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Which bike for my next trip?

Old 07-11-19, 04:36 AM
  #1  
j.postema
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Which bike for my next trip?

Hi, I currently own 4 bikes: a Brompton folding bike, a Challenge furai recumbent bike, a eighties Raleigh Criterium sport racing bike, converted to 650B with a rear rack, lighting and fenders, and a Koga Myata lightrunner touring bike. I'm planning to start my next trip next monday to the northern coast of Germany and to Denmark.

I'm wondering which bike I should take for this trip? As my recumbent bike has a broken seat, I have to choose between the Raleigh and Koga. Pros of the Koga are: wider tires (42 mm) vs. the smaller tires (32 mm) on the Raleigh. The Koga has more gears (24) vs. the Raleigh (12). The Koga has a lowrider, the Raleigh hasn't. The Koga has better brakes (v-brakes) compared to the Raleigh (dual pivot caliper) as the 650B conversion on the Raleigh resulted in longer brake arms => less braking power.

Pros of the Raleigh: it has a racing / randonneur handlebar. This gives more hand positions compared to the straight bar on my Koga. The Raleigh has a deeper sit whereas the Koga has a more relaxed, straight up body position. Even though I was experiencing some lower back problems, which could have been solved by changing the stem on the Raleigh (still not 100% sure if that fixed my back problems but after 2 rides it looks ok) - I think despite much more pressure on the wrists I still prefer the randonneuring barends. The Raleigh has a taller and wider frame compared to the Koga which is actually 1 - 2 framesizes too small (although it feels very comfy).

So to conclude, the Koga would practically be a better choise in my opinion whereas the Raleigh would be the more sportive option. The first (approximate) 600 kilometers will be mainly on paved roads. The nexst (approximate) 600 kilometers will be on mixed road surfaces, preferably at least 50% on rougher unpaved roads. (Denmark)

I'm wondering which bike I should take on this trip? I think I prefer the Raleigh, but it lacks the wider tires / better brakes / better gears.

I included pictures of both bikes - the Raleigh shows the old stem + handlebar, the current stem is a classic and longer one, the current handlebar is a randonneuring style.

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Old 07-12-19, 07:57 PM
  #2  
DropBarFan
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I'd go with the Koga for the comfier ride on the unpaved parts. In general I like drop bars but you're used to the Koga. Koga doesn't look too small from the photo, seat post is mounted fairly low. & in Germany/Denmark, with a flat-bar bike you'll fit right in with the locals!
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Old 07-12-19, 08:07 PM
  #3  
Tautatis
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I think the question should be, "what shouldn't I take" for the trip?. This way you will eliminate all that is not suited for the proposed trip.

Cheers and enjoy your trip!
,
Tautatis.
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