Novara Safari Touring Bike

Comments about Novara Safari Touring Bike - 2009:

I commented earlier ("not exactly as advertised"), but wanted to give an update.

I just took my slightly modified Safari (thinner tires, SPD pedals, rebuilt rear wheel) on a fully-loaded 600-mile mini adventure through the relatively hilly parts of southeast MN and southwestern WI.

The bike was totally loaded up: front and back panniers, a rear rack trunk, and a one-wheel cargo trailer made by a discount cycle goods distributor who is based in Ohio.

So the bike was carrying an extra 100 pounds or so over normal riding, and it performed marvelously. Amazingly, I had no serious maintenance issues. The braking actually became stronger during the ride, and just a few squirts of lube here and there was all I needed to keep the chain rolling nicely. The shifting was smooth and consistent, and I had none of that chain-crunch you sometimes get when you try and switch chainrings in the middle of a climb. The wheels are still true and strong, and everything is working at least as well as it was before I left. The bike handled the abuse, and responded to it as if nothing happened. This was all a pleasant surprise, and I am now quite confident that the modifications and work I put in early on were well worth it.

So, if you are a big guy who likes to ride hard and/or tour, I can recommend this bike if you accept that your first course of action should be to have a powerhouse rear wheel built. Obviously getting thinner tires will help too, as will clipless pedals, but the bike really just needs the new rear wheel to be ready for the abuse that big riders in the 215+ lbs range can dish out.

Comments about Novara Safari Touring Bike - 2009:

I have had my eye on the Safari for many years, and this year I decided to get one, since my main winter ride had been stolen and since I was planning a fully-loaded tour this spring.

The bike looks great and rides smooth, but I have had some hard-to-overlook problems right away. I am 6-2 and 230 pounds, and I ride hard (meaning I frequently pedal as fast as I can while carrying 15-30 lbs on my back or on racks), though I ride almost exclusively on roads. I suspect smaller riders (or smaller bikes...mine is an XL/21.5") wouldn't have had some of these problems.

Anyway, within the first 150 miles, I had to true the back wheel myself three times, and a few of the spokes had already developed that "kinked" look. When I brought the bike in for the warranty tune-up, I talked it over with the tech and we decided to have them build me a new rear wheel with DT spokes and a Velocity rim on the existing hub. They forgave the labor cost, but I was out the spokes and the rim...$75.

Another problem I have had, probably attributable to my size, has been the seat post, which squeaks and groans under my weight (and yes, I have tried multiple configurations on the seat rails), suggesting it is not up to the task of supporting me.

I have now only put on about 400 miles, and I have already had to retape the bars, as the grip-shifting clearly undoes the factory tape job pretty quickly. Both sides unraveled at about the same time, and it was pretty maddening, being out on the road, 15 miles out, with tape coming off in the high-use areas. After retaping up to the grip-shifters, I taped the ends down with some double-thick nylon electrical tape, and that seems to be holding for now.

Also, anyone with the 2009 version who wants a front rack is in for a treat, despite two eyelts near the dropouts and two sets of mid-fork braze-ons. Nobody at REI could help me fit a front rack, and going to some of the more bike shop-like bike shops, led to some creative solutions, all of which required work-arounds (like spacers, or extra clamps). I took my search online to find that previous Safari owners had some luck with the Tubus Tara rack. But the 2009 Safari is different and the Tubus is not a great fit. Ultimately, I went with it, but had to replace the front quick-release skewer with a hex-nut skewer, making it a royal P.i.M.A to remove the front wheel.

Lastly, anyone who wants to do real road riding is going to want thinner tires...I replaced the 700 X 46 with some 700 x 35s...much better. Also, I put some cheap spd pedals on and took off the factory clip pedals.

Now I have properly-taped bars, a powerhouse rear wheel, a front rack, proper pedals and good touring tires. I'm out an extra $250, but now the bike is performing how I had wanted it to. It is a great ride, once everything is in order, but it may take bigger riders a bit of time/money/work to get there.

Comments about Novara Safari Touring Bike - 2009:

The transition to the unique ergonomics of this bike didn't take as long as I'd thought, though I have re-adjusted the bars a few times to find a comfortable position. The hand positions of the safari bars are nice, but not usable on the street due to the time it takes to get back on the brakes if needed.

The rear rack doesn't fit my Novara bags well (had to remove the bottom hook from the bags & use zip ties instead.)

I added Planet Bike Hardcode 700x45mm fenders. The rear fit well, the front required some adjustments with a heat gun to avoid tire rubbing.

For the price, this is a good, versatile bike that'll do well in many riding conditions. Be prepared to spend some time & money to get it set up correctly, though.

Service and delivery comments:

I bought this bike in store. The sales clerk rushed me through the process (was the end of her shift) & didn't offer chance to test-fit or test ride.

The rear rack was 1" off center & the rear fender brazeon damaged (though recoverable by chasing the threads with a tap). The handlebars were set at an odd, unridable angle as delivered. Demand the opportunity to test fit in store, or be prepared to spend your first hour with the bike on adjustments.

Comments about Novara Safari Touring Bike - 2009:

First of all, FIT: you have to get a Safari that fits. I don't think it's fair to blame the product for a bad fit. I'm 5'6, 150, and I bought the smallest version they make. For me, it was a perfect fit.

Secondly, weight: yeah, this bike is a little heavy, but it's made for touring. It needs to be strong to hold the weight of all your gear for that long haul. However, personally, I never thought it was that heavy, regardless. I've put over 600 miles on this bike, and my average speed was only about 1mph slower than my super light road bike. Any extra fatigue? Maybe a little, but not worth complaining about.

I also think it's a little ridiculous to complain about difficulty mounting racks. It comes with the eyelets for mounting. I had to get a little creative with the Tubus Tara rack, an extra spacer here, an extra washer there, but it wasn't rocket science and it only took about 45 minutes to get it figured out and installed.

Personally, I think the disc brakes are a good idea for touring. Very reliable, aggressive, easy to adjust brakes, that probably provide better braking than other types of brakes under full load. I've never toured with anything but this bike, so I could be wrong here. But also, consider that disc brakes are less affected by weather. On tour, with a full load, with wet rims, jamming down hill; I'd opt for the disk brakes.

This bike, with the proper fit, is extremely comfortable, handles very well, can hold a load, and is very durable.

It's my first touring bike and I couldn't be more pleased with the performance and durability.

Comments about Novara Safari Touring Bike - 2009:

Hubs, derailleurs, shifters, brakes and rims all rate as solid components. For a bicycle in this price range, you don't seem to get anything "low end". The handlebars take a little getting used to, but they do offer a lot of different hand positions. The bike is a little heavy since it is basically built on a mountain bike frame, but that is a big part of its exceptional durability. The ride is very comfortable both in seating position and smoothness. The included rack is above average in construction and should work with most any panniers. I bought a small rack truck that expands the usefulness of the rack. For anything from an afternoon jaunt to a long trip I don't see any reason this bike would come up short of my expectations. My money was well spent and I highly recommend the "Safari" bicycle.

Comments about Novara Safari Touring Bike - 2009:

I purchased this last year and rode over 1,800 miles last season and can't wait for it to get warm enough for more miles. I replaced the tires after dealing with repetetive flats. Now using Continental Travel Contact tires from REI. Good compromise between minimal low friction running tread with some side knobbies that help out on loose shoulders and trail. Anti-flat technology on this tire WORKS with no flats since swap out (over 1,000 miles). Neck disc impingement from the "agressive" body stance resolved with a [$] REI Delta stem riser which placed the brake/shift control portion of the handlebars at a more normal height that greatly improved neck and shoulder nerve stress as well as body weight on the hands. Aftr extensive study due to front brake configuration, discovered the Blackburn Mountain Rack (hard to find and eventually purchased from a UK cycle shop) front rack to be a near perfect fit, only required minor bending of two supports in order to mate with the provided bolt on points on the fork. Front rack sits nearly level, supurb for Ortlieb front roller paniers. I chose this for a higher position for the paniers in order to clear in the trail obstacles with bags attached. This years model sadly has only one mount position for a water bottle, last years had 3 (allows for 2 bottles and 1 bottle shaped battery pack for lighting), although the bottom cage makes some roof rack systems unusable - I have only two cages on at the moment to facilitate to/from home and biking destinations. On a long tour, I'd bolt up the third one. Last year's handlebar padding easily cut up by a dump here and there from an overloaded bike falling over. This year's leather wrapped handlebars seem to be much more durable. Last year's compression seat replaced by a static seatpost. I like the compression seat feature. I keep it fairly tight, but it sure helps dampen the effect of that oddly filled pothole, speed bumps, etc., that can jar you quite a bit given that the bike has no floating suspension like most mountain bikes. I also fit REI Bike Planet fenders, totally awesome and the black color totally matches the paint job. Changed the pedals to SPD clipless purchased at REI. This is a great touring bike, especially at a great price! Extremely satisfied now with the REI purchased modifications!

Comments about Novara Safari Touring Bike - 2009:

I've only had the bike for a few days but I been on the trail and road so far. It's very smooth and handles the load for long distance. The only thing is I need to order a axle from Bob for my trailer. The large frame with the 29inch wheels does rub on the trailer. Once I get the part from bob I can go on my 4,300 mile tour across the US.

Comments about Novara Safari Touring Bike - 2009:

I bought this bike way back in 2003. Although I have made some minor changes over the years, the bike itself has done what it was advertised to do: I bought this bike so I would not be limited to the pavement and have done a couple tours where there was no pavement. Right away, I replaced both the rear and front (when it was included with the bike) racks with the Jannd Expedition Rear Rack and Extreme Front Rack (the rear rack on the new version seems a bit beefier than the original rack that came with mine). Also, I was unfortunately experiencing some lower back pain so before my first major tour, I took my bike to a shop and the mechanic added a stem extender to help me sit more upright...no more lower back pain:)

My first major tour was 6-day, 250+ mile loop in southern Utah through Capitol Reef NP, Grand Staircase Escalante NM, and Dixie NF. It handled the graded forest service roads and a bit of single track extremely well.

I was planning to ride the Baja Peninsula during the month of December 2009. I needed to overhaul the bike a bit due to some neglect and one of the changes I made was I added a grip shift for the front derailleur, a change that Novara has done for both the rear and front shifters on its current Safari bikes (I still have the rapid fire shifters for the rear however). I also added a lighter, Shimano Deore crank set, new drive train, chain, and pullys for the rear derailleur (still using the original derailleur). Over the years, I continued to buy the Continental Town & Country tires (26 x 2.1), which originally came with the 2003 version.

The Baja route took me from Mexical to Todos Santos, on Mex 5 and Mex 1. For those of you who know Baja, Mex 5 is all dirt, gravel, rock, and sand 14 miles south of Puerticitos for 100+ miles, 3 days through the desert. My loaded Safari handled this terrain extremely well, no major problems. The rest of the tour was fine, all on pavement.

In February 2010, I attempted to ride back to California, from Todos Santos/La Paz. My goal was to ride a different path, avoiding the major Hwy 1, the route I took south. This trip began with a 6-day adventure between La Paz and Ciudad Constitucion (a 2-day distance on the highway). I punished my Safari with lots of sand, gravel, rocks, steep, un-ridable grades (there was one point where in order to get over a major mountain pass, I had to remove my front panniers and other gear, hike up part way, unload the gear, then walk down and bring my bike up with the rear panniers...4-5 times!). The bike performed extremely well on this crazy journey but unfortunately my ride the rest of the way to California after that ended due to a tire blow-out (on the pavement of all places) and shortage of tubes/patches. I believe I would have completed this route if I shelled out more $$ for better tires (I am not familiar with the current brand that comes with Safari bikes but I can tell you now that I will never buy Continental Town & Country tires again...they aren't burley enough), such as Schwalbe Marathon XR HS 359.

Some concerns with the new Safari:
* 700c wheel size - the old version has 26" wheels, more common worldwide and therefore easier to find tube replacements
* disc brakes - not necessary for touring, also not as common to find parts worldwide. Older version came standard with v-brakes.
* no eyelets for 3rd H2O bottle under frame - older version can hold 3 of them...nice feature.

Overall an excellent value for a novice bicycle tourer. The frame is still in excellent working order and I expect to get one or two more North American tours out of this thing (after I buy new tires and re-build the rear wheel). However, if I ever do a major non-North American tour, I would go with a steel frame.

Comments about Novara Safari Touring Bike - 2009:

I fell in love with this bike when I saw the '08 model, but couldn't get one at the time. But when I saw the 29" 09 model I had to have it. I've tested the Surly LHT, own a Surly Cross check, fiddled around with Rivendell bikes and been generally drooling on every kind of commuter/touring bike out there. And nothing compares to the Safari. It goes anywhere, does anything, and doesn't slow down. In Alaska I throw some studded tires on there and I'm set for the winter. The bar tape is garbage, and I stuck my Brooks saddle on there. For commuting the grip shift is essential. I had a bike with bar end shifters and it was dangerous to shift coming up to intersections. Grip shifters are the way to go. Plus the disc brakes are essential for bad weather. Snow and rim brakes just don't mix and I had to learn the hard way.

Any serious commuter, bike camper, short tourer, fire trail rider, non-chromo snob, should have at least one of these.

Comments about Novara Safari Touring Bike - 2009:

I ride 12 miles to work on canal paths and the road. The bike performs equally well on either. I plan eventually to upgrade my racks and panniers to do some weekend touring and it looks like Old Man Mountain racks fit just fine on the front and back.
I bought this bike on recommendation from the guy at my LBS, based on my needs. If you need a commuter that you can use as you enter the touring scene, this bike is the one to do it on.