Choosing a tour/commuter bike!

[vlion]

Hi,

I'm looking at getting a decent long-range bike. The companies that make the bikes are...

• Raleigh
  
• Kona
  
• Giant
  
• Specialized
  
• Trek
  
• Gary Fisher
  

In no order of preference. I'm looking for a bike that won't break down randomly, is comfortable, and goes decently fast, and isn't going to cost an arm and a leg. Does anyone have experience with these companies?

Comments

[sara]

I have a Trek 520, and think fairly high of it, though I've swapped out a few things over the years, and in the 21" model, it does sometimes do a bit of that thing where at an extreme angle, my toe-clip hits the turning front wheel -- I can't remember what this is called but I am sure there is a technical term. But that doesn't happen much because it's a 700 cc bike and you just don't turn the wheel that hard very often. And it could use a lower low gear, but I could probably also use more time hillclimbing (this is probably at least as much a me problem as the bike's problem).

It is, aside from the toe-into-wheel problem, very comfy, and works well for me as an all-purpose bike: something I can haul groceries and commute on, and take out on the weekends and do half-centuries in the summertime.

Were I buying another touring bike and wanting something that one could buy built out from a bike shop, I would also look at Fujis and Surlys.

[zingerella]

Toe overlap is that thing.

[sara]

It's not my favorite thing. But I have to be turning the wheel pretty hard to do it, and on a 700cc bike, that's pretty rare (on the bike with leeeeetle tires, I turn the wheel sharply all the time, but toe overlap is so not the issue there. *GRIN*)

[zingerella]

Oh sure thing, and you know your riding.

I was just doing a bunch of reading about it, so the name was on the tip of my fingers.

[sara]

Someday when I have an infinite amount of money, I am going to have someone build me the World's Most Perfect Bicycle, and it will have a slightly more raked out fork than this one. *GRIN*

[zingerella]

I just tried out a Specialized Tri-Cross a couple of weekends ago (I'm in the market for a touring/commuting bike, and am being very picky). I liked it a lot, and my trusted LBS guy said it's the bike he owns and rides the most for everyday and long rides, and he's had one for a few years. I've shopped my LBS for many years and I trust them.

Things I liked:
- Light and fast, OMG.
- Comfy for me.
- The 47-cm frame seems to fit me well.

Things I did not like:
-Shimano Ultegra shifters are too big for my hands, and I will miss the brakes and die on a hill somewhere. (Yes, I can replace the shifters with bar-end shifters, and I may do that if I decide to buy this bike; I have not yet decided to buy this bike, because I wish to try more bikes).

Definitely look at Surlys.

I've ridden Giants for the past 10 years, and found them comfy and pretty durable; however, I definitely found that the durability improved in the more expensive bikes. I did not try their touring models, because the same bike guy who has sold me two Giants recommended the Specialized, so I trusted him. However, if you're starting from scratch, by all means try out some Giants. I've liked their geometry in the past.

That's all I got. More as I try more bikes!

My list includes a small frame without toe-overlap and shifters that don't stretch my hands (I have small hands); otherwise, it looks a lot like yours.

[vlion]

Interesting.

Geometry & frame stuff is stuff I want to focus on with the bike shop, since it's so individual. What I'm primarily concerned about is getting a weaker bike than otherwise. IE, the toe-overlap mentioned above seems like a design problem.

[zingerella]

My LBS guy said that the Specialized frame was quite strong enough for most road surfaces and some light off-roading, even if I'm packing panniers.

Apparently toe-overlap is more frequently a problem when bike makers shrink the frame, but keep the 700 cc wheels. This happens most with frames marketed to women (and some smaller men); it's worth checking for if you ride a bigger frame, but tends to happen less.

Some of us, though, need to ride smaller frames, on account of being, well, smaller.

It's worth making sure your LBS has someone on staff who has proper training in bicycle fitting, and can work with you to make sure you get the frame and geometry that are right for you. I think Trek puts their dealers through pretty extensive training, and I know Specialized has a bike fit program for their dealers, so dealers who deal in those bikes are likely to have had some training in addition to working at a bike shop.

My Giant Sedona DX is built like a tank. It is also ridiculously heavy and slow. But it has withstood several years of commuting, Toronto weather, off-road adventures, and being packed and shipped to Ottawa. So I would say that Giant's frames do not lack in robustness, but, as I said above, I have not tried their lighter models.

[vlion]

The times I've talked to the LBS about my comfort issues (always wind up with pain when riding a mountain bike style), they've said, "look man, we'll fit you", so I think they have training. I'll have to make sure.

[sara]

Well, some of it's a design problem and some of it's that I've got fenders on the bike. The overlap would be a lot less of an issue sans fenders (but mud in my pants would be a lot more of an issue, and I will take the toe-over as opposed to the muddy pants every time!)

[copracat]

I don't have one, but the Kona brand is highly regarded among my bicycle friends here as an affordable, reliable commuter bike.

One vote for Kona ...

[davidcook]

My bike at the moment is a Kona Dew Drop. I'm commuting 2-4 times a week, 20km each way, on roads ranging from "pretty smooth" to "even the potholes have potholes".
It seems to be a very good bike for this sort of riding - I can ride on road, bike paths, even off-path (although gravel is still scary !), and the wide-ish tyres handle it well. The gear range is awesome - triple chainring at the front (52/40/30), and a wide-range cluster at the back (11-34) means that I haven't yet met a hill that has defeated me or my ageing knees. Also has attachment points for panniers, very handy for commuting.

Pretty low maintenance, too, I've had one wheel trued, and replaced the rear cluster and chain earlier this year (after the first 5500km), and apart from occasionally oiling the chain and wiping off some of the grime, I don't spend much time tinkering with it.

Finally, as for "decently fast", it all depends on the rider, obviously :-)
But I can usually keep up with (or pass) other cyclists I see on my commute, and usually cruise along at 25-30km/h (on a somewhat hilly route, with lots of traffic lights, often heavy traffic, and sometimes trams to contend with).

(I'm planning to use this bike for Around the Bay in a Day this October, I'm sure it'll be fun)