Windsor Tourist Bike, is it any good? - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-22-2005, 11:23 AM

Earl Bollinger wrote:
> Yeah I know the stories about buying from my local dealer, and I consider
> that really fine advice, but...
> I am looking for a long haul hi-mileage bike, under $1,000.00 US, that is
> sold in the USA.
> All the bikes I looked at so far, appear to be intended for racing,
> competitions, and such, and not really for long runs.
> I actually rode a nice $800 major brand bike and a spoke let go (broke) when
> I hit a small bad spot on the road.
> So I came across these, but I was wondering if anyone had used them or
> anything.
> Since they are sold off the internet it is doubtful any dealers would ever
> sell them locally.
> Thanks
> Earl

Look at the Fuji Tour, this is about equal to the Windsor Tourist.

What is the return policy at bikesdirect if you don't like the Windsor
Tourist?

01-22-2005, 11:23 AM

Earl Bollinger wrote:
> Yeah I know the stories about buying from my local dealer, and I consider
> that really fine advice, but...
> I am looking for a long haul hi-mileage bike, under $1,000.00 US, that is
> sold in the USA.
> All the bikes I looked at so far, appear to be intended for racing,
> competitions, and such, and not really for long runs.
> I actually rode a nice $800 major brand bike and a spoke let go (broke) when
> I hit a small bad spot on the road.
> So I came across these, but I was wondering if anyone had used them or
> anything.
> Since they are sold off the internet it is doubtful any dealers would ever
> sell them locally.
> Thanks
> Earl

Look at the Fuji Tour, this is about equal to the Windsor Tourist.

What is the return policy at bikesdirect if you don't like the Windsor
Tourist?

01-22-2005, 11:23 AM

Earl Bollinger wrote:
> Yeah I know the stories about buying from my local dealer, and I consider
> that really fine advice, but...
> I am looking for a long haul hi-mileage bike, under $1,000.00 US, that is
> sold in the USA.
> All the bikes I looked at so far, appear to be intended for racing,
> competitions, and such, and not really for long runs.
> I actually rode a nice $800 major brand bike and a spoke let go (broke) when
> I hit a small bad spot on the road.
> So I came across these, but I was wondering if anyone had used them or
> anything.
> Since they are sold off the internet it is doubtful any dealers would ever
> sell them locally.
> Thanks
> Earl

Look at the Fuji Tour, this is about equal to the Windsor Tourist.

What is the return policy at bikesdirect if you don't like the Windsor
Tourist?

01-22-2005, 12:31 PM

On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 10:59:50 -0600, Earl Bollinger wrote:

> but...

There's a guy on eBay selling them for around 500 vs. 700 on the
bikesdirect site. He's legit as far as I can tell, I checked him out by
emailing a few folks. If you're thinking of spending 700 bucks, I'd visit
your local REI and check out the Randonee for a few bills more. It's
similar to the Windsor, but you'll get the backing of REI's exceptional
service.

If you do go for the Windsor, do post back with a review.

made in china or not, it certainly looks nice on paper.

01-22-2005, 12:31 PM

On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 10:59:50 -0600, Earl Bollinger wrote:

> but...

There's a guy on eBay selling them for around 500 vs. 700 on the
bikesdirect site. He's legit as far as I can tell, I checked him out by
emailing a few folks. If you're thinking of spending 700 bucks, I'd visit
your local REI and check out the Randonee for a few bills more. It's
similar to the Windsor, but you'll get the backing of REI's exceptional
service.

If you do go for the Windsor, do post back with a review.

made in china or not, it certainly looks nice on paper.

01-22-2005, 12:31 PM

On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 10:59:50 -0600, Earl Bollinger wrote:

> but...

There's a guy on eBay selling them for around 500 vs. 700 on the
bikesdirect site. He's legit as far as I can tell, I checked him out by
emailing a few folks. If you're thinking of spending 700 bucks, I'd visit
your local REI and check out the Randonee for a few bills more. It's
similar to the Windsor, but you'll get the backing of REI's exceptional
service.

If you do go for the Windsor, do post back with a review.

made in china or not, it certainly looks nice on paper.

01-22-2005, 12:47 PM

"Arthur Harris" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:IJwId.4816$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> "Earl Bollinger" wrote:
>> Yeah I know the stories about buying from my local dealer, and I
consider
>> that really fine advice, but...
>> I am looking for a long haul hi-mileage bike, under $1,000.00 US, that
is
>> sold in the USA.
>> All the bikes I looked at so far, appear to be intended for racing,
>> competitions, and such, and not really for long runs.
>> I actually rode a nice $800 major brand bike and a spoke let go (broke)
>> when I hit a small bad spot on the road.
>> So I came across these, but I was wondering if anyone had used them or
>> anything.
>> Since they are sold off the internet it is doubtful any dealers would
ever
>> sell them locally..
>
> If you're interested in a true touring bike, check out the Trek 520 at
about
> the same price. See:
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
Before buying a Trek 520, there are two things that you should check out.
If you look at the specs you will see that they have fitted a 52/42/30 crank
set. Who needs a top ratio of 128 gear inches? This is higher than the
Lance Armstrong Livestrong 6 Madone!!! A touring bike should have an MTB
type crank set e.g. 46/36/24. A top ratio of 100" is quite enough for
touring or general riding
Also you should swap out the stem for one with more rise. You can see how
low the bars are from the picture.
These point have been brought to Trek's notice on numerous occasions by
the touring ng, but they prefer to use "off the shelf" road components
rather than tailoring the bike for its specific function.
Apart from that it's a good bike. However, the above cost them at least
one sale. I was intending to buy one but I was put off by the above.
FWIW I bought a "full on" Urbanite Tourer that I was able to customise to
my liking and which was cheaper than the Trek! Mine was $CAD1600 which at
today's exchange rate of around .81 would translate to $US1296. It's been
just great with no problems at all in two years.
Gearing; 44/34/24 chainwheels and 12-28 eight speed cluster, Shimano LX
derailleurs.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

-Looks identical to mine. They are based in Toronto but have sold quite a
number in the US.

Good luck,

Roy

01-22-2005, 12:47 PM

"Arthur Harris" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:IJwId.4816$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> "Earl Bollinger" wrote:
>> Yeah I know the stories about buying from my local dealer, and I
consider
>> that really fine advice, but...
>> I am looking for a long haul hi-mileage bike, under $1,000.00 US, that
is
>> sold in the USA.
>> All the bikes I looked at so far, appear to be intended for racing,
>> competitions, and such, and not really for long runs.
>> I actually rode a nice $800 major brand bike and a spoke let go (broke)
>> when I hit a small bad spot on the road.
>> So I came across these, but I was wondering if anyone had used them or
>> anything.
>> Since they are sold off the internet it is doubtful any dealers would
ever
>> sell them locally..
>
> If you're interested in a true touring bike, check out the Trek 520 at
about
> the same price. See:
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
Before buying a Trek 520, there are two things that you should check out.
If you look at the specs you will see that they have fitted a 52/42/30 crank
set. Who needs a top ratio of 128 gear inches? This is higher than the
Lance Armstrong Livestrong 6 Madone!!! A touring bike should have an MTB
type crank set e.g. 46/36/24. A top ratio of 100" is quite enough for
touring or general riding
Also you should swap out the stem for one with more rise. You can see how
low the bars are from the picture.
These point have been brought to Trek's notice on numerous occasions by
the touring ng, but they prefer to use "off the shelf" road components
rather than tailoring the bike for its specific function.
Apart from that it's a good bike. However, the above cost them at least
one sale. I was intending to buy one but I was put off by the above.
FWIW I bought a "full on" Urbanite Tourer that I was able to customise to
my liking and which was cheaper than the Trek! Mine was $CAD1600 which at
today's exchange rate of around .81 would translate to $US1296. It's been
just great with no problems at all in two years.
Gearing; 44/34/24 chainwheels and 12-28 eight speed cluster, Shimano LX
derailleurs.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

-Looks identical to mine. They are based in Toronto but have sold quite a
number in the US.

Good luck,

Roy

01-22-2005, 12:47 PM

"Arthur Harris" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:IJwId.4816$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> "Earl Bollinger" wrote:
>> Yeah I know the stories about buying from my local dealer, and I
consider
>> that really fine advice, but...
>> I am looking for a long haul hi-mileage bike, under $1,000.00 US, that
is
>> sold in the USA.
>> All the bikes I looked at so far, appear to be intended for racing,
>> competitions, and such, and not really for long runs.
>> I actually rode a nice $800 major brand bike and a spoke let go (broke)
>> when I hit a small bad spot on the road.
>> So I came across these, but I was wondering if anyone had used them or
>> anything.
>> Since they are sold off the internet it is doubtful any dealers would
ever
>> sell them locally..
>
> If you're interested in a true touring bike, check out the Trek 520 at
about
> the same price. See:
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
Before buying a Trek 520, there are two things that you should check out.
If you look at the specs you will see that they have fitted a 52/42/30 crank
set. Who needs a top ratio of 128 gear inches? This is higher than the
Lance Armstrong Livestrong 6 Madone!!! A touring bike should have an MTB
type crank set e.g. 46/36/24. A top ratio of 100" is quite enough for
touring or general riding
Also you should swap out the stem for one with more rise. You can see how
low the bars are from the picture.
These point have been brought to Trek's notice on numerous occasions by
the touring ng, but they prefer to use "off the shelf" road components
rather than tailoring the bike for its specific function.
Apart from that it's a good bike. However, the above cost them at least
one sale. I was intending to buy one but I was put off by the above.
FWIW I bought a "full on" Urbanite Tourer that I was able to customise to
my liking and which was cheaper than the Trek! Mine was $CAD1600 which at
today's exchange rate of around .81 would translate to $US1296. It's been
just great with no problems at all in two years.
Gearing; 44/34/24 chainwheels and 12-28 eight speed cluster, Shimano LX
derailleurs.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

-Looks identical to mine. They are based in Toronto but have sold quite a
number in the US.

Good luck,

Roy

01-22-2005, 04:09 PM

Steven M. Scharf wrote:
> Earl Bollinger wrote:
> > Yeah I know the stories about buying from my local dealer, and I
consider
> > that really fine advice, but...
> > I am looking for a long haul hi-mileage bike, under $1,000.00 US,
that is
> > sold in the USA.....

>
> Look at the Fuji Tour, this is about equal to the Windsor Tourist.
>
> What is the return policy at bikesdirect if you don't like the
Windsor
> Tourist?
Check out Surly at [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Pete