Touring Bike vs Road Bike: Riding a Carrera Virago to Paris

Mark Pawlak    Cycling     Brighton to Paris, Carrera Virago, cycling, Cycling Holidays, France, holidays in France, paris, road bikes

Some bikes you can truly use for just about anything. Still, there’s some lines that shouldn’t be crossed. When you’re considering touring bike vs road bike, you’re thinking about speed vs comfort and handling vs practicality.

But where’s the point when the latest carbon fibre race-bred calorie-counter becomes too tiring to enjoy?

And when should you leave it behind, trusting instead your miles and your backside to a more forgiving, more laid-back ride?

Well, I’m riding a Carrera Virago to Paris for charity and will find out on the way!

The bike’s already proved itself as an excellent climber and surprised me with it’s comfort – ok, some of this has been me adapting to its shape, but overall it’s been surprisingly sure-footed and comfortable for such a light bike.

But first up: What’s the difference between a road bike and a touring bike anyway?

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Carrera Virago Reviewed: Tech Specs

Mark Pawlak    Cycling     buying a road bike, Carrera Virago, carrera virago reviewed, Evolving Cyclist Project, road bikes, Road cycling blog

Getting the Carrera Virago reviewed over 7 months is building up a lot of information. Instead of just talking facts and figures, we’re looking into what it’s like to live with – not just ride on Sundays.

But, we’ve not yet gone into the details that all bike buyers crave: the tech specs.

As carbon bikes go, the Carrera Virago is unique as it’s pretty much the only fully carbon bike under £1000 with such a high spec. Key to this is the Shimano 105 components, which are not usually found till you’ve forked out £200 more.

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Buying a road bike and living with it

Mark Pawlak    Cycling     buying a road bike, Carrera Virago, cycling gear, Cycling Holidays, Evolving Cyclist Project, road bikes, Road Cycling

With a little over a month of the Evolving Cyclist Project gone there’s been much learned, lots eaten, no weight lost but a great start made. Last month I made a plan: Ignore training plans – and so far it’s worked well! For March, I decided all I needed to do was get out more, get the miles going and enjoy every minute.

It’s an approach I’d strongly recommend to anyone buying a road bike or starting to take their cycling more seriously.

But at some point if you’re aiming to get fit, you’ve got to get on it and get riding further and faster – and that’s what’s happening this month.

So here’s 10 things I’ve learned that should help cyclists who are thinking about buying their first road bike.

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