Hi Folks,
Looking for suggestions to buy a reiserad or tourenrad...
Many of the bikes seem out of my budget (< 500 euros, new/old) . Also, some of the bikes that i can buy are not available in Germany(where i live now). For e.g http://www.rei.com/product/807245/novara-safari-bike-2014#tabs
Can anyone tell me what you will suggest ? I am 185 tall and will mostly use hte bike on weekends to go and camping near the river in the summer. I will also take a 2 week vacation and bike in the alps..
I will highly appreciate your help!
Whereabouts do you live? Try a local used bike dealer or check sales ads in the local paper. 500 euro is quite a big budget, I guess.
Hi Susanne,
Thanks a lot for the tip about the newspaper.. I live in Karlsruhe and I went to 2 second hand shops today and i could not find one "reiserad" or "tourenrad" .. I found the "cityrads" , but i am afraid, i cant attach the heavy panniars .. Also,i am still worried about the comfort ..
Those guys were nice, but they said its difficult to find .. I checked in ebay.de and quoka.de but in my city there is no one who sells these sort of bikes and i am not really sure of buying one from another city, without trying how it hits my height among other things.
I plan to call the other shops in the coming weeks before i visit them personally.. I am reading up about bikes and i am even thinking about buying a new one as well.. If you have any more tips for me, i will be all ears..
Also, if you have a suggestion for a good touring bike , please let me know.. From the initial searches , i made , hercules and gutreide seems to be affordable ..But, i am still researching about it and will be glad to hear from someone here..
To my honest opinion you would be satisfied with any decent Mountainbike. As long it is sound and fits your body.
Your are living and want to travel in one of the most civilised countries in the world! Sorry, but the (West) Germans aren't the best to get advices from when it comes to downtoearth solutions on simple or economical living. They are generally way to rich and besides being very "sicherheitsorientierte" They prefer travelling the safest bikes available. -As anything else they do, it's simply done best possible! There is a market living of this verhalten..
Not necessarily the best solution for your economy or actual needs.. ;)
I have never seen any travelling with so much advanced equipment as the Germans. With my 22mm tires on a racingframe they honestly wouldn't believe it possible to go anywhere with luggage! I carried 15kg, did ca 9.000km and had so much fun! Imagine racing some 35-40km/h or an average speed 26km/h on a 150 km trip! That's fun.. ;) At minus 16C I still slept happily in my tent and cooked on a stove. I didn't miss anything.
Many are struggling with enormous amount of hardly ever needed "Gepäck" on slow tires wide enough to cross any desert or swamp. -You just don't find any such areas in Europe without a decent road leading to where anyone else have been travelling for centuries.
-Go to Poland, Czech or Slowak and watch how happy they are speeding around on what we call a "Garden fence's"
Travel light with needed equipment and spend your money on a longer travel. Or an extra beer while you are waiting for your fellow traveller to arrive.. Sleepingmattress, downsleepingbag, (Hilleberg)tent or what ever you feel for.
The most important thing to consider is your height and weight. Get a measure scheme by an experienced bicycle dealer. If in doubt of best fit choose the smaller frame.
I don't know the names of heutigen frames on the market. When you widen your search from the overestimated 'Reiserad' you will find ton's of interesting models making decent options.
If possible choose a frame with threads prepared for your racks. An important fact: each 100gr you remove from your wheel equals 1 kg frame. A way of considering how wise you spent your money is simply how much €/kg.
Shimano 105 is very stable and a decent money for value group.
Have you tried "Schwarze Brett" at universities and such institutions or local Mountainbike Verein" ?The Internet also gives you a lot to read off and options to buy from.
Hope this is off any help.. Good luck and have fun :)
Lars
just go to "Decathlon", they are in every big (european) city. buy any (mountain)bike in your price range, swap the knobby tires for slicks, ad ergogrips, an extra bottle holder and a rack (Tubus Disco) and youre ready!
if you ever have a problem while touring, just go the nearest Decathlon, life time warranty!
or just have a look here:
http://www.radon-bikes.de