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I am very lucky to be awaiting delivery of a carbon-framed Canyon endurace for some ‘proper’ riding, however I am also considering buying a sport tourer for some long trips. I also have my eye on the Paris-Roubaix challenge in April, and was hoping that I could kill two birds with one stone and buy/assemble a bike that is robust enough to withstand the abuse of the pavé and any crashes that may occur, whilst being relatively sporty (I wouldn’t be chasing a time especially…) and also compatible with panniers. I don’t need anything too fancy, just a solid, reliable bike for ideally £500 or so. I know, I don’t ask for much!
There are lots of sport tourers on the market, but I’m sceptical about their racing ability. (perhaps this is just because I don’t recognise the groupsets, I kind of had in mind that any competent racer would need at least Tiagra…) Does anyone have any advice on frame materials, groupsets, entire bikes etc. that would be appropriate? Thanks!
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I got an entry-level Kona
I got an entry-level Kona Jake (Tiagra) that’s served me well for four years.
I do most of the household shopping on it and seldom and very reluctantly go off road or cycle track: logged 4,500 km last year.I’ve had two crashes in which the bike proved its mettle.
In one, I was doing more than 20 kph and ran into a concrete kerb stone concealed by grass.
Bike was undamaged.
In another I was doing around 30 kph when I hit
a roadside barrier square on (long story). I was flipped over the barrier and ended up sprawled on my back with head pointing towards the bike. Naturally, I hadn’t unclipped, and I suppose that had something to do with spraining my ankle and having the rear wheel buckled 
. I managed to ride the remaining 12 km home.When I finally inspected the bike, I noticed only a dent on one side of the CrMo fork. No twisting or anything, just a dent. Not fatal in anyway. The rear wheel couldn’t be trued, it had to be replaced. If all cyclocross bikes are built that way, then they are robust enough.
Two things I could live without.
One is that because the wheelbase is rather short on CX bikes, even without mudguards, you need to get into the habit of feet at six o’clock when using the handlebars for steering. I’m still working on my technique for climbing zigzag wheelchair access 20 vertical metres up a back way into a local park. It’s hard to go around tight corners when the front wheel hits your foot.
The short wheel base also means, to avoid heel strike, you should carefully select your rear rack and get panniers that can be set back.
The bike may be a bit twitchy, but as I don’t have experience of much else, I haven’t noticed (even after 350 km on a three-day tour).The other thing is the rims. Cheaper bikes come with affordable wheels. The rule of thumb seems to be max. tyre size = rim width + 50%. If the rims are 16 mm wide, then 25 mm tyres are the theoretical max. Sure, you can squeeze 28s on there or, as I did, huge Schwalbe Marathons (I think they were 37s). But it’s not ideal.
I really love my Jake. OTOH I do have a hankering for a BMC GF01 or a Synapse or similar 8 kg bike. I know several people in a local group who have Enduraces and go on rough roads and gravel. The bikes stand up well: tyres are consumables.
a roadside barrier square on (long story). I was flipped over the barrier and ended up sprawled on my back with head pointing towards the bike. Naturally, I hadn’t unclipped, and I suppose that had something to do with spraining my ankle and having the rear wheel buckled 
. I managed to ride the remaining 12 km home.
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