Which bike for a long trip?

Hello all,I request the advice of some experienced bike-travellers, if you please, on the selecion of mi new touring-bicycle. I do not need to go much into detail about what type of bike or which components, just want to know if I should spend a bunch of euros for a new one or if someone has experience with using used ones or any low-budget ones which are nevertheless stable and reliable. I am not that knowledgeable with bikes but I already got an offer of one which would be for, all in all, 3000 euros including panniers and everything. I am going to pass on some essencial data on that bike:Chaka hoku frameset rh50,26", rohloff speedhub, brake magura hs33,crankset shimano xt octa 2, well those were some principal components, you can imagine the rest will be of equal quality, so please answer if in your opinion I should by that bike, or I would be better off saving cash and getting fixed up a used on and if that which kind of bike (namebrand)
Thanks in advance
Rainer

You'll get the whole spread of answers for that question depending on the users experience. I've always bought the best I can afford within reason. I love bikes and so don't mind paying for them. I met a guy the other day who bought a cheap bike at the start of each continent and it seemed to work for him although his tales of broken spokes didn't sound like fun to me. Just remember your bike will take a bit of a hammering if you're using public transport so it also depends on the tour itself.

That's too expensive. You can get a good tourer, with tent, stove and sleeping-bag for less than 1000E easily. Take your time to shop-around, look on ebay etc. Here's how I think you should spend the money:

Steel Frame (find out from bike-shop what size you'd need - use common-sense), from ebay. Expect to pay 100E

Hand-built 36 spoke wheels - not Mavic. The Sun CR18 or Sun Rhyno would be good. Shimano XT hubs are good because they have 2 seals, and are quite affordable. Tyres: Marthon XR. Expect to pay 200E for the wheels. I would use 26 inch wheels, for a tour like that; make sure the frame takes 26".

Saddle: do many long rides at home, trying various types, until you find the right one. Many find Brooks to be good - others don't.

Handlebars: again, there are many options. Drops, straight with bar-ends, DownHill bars, or ever upright bars. Try out many, and then buy what you want.

Gearing/Drive: most people suggest using a friction/SIS thumb shifter as they are the most reliable on a tong trip. A 7 speed cassette and 2 chain-rings up-front would give you enough gears, and allow you to run a longer-lasting 7-speed chain. A more robust system than 8 or 9 speed IME. Use Middleburn chain-rings, if poss. You can buy the cranks from ebay (pay attention to the hole-width etc) and the BB should be shimano XT at least. Expect to pay 100E for the drive and gearing system.

Pedals: something comfy. Try out using cages, toes-clips/shoes and simple comfort pedals, and see what you like.

Brakes: V Brakes, Shimano XT, are perfect. Ebay - 30E

Stove:: Multi-fuel. Seek advice, shop-around. MSR are good.

Headset: Sealed cartridge, anything about 30E is good.

Racks and Panniers: many like waterproof bags made by Ortlieb. They weigh about 1kg each though, which is worth bearing in mind. Rack should be steel, there are various options, but again, I couldn't justify paying the amount for a Tubus etc. A good alternative is the Blackburn EX1 or 2 whatever, which is a high-grade Alloy.

Tent and Sleeping bag, I cant help with. Don't spent too much; after a certain point, "you get what you pay for" doesn't hold true.

Final advice: don't expect to get it right first time. Expect to have to try many things, change things when they don't work. Do plenty of practices in Europe first.

As far as I see, it is better for a bike to grow organically, with bits evolving and changing as and when a need for change occurs - either for confort or reliability's sake. i, personally, don't think that shelling-out 3000E on something that you can't try-out for a long tour first is foolhardy. Get a frame, and start from there.

Budget a third of what you are at the moment, and give the rest to me.

sorry, when I said "i, personally, don't think that shelling-out 3000E on something that you can't try-out for a long tour first is foolhardy", I meant that I DO think it is foodhardy. Very foodhardy indeed.

I see you're German - sorry if I used to many cliches, idioms and the rest. Sorry, also, for my poor grammar. But Germans speak perfect English anyway, so it doesn't matter too much.

"s."

As I'm sure you will have guessed, there are lots of potential answers to this question!

First off, i assume you know your own budget, and have calculated how much you need to live on. There is obviously no point in eating up 90% of your budget on a bike.

I think the first thing is to ask yourself, what do you want from a bike? If you (a bit like me) want a bike that will give you few if any problems, that will be your chariot for a year or more, helping you explore the world without having to spend your evenings repairing, adjusting, replacing things, then I think you need to look at a purpose built Rohloff bike (such as the one ou are looking at). But a quick look at the Rohloff bikefinder shows that you have a great choice in Germany. But it does seem that the bike you are looking at is on the more expensive side of things - it looks a great bike, but I suspect that by searching around you would get an equally good Rohloff bike with the equipment you need for around 2,000 euro. Unfortunately, (and this is probably the result of just how good the Rohloff is), its hard to get good second hand Rohloff bikes, people seem to want to keep them!

In Germany, you are lucky that there are lots of companies doing excellent touring/trekking bikes. I'm not familiar with what is available, but if you don't go for a Rohloff hub, then i think you could get a perfectly good touring bike (or an mtb or cross bike that is suitable for touring) for around 1,000 euro. But obviously, the cheaper you go, the more you will have to prepare yourself for maintenance work and replacing parts as you go. This doesn't bother some people at all, for others its a major annoyance. Its up to you to chose what sort of person you are! Do remember of course that a cheaper bike will cost more in the long run with replacement parts.

If you really want to minimise the money you put into a bike, I don't see any reason why you couldn't push the cost down to around 500 euro if you buy second-hand. I don't know whats available in Germany, but its reasonably easy in Ireland and the UK to get a second hand steel framed 1990's mountain bike, such as a Specialized Rockhopper or equivalent Trek or Marins, and build it up with simple, robust, mid-range parts. It does require a bit of technical knowledge and some frustration. A bike like that is never 'ideal', but it would be a perfectly good touring bike and you would learn a lot about bikes in putting it together. I would guess that in Germany you could get some excellent touring bikes second hand, but it would be difficult for you to get the right one if you don't know much about bikes. There is always the chance of getting one that proves unsuitable, or requires very expensive (maybe out of production) parts for upgrading.

It really is up to you. But i would personally say that if you want to enjoy the riding with the minimum of hassles and problems, then get the best bike you can afford, from a reputable bike shop with experience of helping bike tourers. Your good fortune is that in Germany you have a good choice of shops like that. If you tell them what your budget is, they should have no incentive to try to sell you something too expensive and unsuitable!

I must admit that I like the detail ýn rich1918,s reply. But for comparison, I am now 500 k southeast of Istanbul on the tourýng bicycle I bought ýn 1984 for $300. Back then, I upgraded the wheels by spending an addýtýonal $100, then rode it across Europe. (3 flats, no broken spokes or anythýng else.)

Took that same bike out for a Vietnam ride in 1995. The week before that, upgraded gearing to a triple. A few flats.

Last week I flew the same bike out to Istanbul. The front wheel actually broke a half year ago, so replaced it wýth another 27 inch (used, of course... Not sure if they even make t27-inchers any more. For this trip, replaced the chaýn, brake pads, and the break cable sheathýng. So far ýt,s riding fine.

What,s nýce is that my old býke A) isn,t worth stealing, and B) is probably easýer to get fýxed as I get off the beaten track.

I think the key is to keep weight off the bike. My gear probably weýghs 30 or 32 lbs. I,d like to be lighter, but 30 pounds is not bad...

Have a great ride!

Býll.

Thanks a lot to anybody who replied to my request, I will have to sort out between the diferent views on this matter and find my own way, you all have been providing valuable information anyways.

Also, remember to spend an optimal amount of money on pannier bags etc, a good bag and mounting system will save you a lot of time everyday, Ortlieb seems to be the king of the bicycle world.

Few comments to add:

Magura HS33 don't make much sense on a tourer. Just use V brakes, preferably Avid.

Shimano XT chainrings are made of cheese, so if you must use an XT chainset, replace the rings before you go. Get a steel middle and inner and an alu big ring.

Rich1918's stuff about 7 speed is a bit inaccurate. 7 and 8 speed chains are the same, they only get narrower with 9 and 10 speed. The argument for 7 speed is that the rear wheel will be a bit stronger, but 7 speed stuff is so difficult to get now that 8 is the way to go. Any weakness in the back wheel is reduced by getting 135mm spacing.

Don't use Shimano chains. They break and the links can't cope with being rejoined. Wipperman and SRAM are much better.

There are so mant options out there that getting caught up in the confussion is all to easy. An even start piont is where you're going to travel what kind of adventure is it going to be, on road, off road or a combination of both. Also are you going to be camping, hostels, hotels, whats your budget etc..... I eventually bought a Koga Miyata World Tourer which I found to be a durable and comfortable to ride and has excellent components and gearing. Check them out. Take you time and use your common sense which is what you're by asking questions. Be aware of sales and marketing hype.
Good luck.

Tulley Mars

If you are planning on going somwhere with bad roads or will carry much gear, AVOID ALU RACKS - they WILL break sooner or later. Buying a decent steel rack - ie Tubus - is a much better investment than Blackburn. There are two big advantages (three with Tubus):
1. Extremely unlikley to break
2. Can be easily fixed by anyone with a welder
3. Tubus will send out a replacement to anywhere in the world free if it breaks...