Buying a new MTB

In article . com
Auz wrote:

Rob Morley wrote:


You don't need a tourer to do that - any sports bike can be fitted with
a beam rack to carry a large rack pack or small panniers, or you can get
quite a lot in a good old-fashioned saddlebag (the Carradice sort, not a
wedge pack).


What do mean by sports bike? A road bike?

Indeed, but isn't a tourer also a road bike? I didn't use the term
"road racer" because I don't think that's really what you want in terms
of cost or performance - I suppose "training bike" might have been a
better label, but I've not seen many production bikes so described. So I
used "sports bike" as a description of a race-style machine with the
edge taken off - mudguard clearance, slightly gentler steering geometry,
cheaper than a competition machine ...

With the amount of holes in the road? I thought tourers were built a bit
stronger with wider wheels? Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know much...

Touring bikes are built for a relaxed ride with a substantial load, so
they're slower and less nimble than sports bikes. Unless you're riding
over wheel-swallowing potholes a narrow high-pressure wheel should
survive as long as you keep the tyres at a suitable pressure, and a
lighter quicker-handling bike should make it easier to avoid potholes in
the first place. It really depends how energetic your commuting will be
whether you'll prefer the quick or comfy approach, but both styles of
bike should be up to the job. I was really just pointing out that you
needn't restrict your choice to a Galaxy type machine.

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Thanks Rob. Can you suggest acouple of bikes / manufacturers to look
at? I didn't realise there were so many different styles of road bike.
I have much to learn.

Enjoying it though...

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In article .com
Auz wrote:
Thanks Rob. Can you suggest acouple of bikes / manufacturers to look
at? I didn't realise there were so many different styles of road bike.
I have much to learn.

I'm afraid I'm totally out of touch with most of the current ranges.
Here's one I do know about
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/brevetconical.html
They've got one on eBay ATM
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=160017452310
could be a bargain for someone.

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Auz wrote:
Thanks for all your input Guys.

I bought the Felt Q800 (very pleased!) yesterday, and will deal with
swapping the tyres over for the time being while I decide whether to
a)buy a second set of wheels or b)buy a road bike in a couple of months
(funds permitting).

I think it's going to be the road bike. Probably a tourer, so I can
carry change of clothes / lunch etc. to work. Looked at a Dawes while I
was standing around for nearly an hour in Evans (they forgot to build
my bike!!!) The Galaxy - twice the price of a suggested road bike. I'll
investigate further.

Thanks again

One other option you might look at is a cyclocross bike. That's what I have and use it for a road bike. It is very versatile, you can use the standard wheels with wider tires and haul touring loads (mine has rack mounts) or put on narrower wheels and tires and ride like a sports tourer. They're also not bad on milder trails or doubletrack. Mine gets ridden a lot on the rails-to-trails we have here in the USA.

Smokey


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