raria

Nothing beats riding your own bike on a tour. But sometimes its more cost effective or convenient to just buy a bike when you land.

So I was thinking of getting suggestions for decent touring bikes you can pick up in a country for a reasonable price. Given the cost of shipping a bike round trip is about $500 I would say that's the very upper limit.

I'll get the ball rolling by saying that Decathlon in the UK and France have really decent touring bikes built on their Triban platform.

I actually bought the B'Twin Triban 100 for $270 and its a great touring bike. I've copied an early review of this (from another site) below. It's a good bike for touring as its designed as an adventure bike so its a nice geometry and has plenty sturdy tires and frame. The only downsides are that there are no pannier mounts on the fork and its only seven speed (but for $50 more in the UK you can get a microshift version with 24 speeds).



Triban 100 Review
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The Triban 100 stood out because it was: i) Cheap, ii) Had 32mm tires (I wanted to try single track riding) and iii) was available from Decathlon near by.

But was it any good? I had a real hard time trying to find solid review. There were several in French but they seemed fluff pieces but raised serious issues such as chain derailing (chain-skip) when not pedaling down-hill!

Having rode the bike now for about 500 miles I can summarize it as:

"Well Thought Out, Oustanding Build Quality With Limitations". You won't be climbing steep hills (lowest gear you can get is 48/34) or winning any KOMs on it (it weights 11.3kg) but it does everything else really well. Sure the parts are cheap but I was constantly amazed by the build quality.

FrameSet
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This is exactly the same frameset as the Triban 500 and 500 SE weighting 1830 grams but with a steel fork that weights 650grams. It's hard to know if there is any frame flex (no FD to test for chain rub) but it seems to go if you put the foot down. I'm 5'11 and bought the size 56 and it fits very well. The tall head tube means you'll only get about 1-2 inches of saddle to bar drop. One down side is that it only comes with one set of brazeons (i.e. only one bottle cage).

Wheels and Brakes
--------------------------

Astoningshly the wheels were perfectly true. This allowed me to adjust the Tektro 540 brakes a mere 5-10mm off the rim and provide pretty good braking with the standard pads. The brakes only felt under-whelming when descending at 25+ mph.

The cones were on too tight but I loosened them and the wheels roll quite nicely.

The front wheel comes in at 965grams the rear wheel at 980grams (remember its a freewheel).

The tires are beasts. Each weights a whooping 800grams! But they are engineered to stand serious stuff so you don't have to baby them. I felt comfortable riding the bike in the wet, on mud and it handles gravel nicely.

Drive Train
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It's basic but perfectly engineered. It's a no-name 48t chain ring (no FD), Shimano mega-range freewheel (14-16-18-20-22-24,34) and a KMZ chain but the shift quality was superb. This is probably due to the simplicity of the 7-speed shifting system (lots of room for error) but still they put it together right.

The freewheel (no cassette) is rock solid and in 500 miles not a single mis-shift. The A50 shifter is on the bars (so no aero bars) but it works very well. I could shift up/down two gears with no problem.

The only issue was the chain ring was a little noisy (probably the teeth weren't perfectly formed).

I was concerned with the gearing but could top 25mph on the smallest cog (I ride with a cadence of about 100). Climbing was fine for anything under a mile and under 15 degrees but over a mile/15degs+ and your legs kill.

Contact Points
-------------------

Saddle is quite firm, bars are a nice compact version with pretty good tape. The pedals are not cheap plastic ones, but actually steel with good grip.


Overall
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It's great! So great I haven't changed or had the urge to change anything on it.

Sure it has its limitations (I did a 14 degree climb for 1.5 mile and nearly died) but it also has benefits. It can ride on single track stuff (thanks to the 32mm tires) quite nicely and makes a good commuter.

Decathalon have really thought thru the design (or guessed right). The gear range is nice for commuting.

But the lasting memory I have of this bike is the build quality. Everything works together so well. The shifting is flawless, the wheels roll well and the bike frame is stiff enough to make decent power transfer.

CliffordK

If you come to Eugene, Oregon, you might as well pick up a Bike Friday.

I'd have to say that there are literally hundreds of options available. $500 would be a quite a tight budget for new bikes. And that B-Twin looks nice on the outside, but seems to have quite a few compromises.

It also depends on what type of touring one is doing. Roads, off-roads, rough gravel, fast, slow, hilly, bikepacking, front and rear panniers, etc.

Personally, I'd probably do one of several things.

• Bring a folding bike, or coupled bike with me.
• Buy a bike I wanted to keep and bring home (Vintage Italian road bike).
• Find a good used bike? Hybrid?
• 

DanBell

In Japan entry level hybrids and mountain bikes go for around ¥50,000 (currently about 450 USD) brand new. The bike that got me back into cycling as an adult was a Giant Escape R3 for about that price. A lot of money for a bike, I thought at the time, but it was incredibly dependable with basically no maintenance at all from me for years. Of course bikes at this price point won't come with racks, but Topeak stuff is available in Tokyo at reasonable prices. I imagine you could get a bike and rear rack for under $500. If you manage to sell it for $200 at the end of the trip I suppose that's your $150 each way plane fare for bringing your own bike.

In California I cycled with two Brits who were trying to travel as cheaply as possible. They were set up with bikes and rear racks from a bike shop in Seattle I think for $350 each. Eventually both rear wheels failed and had to be replaced, but they still stayed under $500.

And at the border between Colombia and Ecuador I met a French guy who had bought a cheap local brand mountain bike upon arrival in Colombia. He said it cost him about $300 with a regular rear rack for panniers and a porteur rack on the front. He said it wasn't a great bike but it was doing the job.

It's definitely possible, especially if you aren't at either extreme end of the spectrum for height. And I guess it would be nice to give it away to someone who needs it at the end of the trip. I'd probably bring my own pedals and saddle though.

raria

It does have limitations but for my recent trip on Beaujolais it was fine. It would be fine for rolling hill tours but not for climbing the alps!

As for your suggestions I had already thought of those and others like renting but I like the idea of just buyng a disposable bike as a clean solution. Folding bikes I hate for touring and coupled bike are bloody expensive and I find they do flex under loads (even the $2K Ritchey frameset). Buying second hand is great but can take a long time.

Brian25

This seems like a viable way to go. A tourist could put all of ones touring gear in a 26" cardboard box, with an assortment of p clamps to attach rack(s) and your favorite seat, pedals, take a taxi to a Decathlon store and voila you are in business. The only gripe is that I am short and Decathlon for some reason does not show a geometry chart, so there is no telling how small their XS is???. I suppose I could email them. I was going to say that since craigs list is world wide, that you could potentially pursue that angle. It might be difficult hunting something down in a country/ and town that is totally new to you.

CliffordK

I wonder if a little pre-planning with a hotel and BikesDirect, one could have a bicycle sitting in the hotel lobby when one arrived (in a box).

Lots of good touring options at REI, but few under $500.

As far as used bikes, at least in the USA, it would depend on where on is, and the time of year. But, if one isn't too picky, one should be able to find a bike that is good enough for less than $500 almost any day in a mid sized or large city.

raria

Both ship via tracked packaging

mstateglfr 

Interesting bike. Neat features for the price. No way an entry steel fork with long steerer weighs 650g though.

travelinhobo

Sure would like to know what airline you're supporting that charges $500 for a bike!!

raria

United charges $200 each way for interntional travel and they hit you with a $25 box fee at each end unless you provide it yourself.

fietsbob

In a Place so many tour starting from, to, or thru,

they have already bought their whole kit elsewhere, so outfitting someone that arrives here is difficult.
because the outlay on speculation of potential sales is hard to justify..

starting from a city with an REI, would be better..

Last year One Person left Her Bike and bags on consignment, they resold cheap.

But I would not plan your trip around that rare occurrence..




...

raria

I can't understand your words. it's all a formatting mess, something must have happened with your spell checker.

tspoon

I have done this on one occasion, but I didn't bother getting a good quality ride, it was a $80 18 speed freewheel equipped dual suspension department store type bike. I packed my carridice seat bag, a back pack type re-purposed handlebar bag, one other small bag to hold a camera, my favourite saddle, and a few other bits and bobs. The trip was from Kuala Lumpur through the center to Kota Bharu, then back down the east coast to Singapore. 1400k over 14 days.

It worked better than you might expect, the bike was sturdy enough, although the pedals were noticeably worn at the end. The department store grade 26" rear tire needed a couple of replacements, not surprisingly. I bought a replacement setback BMX type seatpost at Gua Masang as the frame was a little small, and by the 600k mark had actually got the bike fit where I wanted it.

With only a small amount of luggage, it was paid accommodation every night, which is usually the rule in the populated parts of Asia in any case.

At the end I disassembled the frame, which is one advantage of dual suspension, and packed it all in a 2 dollar shop style packing bag tied up with some cheap rope into a transportable package.

I don't know if I'd do it again, but was pleasantly surprised at how simple it was to do. Although I would recommend scoping out a bike shop before time, it took most of the first day to find a place in KL that actually sold bikes due to my lack of knowledge.

jefnvk

Interesting concept, but if I am dropping the cash on a bike tour, I am not jeopardizing that on the bet that I find an adequate <$500 bike that fits and isn't in need of repairs and accessories when I get there. I'd just suggest searching for a cheaper airline to fly. This summer will be my third trip abroad, and planning ahead WRT airlines has meant I haven't paid more than $50ish per way for my bike.

FWIW, I'm not really certain a 1x7 is suitable for much touring, and I can't seem to find the 3x8 you reference. Are you planning on bringing your own racks? Panniers? Saddle? Even if the choice is $500 for my own bike, or $400 for something disposable when I get there, I think I'd just prefer my own*

*that all said, I have stated before I wish to return to Amsterdam, buy a cheap omafiets, and cycle around the IJseelmeer. That is not a cost savings, though, it is part of the adventure and to obtain a souvenir to come home with.

axolotl

You're assuming that folks are flying internationally on United. What if they're flying British Airways or Air Transat? Then your premise for this thread falls to the ground.

Have you ever ridden a Bike Friday New World Tourist? It is designed for touring. And it's great for climbing, too. I rode up the Col du Tourmalet & Going-to-the-Sun Road, among other passes, on my Bike Friday. There are some crappy folders out there which I wouldn't ride around the block.