Raleigh Sojourn

[KnottedYet]

Oh! Oh! Oh!

You MUST write a review, even if you don't buy it!

Yeah, I saw that Terry yesterday too. It's been there a while. I can't believe no-one has snapped it up yet. Was the red Burley tandem still there? Only $600. I was *this* close to buying it... but "someone" stopped me. I have no self-restraint.

[dex]

The tandem was still there. It's only $600? Good thing I don't have anyone to ride a tandem with, or I might have been tempted. I think we may have similar self-control issues. Heh.

Actually, they had several nice used bikes out today, including a 49cm Cannondale touring bike for less than $400. Too small for me, but very pretty.

A review will definitely be forthcoming. I've been wanting to try the Sojourn for months now. Did I mention that I'm excited??

[Beane]

the last time I was at yellow jersey (http://www.yellowjersey.org/) they had one, but I don't know what size it was. since they sell stuff on ebay and are very knowledgeable and helpful (usually) I'm sure they'd be willing to ship it...

[withm]

nice looking bike...

But what's with the bar end shifters? Not sure I could ever get used to those and having to actually move my hands so far to shift.

[Zen]

oh, I don't know about that.
if I can manage bar end shifters, you definitely can

That Raleigh reminds me of the Trek Portland.

[dex]

But what's with the bar end shifters? Not sure I could ever get used to those and having to actually move my hands so far to shift.

The barcons definitely take some getting used to, but it's a pretty shallow learning curve. The first few blocks of test ride felt a little wobbly, but by the time I'd shifted a few times, I was feeling perfectly fine/stable/comfortable <-- this is saying quite a lot for clumsy, uncoordinated me.
I'm told the biggest advantage of these over STI shifters is ease of maintenance/repair when out in the middle of nowhere.

That Raleigh reminds me of the Trek Portland.

It's a very similar bike, but in steel and about $600 less. Add in the Brooks saddle (which I already ride and love on my other bikes), full fenders and rear rack and I'll probably squeal with glee if the fit works for me.

(still excited, despite the food poisoning that found me last night...)

[Zen]

(still excited, despite the food poisoning that found me last night...)

Brief hijack but an important one.
you didn't by chance have raw tomatoes, did you?

[dex]

Brief hijack but an important one.
you didn't by chance have raw tomatoes, did you?

I didn't. It was shrimp. Evil, evil shrimp.

I'm allergic to raw tomato...I break out in big, painful bumps on the side of my torso and my face. Ugly stuff. And tragic, because until that started happening, I loved tomatoes. Is there a tomato poisoning thing going on? If yes, I should tell my parents, as my dad loves his raw tomatoes.

[7rider]

It's a very similar bike, but in steel and about $600 less. Add in the Brooks saddle (which I already ride and love on my other bikes), full fenders and rear rack and I'll probably squeal with glee if the fit works for me.

$600?? All I get is "$$$$$" for the price info on the Raleigh site, and no price info comes up.
The Portland is spec'ed oodles better than the Sojourn - a nice mix of 105 and Ultegra and the BB7's are primo.
Can't speak for the ride of either...but my LBS is a Trek AND a Raleigh dealer. Hmmmm....

[dex]

*sigh* The Sojourn is not to be.

I did manage to go in on Tuesday to ride it, and was still almost giddy at the prospect. It is soooo pretty.

But, it's also soooo heavy. Don't get me wrong, the ride is nice and smooth. And those WTB Dirt Drop bars are awesome (and the leather bar tape is pretty awesome, too)--in fact, if WTB releases the dirt drop with an internal diameter that will accommodate barcons, I'm going to have to get some (apparently the version on the Sojourn were a special run made just for Raleigh). But the bike is just so very heavy.

Add to it that I kept getting my feet tangled up in the front fender when trying to do some slow turns...Not so much with the good there.

So I didn't buy it.

But, all is not lost. My quest for a good commuter/light tourer/all-arounder type bike marches on. I test rode a Salsa Casseroll at Free Range Cycles and just about fell in love. We're going to try one size smaller with a longer stem to see if we can find me a touch more standover clearance. I'm running into my usual problem of getting enough length in the top tube on bikes that are short enough for me to stand over. (i.e. By the time a bike is short enough in height for my stumpy legs, it's usually *way* too short in length. <-- The guys at Counterbalance helped me figure out that was why I was so uncomfortable on the Long Haul Trucker that I rode recently.)