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42 Bikes
42 Bikes: Life, the Universe and Bikes
Best bike for Lands End to John O Groats?
Posted by on January 3, 2012
In my earlier post Bike for Lands End to John O Groats « 42 Bikes I said I would be using my existing Trek Pilot 1.2 for the LEJoG (if I do it).
Of my bikes it is the obvious choice. I could not manage the hills on my fixie, I would love to do it on my Bullitt Cargobike (just to say I did it) but could not manage it fast enough for the time I can make available. My Trice XXL recumbent trike is another possibility but I think for me at the moment it will feel more of an achievement on 2 wheels.
However, what if I decided the Trek Pilot was not going to work, or if it was not available then what bike would I choose?
I am not interested in choosing a bike that will be too specific so that it won’t get used for anything else. That means I would not choose a really fast Sportive bike for me as I am not planning to ride many/any Sportives.
So if I was not using my Trek Pilot I would be looking for a bike that would be great for LEJoG but also for lots of things afterwards. That means I would be more interested in something suitable for fast long rides as well as moderately loaded tours and general transportation all year round. In other words a modern equivalent of my Trek Pilot but with the lessons I have learned over the last 5 1/2 years as well as the advances in technology.
If I were replacing the Trek I would want to keep:
- Drop handlebars for multiple hand positions and possibility of reducing effect of headwinds
- Pedals that work with SPD clips on one side and plain shoes on the other
- Brooks B17 Select Saddle
- Space for mudguards
- Rear rack at least as an option
- Space for at least 28mm tyres
On the other hand I would want to change a few things as well:
- Steel frame instead of Aluminium (lower environmental impact and more comfort)
- Ability to fit mudguards and rack separately at the rear dropouts
- Ability to fit front low riders or front rack
There are a few technologies that I find really attractive
- disk brakes (for power, modulation and low maintenance)
- hub gears (Alfine 11 speed or Rohloff) for the long life, reliability and ability to change while stopped
- Gates Belt drive for cleanliness & long life
- Much larger volume tyres (seems to me the comfort really starts to kick in at sizes over about 35mm)
- Dynamo front hub & dynamo lights
At the moment not all these can be combined (eg Rohloff & drop handlebars don’t yet have good options).
At the moment two bikes that I like the look of that fit most of my criteria are the:
This ticks all the boxes but will cost around £2,000 all in.
On-One Pompetamine Versa 11 Speed Pro
Cheaper but no Gates Belt Drive option
Of course neither of these are going to be the fastest bike to ride for LEJoG (for which I would be looking at a carbon Sportive bike from the likes of Trek, Specialized or Giant). But they will both be usable for far more different things in the long term as well as being more comfortable for the actual event (plus I do like the fact both are from small British Companies even if the frames are not built in the UK).
What would be your ideal bike for LEJoG and what would you be able to use it for afterwards?
I did the article a couple years back – bought a classic steel framed bike second hand on eBay (£205) and fitted the brooks and some SPDs and it was good to go. We were riding fully loaded, trailers and all, and it handled it all admirably, plus a further 600 miles riding around scotland. No problems whatsoever with it, then or since.
I have since done a couple smaller tours and use it every day commuting for commuting/shopping trips. Can’t beat it! That’d be my advice – buy second hand and buy well.
Sam,
Sounds great. We had a fantastic old tandem for a while (came with kiddy cranks which we needed at the time). Problem was getting parts and I missed things like STI (it had downtube friction shifters).
The only scary things was getting it to stop
Especially with 2 kids (one on the back pedalling and one on a childseat).
You could build up something around a Singular Peregrine frame that would work pretty well. http://www.singularcycles.com/peregrine.html
A Cotic Roadrat could also be fairly versatile http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/roadrat
I had a Rocky Mountain Sherpa 30 until recently which looked a lot like the Milk Bikes RDA but with Deore 9 speed instead of hub gears. Really comfortable though and so strong. Slightly heavy but great once rolling. The uprightness of the frame and large head-tube meant all the positions on the drops were great to use. Riding the tops felt like an upright dutch bike and riding the drops was like riding the tops on normal road bars / frame. I had to get rid of it though as the idea of getting time to disappear off on a tour anytime in the next few years with young kids taking all my available time wasn’t realistic. Also needed to fund a second hand Brompton purchase which has already had much more use than the tourer. I’d buy one again though if I ever got the chance to us it.
I like the idea of being able to afford a Hufnagel Rando bike one day. Might be slightly too expensive though.
Adam,
Yep, the Singular & Cotic are nice options (although I am attracted to a Gates Belt Drive).
Yep custom handmade bikes like the Hufnagel are beautiful but well outside my pocket.
Recently came across your blog, nice reading and with a couple of things in common including a desire to do LEJOG one of these years..
Like everyone else, I reckon my bike is the best in the world and it might even fit your description but not the technologies.
http://ramblingsofdoug.blogspot.com/2011/06/thorn-audax-mk3-our-first-1000-miles.html
Best regards,
Doug.
Hi Doug,
Tis a nice bike sure enough. Thorn do make some lovely frames although I do like the fancy new stuff that they are not so keen on (disk brakes in particular).
I use bar end shifters on my recumbent trikes where they are fab (just sitting in the right place for your thumb & index finger) but I don’t use the drops that often so they don’t appeal on drop bars. My STI levers have been flawless over several years (although I think the latest designs route all the cables along the handlebars which would be handy).
My advice would be to leave technology well alone when it comes to LEJOG. You need to be confident that you can get your bike repaired easily at any LBS without seriously affecting your schedule. I’d say whatever bike you choose you need to be riding it at least 3 months before the trip. Comfort is the absolute number1 priority, saddle, handle bars and shoes; reserve some time in your training schedule for 4 consecutive daily rides of 40+ miles,if you’re completely comfortable on the bike on the 4th day the chances are you will be ad infinitum. I used an old steel framed hardtail mountain bike modified only with brooks saddle, slick tyres, wide riser bars and bar ends. I only suffered a single broken spoke which was quickly replaced at an LBS in Glasgow. Of course to an extent I was just plain lucky, but I did witness many LEJOGers enroute who had sacrificed comfort and reliability for the latest state of the art, and as a result were not enjoying the challenge as they should have been. Here’s the route and some pictures from my trip in 2010 http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=786407&code=e9f4ce5d745ba4886ac459ba0a2328d0
Chris,
Your points about not using the latest technology and having a bike well settled in are I think the most important things about the bike.
Unless something catastrophic fails before I do the ride I am almost certain I’ll be using my Trek Pilot 1.2 which will be about 5 years old at the time. I am just reassembling it now after some major maintenance originally started by a gear cable snapping. By the time I do LEJoG I’ll have another 1,000 miles or so on it so the new bits will be properly bedded in. It does have a Brooks B17, this one I have been using since the autumn and have done one100 mile ride on it so far.
Hopefully, the bike will be back together in time to do 100 miles on Thursday this week.
One thing I am eager to test on that ride is a switch to Speedplay Frog pedals, I am hoping the extra float (and non centring) will be good for my knees (not that my knees are very bad, just very conscious that now I am doing more miles caution is a good idea).
Everytrail is playing up at the moment so I can’t see your route. My route is taken from the Sustrans book.
Did you do the whole ride alone and unsupported? I don’t feel mentally strong enough for that. I found the Reivers route (which I did on my own after riding the C2C with a group) very tough on my own. When I get tired and cold I feel I am, mentally collapsing into a little heap if I am on my own
A lot of the stuff about new bikes is simply fantasy. My dreams are really for a bike that is
- very reliable
- low maintenance
- long lasting
- great to ride reasonably quickly for long distances
- everyday transport in all weathers
- able to carry up to medium touring loads
- as much as possible made in Britain
Oh and it should have a low carbon footprint.
I kind of wondered whether I should use LEJoG to justify such a bike but now figure I’ll give the Trek a few more years first (and still enjoy distractions into dreams about carbon bikes). By then maybe some of the technologies that I think would fit well will be readily available
Hi Dave, Your overhauled Trek Pilot has to be the obvious choice for LEJOG, the only investment needed now might be in a new pair of tyres just before the ride? Looking after the knees is a wise precaution, your daily mileage is going to be pretty demanding.
Yes, I did the who route alone and was completely self sufficient, carrying camping gear and pretty much everything else to cope with any eventuality. In hindsight I carried too much weight, which really became a burden when battling over Cumbria and the Dales, but travelling south I did manage to lighten the load a little before reaching Cornwall!
In terms of remaining mentally strong I have 2 suggestions; 1, is to JOGLE and not to LEJOG, although the benefit of the prevailing south westerly wind can be significant, riding south from Scotland does definitely seem like you’re going downhill and if you live south of Yorkshire it actually feels like you’re cycling “home” as well. 2, is to try and get ahead of your schedule early in your ride (this is easier to do going from North to South). On my first day I managed to gain half a day on my schedule which I kept “in the bank” throughout the ride, it was a great psychological boost.
The route I took was the CTC “Youth Hostel” route, which I modified slightly to avoid the diversions to Youth Hostels! I can email you the GPS routes/track if everytrail.com is still playing up.
It sounds unlikely I know, but for your dream bike, have you considered a Brompton Tourer (P6), it seems to meet all of your criteria?
Chris,
Yep, thinking of some faster tyres than the Marathons with Jane carrying a spare tyres in the car. Was thinking about trading to 25mm instead of 28mm but unsure on the comfort/speed trade off.
Have you read about my style of cycle camping. See Day 2:Woodhall Spa to Mablethorpe and Summary of my Cargobike comfort camping
Given more time a self-supported LEJOG on a Bullitt with lower gears (probably by combining Alfine 8 and a MountainDrive) would be a nice holiday.
I think we are sticking with LEJoG, One reason is some family located in Cornwall which will allow us to go there for the night before I ride and for the first6 night as well.
You are right a Brompton is very nice and if I was in a city like London would be my 1st choice bike. Here I have space not to need the folding very much so the advantages are much reduced.
Dave, my advice would be to go with the biggest tyres your frame will allow, you’ll appreciate the comfort far more than any marginal increase in speed. All the LEJoGers on road bikes that I passed on my JoGLE all appeared to be grimacing!?
Your Bullit adventures has certainly made me consider the advantages of a cargo bike, especially when on Saturday when I was cycling home with a sack of coal bungeed to my pannier rack!
Chris,
I don’t think I can fit more than 28mm tyres in. I would probably need wider rims for much bigger tyres and the frame spacing is not that great already.
Plus how many of them were riding with nicely broken in Brooks B17 saddles
Yep, cargo bikes are awesome. Today it was full twice, this morning a large box of fresh coffee (7kg of ground coffee is quite large), projector, laptop & stuff. This evening a portable PA, laptop, projector, projector screen and everything for 200 pancakes