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

[Hickman691]

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

 

[copper_head]

No idea on the bike, but check out alpkit.com for some cool 'bikepacking' gear...

 

[benp1]

Google bikepacking mate, it's a very popular activity

 

[mercurykev]

If you're wanting to be able to ride a reasonable distance on the road but also be able to go off road I'd go with a cyclocross bike. You can get a few decent machines for £1k - https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=c...frvSKg.O&fp=fc3dae652ae3938e&biw=1280&bih=709

 

[Bowlander]

The ctc club is worth a look, bit don't get hung up on spending loads on a bike.

A friend of mine does lejogs and ctcs on an old steel framed Mercian. My ally hard tail Mtb with road tyres was less than £400, it eats the road miles but is tough enough for trails.

I was at a local cafe where cyclist's frequent and I overheard a guy bragging that he'd spent over £100 on some pedals that were 50g lighter than his old ones. The fact he had a 19kg spare tyre round his midriff probably had a greater effect on his speed!

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

Its a trade off to be honest. A proper road bike running skinny tyres is the most efficient way of getting around if you stick to roads. Uber stiff frames transfer all of your power to the road. It wont handle the rough stuff very well though and the 23mm tyres dont give much when you are at 130psi. A cross bike running 25mm tyres willl be a little more forgiving.

There are a lot of touring bikes around and i would say this is the area to concentrate on. A touring bike will generally run 28-32mm tyres which will give a bit of comfort on the rough stuff. Avoid the likes of specialized where you are paying for the name. Dawes make some good bikes. The Galaxy has propelled many a traveller. Ridgeback Panorama is also great. Top end touring bikes by cannondale are simply superb. If you get really lucky with sales or second hand, Thorn make custom steel frame tourers that are very high end but if buying second hand always ride it. Thorn custom make their bikes to the rider. Some offer bikes with front suspension but to be honest id avoid these as anything with shocks is putting your power to waste and not transmitting it to the road. Even ones with lockout dont truly lock out properly.

You will find gear is where you will suck up money. I would advise you go for a cheaper bike and have money left over for panniers etc. Some of the trailer systems are very good now. Look for something that comes with bomb proof tyres too. Scwalbe marathon plus are probably the most puncture proof you can get and i ran them for years without a puncture on my work bike.

Have fun whatever you get

 

[Hagrid]

I recently(last year) bought a pair of Claude Butler Hybrid bikes (21 gears) from a bike hire centre, they had had less than 3 months use and were regularly serviced, cost me £200 each and we are well pleased with them.

 

[spoony]

i just bought a hard tail front suspension (locking) put trail/ cross country tyres and is spot on for both, its a canadian make norco charger 6.3 evans doing deals on these,

 

[ashby001]

hard tail front suspension would be the best way to go
just make sure you get locking front forks like spoony has (they lock the suspension so it feels like a rigid frame)
My cube has this great for climbing the roads to the local trails I use (albeit not that often )

 

[Squidders]

I have a carrera am fury that has front suspension only. The rockshox suspension can be made extremely stiff for road use. I have tyres that are road in the middle but have nobbly outsides that work a treat. The whole thing was £500 leaving lots of cash for luggage, trip computers, ligts, racks and other stuff. I like it a lot, it's robust, low-ish weight and very comfortable loaded up. I generally use my luggage allowance by carrying my son.

 

[pastymuncher]

Have a look at Crazy Guy On A Bike. Surly long haul trucker seems to be the default bike that can eat the miles and handle the rough stuff. Depends on how rough your trails are and your skill level.
Personally, I would avoid front suspension for doing miles, I used to ride/race 8" travel full sussers, now my absolutely favorite bike for everything is 29" rigid single speed- road, off-road, shopping, commute, bikepacking you name it, it does it all (apart from very steep hills)

 

[redandshane]

Plus one for pastymunchers suggestion The Surly Long Haul Trucker http://surlybikes.com/bikes/long_haul_trucker
They are the grail bike for this sort of thing
However I would look out for a good quality older steel frame road bike and kit it out to suit your needs saving a lot of money and building a unique bike for your own needs a kind of semi custom bike.You could do a hell of a lot of upgrading for your budget
Much more fun to do as well

 

[Squidders]

The bike I want now is the specialized p.fix

Damn you limited income.

 

[mrcharly]

the LHT is a good touring bike but very heavy.

I've recently bought (company Bike to work scheme) a Genesis Croix de Fer. It's nominally a cyclocross bike but is a bit heavy to be taken seriously as a racer.

All the brazons for luggage carrying, steel frame, Avid BB7 disc brakes and it will take 37mm tyres + mudguards. I commute about 150-200miles a week on it and have done a couple of rides down rough tracks.

Rolls well on the road, comfortable for long distances and I like the handling off-road.

 

[pastymuncher]

The LHT frame is about a 1-1 1/2lbs heavier than the average hardtail frame, not really a lot of difference in the scheme of things.
The complete bikes generally turn out heavier due to the heavier equipment used 36 spoke wheels etc. all stuff that can be tweaked to suit if you build your own.

 

[mrcharly]

The LHT is a very heavy-duty frame; it's not all about the absolute total weight but how the frame rides. the Croix de fer is made from 725 double-butted and while the frame+forks are only about 1Kg lighter than the LHT, that 1Kg translates to a much springier more forgiving ride.

It is horses-for-courses. If you need a bike that won't flex under a very heavy touring load and will take you offroad, then the LHT is hard to beat. If you want something that feels livelier on the road, will do a bit of singletrack, is comfortable for long distances and can also carry a bit of luggage, then the Croix de fer is brilliant.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

Vin Fox did a round the world on a Croix de Fer which at the time was the fastest circumnav. Genesis make excellent frames. My old IOID was soooo comfortable. Steel is real as they say

 

[mrcharly]

erm in the interest of avoiding confusion (because Genesis are good at creating this)

Genesis make a bike called the 'CDF' and one called the 'Croix de fer'. They are very different. People get them confused, particularly as people who own a Croix are prone to calling it a cdf when writing online.

The current model of Croix de fer is made from reynolds 725, instead of 520. This makes it lighter, whippier and a nicer ride.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

from their website

'For some time it was the holder of a Guinness World Record when in 2010, in pursuit of an often-contested record, Vin Cox rode his Croix De Fer around the world faster than anyone had managed before. To prove this bikes versatility further, in August 2011 the Montane Icemen used a pair of Croix de Fers to circumnavigate the 1600 mile coast line of Iceland in just 14 days.'

 

[petrochemicals]

thicker tyres blown up hard on the road and let down on the sand/rock/mud.