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Need Bike Selection Advice

Old 05-19-19, 06:49 PM
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Sjtaylor
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Need Bike Selection Advice

We’re talking about an Oregon Coast bike tour. I’m 6’3, 225lbs and just getting back into it after 30 years of not riding. I have two bikes I’m considering for this trip.

One is a Novara Safari XL fitted with everything including racks for all the Ortlieb bags, four panniers, handle bar bag and rear rack bag. This bike has a Deore group, 29 inch wheels, mechanical disk brakes and mud guards. This bike also has the butterfly wing shaped handlebars and twisty shifters. The bike without the bags weighs 38 lbs, ouch.

The other bike is a Specialized Crosstrail Sport Disc XXL 2014. This bike is as purchased except for a rear rack. This bike has a suspension front fork with a lockout. It also has some real low gears for my unfitness. This bike weighs 34 lbs. I’d have to install front racks on the suspension front fork to give it the carrying capacity of the Novara.

I think both would work and I like the suspension fork for possible side trips during a tour. Are these bikes exceptionally heavy or am I overly concerned about weight? Any thoughts? Thanks.
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Old 05-19-19, 10:14 PM
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MarcusT
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The weights seem normal for a touring bike. If you're carrying a full load, the 4 lbs won't make much of a difference. I rode with front susp. on my converted touring bike and was a little concerned when I got a full fledged tourer with stiff forks. In the end I noticed very little difference.
The Safari seems to have a more relaxed geometry which may work out better for long touring days and heavy loads. The problem I found with a shorter geometry is; under a full load, the bike was "twitchy". Meaning, while pedaling hard, the bike would zig zag.
Technically:
The Safari has gearing more suited to touring(48/36/26T) , while the Crosstrail gearing is a little high. (if the chainrings are 44/32 T)
Considering your weight, the Safari also comes with 36H wheels, while the Crosstrail is 32H

IMHO, a very important consideration is; which bike is more comfortable?
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