Budget touring bike - advice?

[KenMac02]

Saw the Ridesportz & was thinking about seeing if the 25L ones would fit on a front rack sometime in the future. The Tioga waterproof one's look like the go for the rear rack - the black Tarpaulin panniers are 54 Litres & weigh about the same as the silver ones, so will probably get them ( $80 special from LeTour).

RE: il padrone: Checked out about getting rivnut's fitted to the forks & Ashfield cycles said probably $20, so will also be getting that done even if I'm just going to be using a cheap front rack for the moment (nice place Ashfield cycles - best LBS I've found in a while). Thanks for the tip.

[PapaJohn]

Decent price from Probike but the Tiogas appear to be excellent value. Most times I've overfilled panniers is when shopping near home or stocking up on food etc when camping and no shops are available for a period of time.

When travelling, I generally carry a string bag for shopping, and just secure it on top. I might stop at more than one place, saves fiddling around trying to fit stuff in as it is bought. Some purchases will be consumed that day or night, and stuff packed might get used up, freeing up space for it. Pack it properly in the morning. e.g. metho Looks untidy? I don't care, so long as it doesn't fall off. 2 metres of 4 mm nylon cord is your friend.

[Leaf T]

Decent price from Probike but the Tiogas appear to be excellent value. Most times I've overfilled panniers is when shopping near home or stocking up on food etc when camping and no shops are available for a period of time.

When travelling, I generally carry a string bag for shopping, and just secure it on top. I might stop at more than one place, saves fiddling around trying to fit stuff in as it is bought. Some purchases will be consumed that day or night, and stuff packed might get used up, freeing up space for it. Pack it properly in the morning. e.g. metho Looks untidy? I don't care, so long as it doesn't fall off. 2 metres of 4 mm nylon cord is your friend.

True enough although some things don't like being out in the sun. String bag sounds useful. Might be good for drying clothes etc too.

@Ken- LeTour cycles looks like a good find. Some decent prices there. If you want a mirror this is the go in my opinion.

http://letour.com.au/ajax/index/options ... t_id/1127/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[KenMac02]

I definitely plan to get a mirror - however I was planning to put on bar-ends & comfort-style grips as well so I think I'll have to go for one of the clamp-on style types.
The ZEFAL SPY MIRROR there looks pretty good...
PS. Do you use a mirror? Helpful?

[thecaptn]

I definitely plan to get a mirror - however I was planning to put on bar-ends & comfort-style grips as well so I think I'll have to go for one of the clamp-on style types.
The ZEFAL SPY MIRROR there looks pretty good...
PS. Do you use a mirror? Helpful?

Wouldn't ride without one.

For flat bars I'd recomend mirror cycle mirrors:

http://www.pushys.com.au/mirrycle-mtb-m ... vQodtmgARg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Leaf T]

I use the same as Captn. Which is in the link from Letour I posted...and cheaper

I don't know how to post a pic from my pc so can't show you mine but the mirricle one can be used with only part of the bracket and sets mirror below bars so can still use bar end. I had the Zefal one and it is next to useless due to vibration. The mirricle is the gold standard I reckon. They work. I have it on a few bikes and have always been able to find a way around mounting it.

Any advice on how to post photos from my pc would be greatly appreciated.

[KenMac02]

Good to know about mirror quality - will get the recommended one & see how it goes.

RE: posting images, generally you've got to load them up to a free image hosting site like TinyPic (very easy to use - just click browse then navigate to where you store your images.) When uploaded it will give you a URL or forum code for posting here.

[il padrone]

I definitely plan to get a mirror - however I was planning to put on bar-ends & comfort-style grips as well so I think I'll have to go for one of the clamp-on style types.

For bar-ends I can recommend the B&M Cyclestar. The mirror is every bit is good as the Mirrycle, but comes with a clamp-on mount as well.

[Leaf T]

Good to know about mirror quality - will get the recommended one & see how it goes.

RE: posting images, generally you've got to load them up to a free image hosting site like TinyPic (very easy to use - just click browse then navigate to where you store your images.) When uploaded it will give you a URL or forum code for posting here.

Thanks for the info. Do you know if Dropbox allow this?

[il padrone]

Personally I find Dropbox enormously clunky for photo storage. Much better to register with Photobucket or Flickr imho.

[Leaf T]

Personally I find Dropbox enormously clunky for photo storage. Much better to register with Photobucket or Flickr imho.

Thanks IP,

Here's some pics of my mirrors on different bikes. Hope they're viewable. And pardon the messy shed.

[KenMac02]

What is the name of the bar ends you have on the picture, il padrone? Really like the curved top part...
Andy, not sure why your images didn't work.
Might be best to go to the Full Editor when you post - just click the POSTREPLY button when looking to reply (or if you already clicked Quick Reply then click the Full Editor button after it) - then click the 'Img' button at the top - this is the image button. Post your image url which will be something like "http://i59.tinypic.com/2gua3yv.jpg" inbetween the 2 'img' brackets. [img]image%20url[/img]

[Baalzamon]

What is the name of the bar ends you have on the picture, il padrone? Really like the curved top part...

They are Ergon GC3 Large grips. I've got them on my Surly LHT as well.

[KenMac02]

Nice - will have a look around...

[Baalzamon]

Got mine from Bike24 where I think il Padrone got his from.

[il padrone]

Yes, they are Ergon GC3 grips (the model for Rohloff). They may be rebadged as GP5 now if you have any trouble sourcing them. Bike24 have them, Wiggle have them. They are emminently comfortable grips, so much so that I generally ride my commute without mitts. Ergon make a whole host of similar grips, with long/short bar-ends and without as well. The grips are lock-on and the bar-ends can be set independent of the grip position.

[Leaf T]

What is the name of the bar ends you have on the picture, il padrone? Really like the curved top part...
Andy, not sure why your images didn't work.
Might be best to go to the Full Editor when you post - just click the POSTREPLY button when looking to reply (or if you already clicked Quick Reply then click the Full Editor button after it) - then click the 'Img' button at the top - this is the image button. Post your image url which will be something like "http://i59.tinypic.com/2gua3yv.jpg" inbetween the 2 'img' brackets. [img]image%20url[/img]

I tried that with flikr first time. I can post a link see below but using Img option it just shows the word image.

Online photo sites are new ground for me. Dumb question but how much of the folder is viewable publicly?

There should be 4 pics in total from one link?
Had some help so can now post images.

Cheers,
A

[KenMac02]

You're trying to load up a folder, which the board won't recognise.

This is a link to one of the actual photos in the folder:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7411/141 ... d2_o_d.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

which if you wrap it in the image tags will show up, ie.:


PS. that's a big image - try to resize down to 800 x 600 pixels, etc. otherwise will slow down page.
OR you could just just post a link to your folder & allow people to browse...

PPS. nice to see the mirricle holding up after some hard wearing - think I will head that way.
Can't afford the Ergon's at the moment so ordered the Selle Royal Mano Grips on special for $10 & will clean up some old MTB bar ends - mirror will fit in the end of handlebars... The B&M Cyclestar looks very nice but is a little steep pricewise.

[Leaf T]

Thanks for your help Kenmac,

I got some help over here http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 0#p1127410 on how to resize them. Perhaps you or a mod can delete pic so it doesn't affect width of thread?
Good grips and great price from T7. The mirricle is good in function and it lends itself to using some or all of its parts.

I like this position because I can still use all of the bar end. It's been on for over 2 years and apart from the occasional tightening it's pretty good. I might make a spacer to angle it out a bit.


And on top of lever. I simply screwed a wood screw straight down into top of hood. I used ally spacer and a brake part to give some clearance for my hand. I should probably make it look a bit better. It's lasted years and works very well.


And the bosses bike