hi what sort of bike would suit me

betterman

hi there folks. short story.
I was ment to go to thailand for an adventure holiday but for political reasons it was cancelled.
now i am looking to cycle the west coast of irelnad sticking close to the sea as possible. I am an over weight (but fit) man but unsure of what type ob bike would suit me.

any advice please will be greatful

Morgan

Will you be sticking to paved roads (well, as paved as they get in the West)?

How much gear are you planning on carrying?

Sounds like you need a touring bike. Really depends on how much gear you'll be needing to carry. I think there was a recent thread on here about the Surly Long Haul Trucker, which would be the kind of genre of bike you'd be looking at. Regular road bike with clearance for bigger tyres and mudguards and pannier rack mountings would be good too. Just don't get a full sus mtb if you'll be riding on the road, you might as well be dragging an anchor behind you.

EDIT: Here's that thread.

blorg

Do you plan to carry your own stuff? Camp or B&B? What sort of daily distance are you thinking?

Basically, a flat handlebar bike like a hybrid is fine for shorter daily distances and most will take mudguards and a rack you can carry stuff on.

Dropped bars are better for longer daily distances as there are more hand positions but they also arguably are more critical as to the exact fit and take more getting used to. If someone else is carrying your stuff you can go for a "racer" or "road bike" but if you need to carry stuff yourself you need to go for some sort of touring bike. These broadly stretch from narrower-tyred "audax" bikes to wider-tyred full-on touring bikes. The latter are only really strictly necessary if you are cycling in a part of the world where the roads are very bad (worse than the west of Ireland) or you want to go off road- but if you are carrying a lot of luggage and are heavy yourself wider tyres can be a good idea.

ipodrocker

valid questions, as a road bike will be handy if ur sticking to the roads, but a touring bike may be better if ur planning to carry a bit of weight and go a bit off road a touring bike may suit

DualFrontDiscs

@OP, that sounds like a great holiday. If you factor in the savings on the flight costs, there's no reason why a touring holiday in Ireland should be anymore expensive that a holiday in Thailand

Bear in mind what you might like to use the bike for after your holidays. Would it become a commuting bike? A bike to get fit(ter) on? A bike for other touring holidays? Not that these are mutually exclusive activities by any means.

Any thoughts on a budget for the bike?

DFD*

*DelvingFinancialDisquiet.

betterman

im thinkin of hostels mixed with couch surfing mixed with friends. and my brothers should be meeting me in certain areas with my kayak to get some water.
thailand was there to build houses for the poor, and the trip was costing me 300 euro with the college gaisce society.
but with the cycling i hope to use it to get fit for rugby training properly and also loose a few stones along the way.

i will carry min clothes with a light rucksack. there is always dunnes stores or pennys if i really need clothes

blorg

I would suggest you put the stuff on the bike not in a rucksack, it is not good for your back to cycle long distances with one.

DualFrontDiscs

betterman wrote: »

i will carry min clothes with a light rucksack. there is always dunnes stores or pennys if i really need clothes

Whatever bike style, make or model you choose, I would strongly recommend using a bike rack and panniers rather than a rucksack. Or at the very least strap your rucksack to a bike rack.

Cycling all day (or whatever) with a rucksack on your back will not be very comfortable.

DFD*

*DesignedForDreams

thebouldwhacker

+1

Anything more than a commute (or mtb ride) with a back pack really is a no no. Its doable but you'll be weighed down and get tired fast and imo worse you will sweat where the bag is and be cold every time you stop. multiply this by a few days and your into rash and friction burn territory and thats not good. Panniers are quite cheap and will transform the journey from one you have done to one you enjoyed doing.