Touring bicycle (Gravel bike?)

Good afternoon all,

Having given up cycling due to spinal injury a few years ago I find my self in need of the vast knowledge and expertise/advice of the STW hive mind…

I’m looking to see if I can find a touring bicycle for my son but everything is rather different to how I remember it all!
Looking for used as at this point in time I don’t want to spend a huge amount in case it doesn’t work out. But now I see gravel bikes and all sorts of stuff out there. I was thinking along the lines of a classic tourer with comfy drop bars, panniers and luggage galore, kind of looks a bit like a road bike sort of thing.

If you can point me in the right direction that would be awesome, any advice most welcome.

Been thinking about bikes again myself lately but not sure it will happen, sadly all 2 wheel adventures have been off the cards for me but maybe one day…. maybe…

Hope everyone is well, and anyone who might remember me – hi!

Cheers
d-_-b

Used touring bikes still come up and are a great buy. My niece bought one recently and there seemed plenty about at ok prices. Not sure she’s tired on it but it’s her daily drive

Gravel bikes can be tourers but not necessarily

You’ll need to look out for gearing and rack mounts on gravel bikes

Look on the Spa Cycles website for lots of ideas. If you’re near Harrogate pop in.

Look for a used Genesis Croix de fer, I had one for years, it was best when lugging a load on its rear rack.

A couple on ebay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354014358345

I’m 5’11” and a 56cm was a good fit.

Edit: Drunk and misread the original post.. Happy riding Zed’s son, you sound like a great dad Zed :)

Start with a used bike or else maybe the Spa Tourer, flat or drop bar version?

I bought a (VGC, well-maintained) 531ST retro touring bike (circa 1990) and after swapping between drops and flat bars I tend to stick with a flat bar and bar ends these days. One thing I love about the retro tourer is the old-fashioned 21 speed front triple with downtube shifters. Not only can I get up just about any hill (and I live in hilly country) – but I can switch bars for the cost of new cables. If I stick with the flat bars I’ll possibly remove the downtube shifters, fit some cable stops and some 7spd bar mounted thumbshifters

So far the bike has been a complete and utter joy and works like clockwork. I run the regular (not Plus) Marathon 28C tyres and find those to be just about perfect on potholed British back lanes.

It came with a rear rack and guards included, But for day journeys I like to take off the rack and run a bar bag instead. Brakes are cantilever and I’ve put some KoolStop (salmon) pads in there which do the job very well.

Overall I’m delighted with my hand-built retro choice.

As they say it just works – i.e. is swift strong yet forgiving and runs very smoothly as well as carries heavy loads without bother. I haven’t tried it stripped down in Audax-y guise yet – but imagine with some (say) Schwalbe Supreme tires, less the mudguards and swap my Brooks for a light-weight saddle then it would be perfect to knock off a sprightly (hopefully sunny century) with a few bananas in the Jersey pocket.

YMMV

Others mileages may vary.

#raleighroyal
#claudbutlerdalesman
#dawesgalaxy
#raleighrandonneur
#britisheagletouristique

Forgot to say – one of the reasons (apart from price) Then I went the retro route was having hefted a few modern bikes notably the CDF and the Surly – I was quite shocked at their ‘solid’ weight. Yes, I still put stock in the handbuilt 531 ‘magic carpet’.

I would imagine the modern Spa Tourer in 725 would be similar kind of quality to those old beauties. It’s certainly gets most wall-to-wall good reviews

https://www.freewheel.co.uk/genesis-2020-tour-de-fer-10-medium-ex-sample-unused-gn20150mdsp0001

How about something like this Tour de Fer? Add panniers and off you go.

There’s a rather nice looking Jamis Aurora on eBay for £375 at the minute. Collect only from Scarborough, but I’m in Filey six miles away this week if you need a hand getting it posted. 631, Dura Ace shifters and 105 mechs, BB7 discs, proper thing.

I second what @didnthurt has said above.
A second hand Croix de Fer is the perfect touring/gravel bike. I’ve had mine for 7 years now and it’s been great for all sorts of touring/bikepacking.