I feel a pull from the dark side. A feint tugging. Just enough to make me think maybe it's time to dip my feet in the water.
[i]If[/i] I were to do it. I'm not looking for any super light carbon machine. I rarely travel light anyway, so it would be wasted on me. And it would probably be used for commuting, shopping, and the odd jaunt up in't hills when I'm not getting muddy. In other words, it would be a bit of a do-everything bike.
Hence I'm thinking steel framed tourer. Mudguards. Rack mounts. Etcetera.
It would be second hand and fairly cheap. Wouldn't really want to spend more than £200, but I'm quite happy getting my hands dirty and don't mind restoring something that has perhaps seen better days.
As I know sod all about road bikes though. I thought you guys might be able to tell me more. Any particular models to look out for. How they would compare to an MTB on slicks (my current commuting machine, complete with big chainset). And more importantly is it worth it?
I really want to do some work on my MTB too, with a smaller frame (it's a bit big at the mo) and some drop bars. I could sway either way at the minute.
Getting a second hand steel tourer cheap won't be easy, but can be done.
There's not much around in steel that's newish and cheap to start with, the exception being things like Genesis bikes.
I've just got an old Condor to refurb. It has 27x11/4 wheels and is five speed, but I don't intend to race it or take it on club runs so friction five speed will never be an issue.
I look forward to long solo days on it. It was cheap, but turned out to be an old hand made Condor so it's getting a respray, that alone will double it's purchase value.
The other good thing is weekend warriors don't try and play silly buggers with you a bike like that.
If your patient there should be quite a good choice of bikes on eBay which fit your requirements and budget. Raleigh made some very nice touring bikes and they seem to go for lower prices than similar bikes from other brands. Look for things like 531 tubing, a Lightweights Division sticker or Raleigh embossed in the seat stays and it will be an indication of a good quality bike. Orbit aren't as common but they make specialist tourers which seem to have no following on eBay and nearly always sell cheaply.
Couple of examples I found:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RALEIGH-TOURING-RACING-BIKE-Frame-25inch-64cm-/180850636396?p
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Orbit-Silver-medal-touring-bike-full-panniers-/330711833283?pt
A little word of warning regards Raleighs. Some older Raleigh frames used the companies own thread size on bottom brackets and headsets. 26tpi instead on the more common 24tpi