and fast depends of course.I’d say fast is 35kmH+ average.on some climbs as well.
Often a comfortable bike feels like a noodle at higher speeds.I draft trucks and buses,It’s not hard to do 55-60.The bike feels mushy sometimes.Though obviously it could be a lot of things.Hb,stem.tyres,wheels.
don’t tour on 23mm it feels shite.
That’s what works for me,if the advice above was useful.I’m glad.If it wasn’t.well,c’est l’internet.

Genesis Equilibrium custom build. Pretty light, pretty fast, pretty comfy. You could probably tour on it (the forks have rack mounts and you could fit something on the back I imagine)

6’2″ and a bit. 35″ inside leg. 58cm frame. 120mm stem.