A drop-bar touring bike in New Zealand

Hi all,

I've been building up a Giant Elwood with racks and panniers. However, since I'm quite used to riding a roadie (Trek 1000), I can't stand the weight, the air resistance, and the general slowness of the upright position.

I'd prefer a tourer with an alloy frame. Any shops in Auckland?

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2004 Trek 1000
2005 Giant Elwood
ACE Folding Bicycle

Maybe Adventure Cycles in town? I'm not sure where they are now, they keep moving as the Britomart area gets redeveloped.

Doesn't look like you're too serious about touring.
The Elwood is a entry-level shopping bike at best, with poor quality gears and suspension.
Although there are some reasonable quality aluminium framed touring bikes, steel is best.
Highway tourers are OK with drop handlebars, but flats, or raised flats are best for NZ unsealed roads.
With 37mm touring tyres at 60psi, you don't need suspension.
You'll find lots of Auckland Bike Shops in Yellow Pages.

The difference in frame weight between what you have & an alloy frame can't be more than 3 lbs (~1.4 kilos) ... you'll presumably be carrying a lot more than that.

You can certainly change the handlebars & shifters ...

PLUS, any of the other components which are making it heavy.

The attached pic is one of my hardtails that I installed drop bars on ... in addition to the fork that is currently installed, I picked up a TANDEM fork in case I want to run larger tires and/or fenders ... and, I have a solid fork with disc mounts & one with MTB reach cantilever bosses, too, as two other configuration options.

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