OK gents, heres one to think through for the cyclists. For the last God-knows-how-many-years Ive been going on touring trips with a beaten up Raleigh M-Trax rigid MTB, 26 wheels. Its done all sorts Ventoux, various Sustrans routes in the UK, and so on. Ive loved it. However its pretty well worn out now, its 20 years old and Ive been running it out of the bits box for nearly 10 of those years. The wheels are nearly shot, rear derailleur about the same, everythings just worn. Its time it lived out the rest of its days being used to toodle round the shops and coming with me for a bit of light exercise when I work away.
So what next? I recently missed out on a Felt FX75 (or similar model) hybrid which looked very good and was available 2 years old with little use for less than the price of 2 new wheels and a new rear mech.
Spec I need is:
Pannier racks, Ideally F&R but would settle for rear only
Triple up front for those long climbs with gear on
Can be 700c if it retains modest off road ability for canal paths etc
Disc brakes, can be cable if nec
Jurys out on drops vs flat bars. I do like touring with flat bars and old-school bar ends.
Proper mudguarding obviously for the wet days.
Id like a model thats been around for a year or two so I can snag it SH for say £400. That might bring £1k bikes within range.
So what next? I recently missed out on a Felt FX75 (or similar model) hybrid which looked very good and was available 2 years old with little use for less than the price of 2 new wheels and a new rear mech.
Spec I need is:
Pannier racks, Ideally F&R but would settle for rear only
Triple up front for those long climbs with gear on
Can be 700c if it retains modest off road ability for canal paths etc
Disc brakes, can be cable if nec
Jurys out on drops vs flat bars. I do like touring with flat bars and old-school bar ends.
Proper mudguarding obviously for the wet days.
Id like a model thats been around for a year or two so I can snag it SH for say £400. That might bring £1k bikes within range.