Price: $1199 from REI
Specs: Double butted steel frame, Mavic rims, Shimano Deore cranks, hubs and bottom bracket. Cantilever brakes. 700 cc wheels. Vittoria Randonneur tires.
Who has used it: A Midnight Rider, Karl (Also, read this Bike Forums thread on the Novara Randonee)
Upsides: For just $150 more than the REI Novara Safari, you get a steel frame and slightly better components. REI is known for great customer service.
Downsides: Like the Novara Safari, you’ll have to replace some parts (like the racks) if you want to do heavily loaded touring.
For more information: REI Website
28th June 2010 at 12:55 am #
Smooth ride, shifts crisply and genarally feels great . One thing though, I took off the rear rack that came on the bike and a nice size chunk of paint came off the left reat bottom eyelet. I have read elsewhere that the paint chips easily, now I know its true. All I did was remove the screw and let the rack release itself. I would still buy this bike however, as I don’t care for the bar end shifters on the Surley LHT.