Novara Randonee Bike - 2013

Comments about Novara Randonee Bike - 2013:

The ride is smooth and I like the feel of the handle bars. I've ridden about 220 miles on it, with two 50 mile rides under my belt. The bike is sturdy and a real joy to ride. Definitely glad I chose this over the safari (whose butterfly handlebars I just couldn't get used to). I like the thinner tires on this guy and it really flies compared to mountain bikes I've owned. Style is great too and I appreciate the built-in rack which meets all of my needs thus far (put on a trunk and ordered a pannier).

Some improvements:

Provide some pedals with the bike - how about the stock pedals from the Safari?

The stock seat did not work at all for me - very painful after 20 miles or so of riding. I switched it out to a seat with a channel in the middle and it's much, much better.

I'm also not sold on the bar end shifters. I don't like having to move my hand away from steering and brakes to shift. I guess I would have preferred the shifters near the breaks like lots of other road bikes.

Those improvements aside; I am VERY pleased with the bike and enjoy riding it a lot!

Comments about Novara Randonee Bike - 2013:

Solid bike for those who are not enwrapped in the bicycle racer mentality. Fun to ride, wide range of gears, can go fast, and a safe bet for the sort of riding that takes one over various types of roads, including ones with uneven surfaces, potholes, and the unexpected pine cone or branch. Also great for carrying stuff, since it has a strong rear rack and is set up for a front one. Plus, the helpful REI bike tech happily added a kickstand, which is a necessity for people who like to ride the bike to all sorts places and then lock it up. (Unfortunately, some major manufacturers of steel bikes, such as Surly and Salsa, will voide your bike's warranty if you add on an oh-so-important kickstand, which is absurd, especially if you use your bike for transportation.) And one more thing: the bar-end shifters may seem a bit awkward at first but after a while, using them is a piece of cake.

Comments about Novara Randonee Bike - 2013:

This is a follow up post of my review in 2011. As I stated we planned a bicycle tour in Europe for 2012. The tour went very well. We started Germany on the Rhine River and ended up in Northern Italy. I can say I'm as happy now with the bikes as I was in 2011 after completing our tour of the Natchez Trace. We had no mechanical issues at all. The bikes now have a few battle scars, airlines and trains are not friendly to bicycle. I have included a picture of the bikes on a train in Germany. We did use the trains a couple of times just to save time in getting to from one region to another. As you can see they were loaded pretty heavy .
We are planning a two trip around the Adirondacks this coming June, can't wait.

Comments about Novara Randonee Bike - 2013:

I use this bike mainly for leisure. Good geometry. Good price point for the components it comes with. Steel frame is durable and generates very little road noise. I stuck a pair of Shimano PD-M324 SPD Dual Platform Pedals and they pair nicely with my riding style.

I had two gripes about this bike:

The saddle is so cheap and uncomfortable I wish they would've charged 5$ less and have the bike come without one. I popped a Brooks B17 saddle on and couldn't be happier.

I had an issue with the rack hardwear. One of the horizontal arms that holds rack lost a mounting bracket and now I only have 1 bar as opposed to 2. This may just have been an assembly issue where the components weren't tensioned correctly but still an annoyance.

Overall I would recommend this bike to anyone who is looking to do slow Sunday rides/ touring/ unpaved roads/ commuting.

Comments about Novara Randonee Bike - 2013:

I took a 4,500+ mile cycle tour through Eastern Europe this summer through 10 countries. I was convinced by an REI employee that this was the bike for my trip, and it could handle the terrain and roads I would be travelling. He was completely wrong.
This is not a touring bike. The wheels are too narrow, allowing for terrible handling on dirt, gravel, or roads under construction.
The cable housing on the brakes and gears also wore out, forcing me to use a lot of duct tape.
The bike rack that comes standard on the Randonee is not made for touring. 75% of the nuts and bolts fell out at some point on the trip, forcing me to make several hardware store stops.
Perhaps this is a great commuting bicycle for paved roads, but I would not recommend it for any kind of cycle touring.

Comments about Novara Randonee Bike - 2013:

Aye, decided on committin' to a nice bicycle to do work for the spring/summer/fall season. Without access to a vehicle, the good ol' cruiser wasn't gonna cut it.

I decided on a touring bicycle & being 6'1" the LARGE was the size I chose. The sizing is personal so be patient for your right fit! Granted this is coming from a guy with "you fit the bike not the bike fits you" mentality.
I bought the Novara Randonee at the beginning of April and have acquired near 3000 miles on the thing (oops!). I had to swap the seat for a saddle but everything else stock was fantastic. I also swapped to another tire around 2000 miles (stock tires are now backups).
For the most part, I have ridden in rolling foothills of paved road, but have most certainly hopped on the beaten gravel path (by the creek), & even cruised at 12-14mph down gravels paths (next to the river) feeling safe & in control. the WEIGHT of the bicycle is fantastic for you can go extremely fast & still feel rock solid. I've had the fortune to "cruise" at near 40mph. The bicycle handled very well (my adrenaline didnt!).
I am in the process for gearing up this bicycle for a lengthly bicycle tour. I have very little complaints other than particulars on the stock items. Other than those miniscule idiosynchrisies, I couldnt consider having another bicycle for the things I am using it for (H*LLA BIKING~).

Comments about Novara Randonee Bike - 2013:

Commuting is great and getting ready for Tour de Tahoe. Climbs great and excellent bike for large rider like me 225#. I was tired of light weight road bikes that could not tolerate the stress and this bike is smooth. If I want to decrease weight I will lose 25 pounds and then consider the bike as a possible limiting factor.

Comments about Novara Randonee Bike - 2013:

My Sweetie purchased this bike for me for my birthday a couple of years ago. We had been wanting to do some touring, and that was just not possible on the Trek 1500 I have. As far as comfort is concerned, there is not a more comfortable bike than this! We have gone on 2 bike tours so far with panniers fully loaded, averaging 60 miles per day, and it has handled marvelously. I am 6 foot tall and weigh about 200 pounds, and have an Extra Large Rondonee. It would be nice to have some faster gearing so I could try to keep up with some of my weekend rider friends, but they have just come to expect that I will be bringing up the rear...the Party Train if you will. If I could find a lighter road bike that doesn't sacrifice comfort, I'll buy it. For now, this bike is ,y everything! The Trek is retired!

Comments about Novara Randonee Bike - 2013:

I just sold my car and purchased this bike after months of research and test riding other bikes. I chose this bike because it best fits my profile-daily commutor wanting the option to tour. My favorite things about this bike are the little things that are well integrated-the parts that work well together and design qualities that just make sense for commuting and touring. I'm talking more specific even than the fact that it comes with a sturdy rear rack for panniers...tiny things like how easy it is to adjust the seat angle with the adjustment screws on the seat post. I'm talking about how little cable housing is needed on the rear derailleur-a good thing because of potential overlap with bags and luggage which may rest along the chainstay. It's the little things to me that make this one of the best thought out bikes I've ridden. Much better of course than aluminum cyclo-cross bikes that just happen to have braze ons for a rack but no room for larger tires or fenders. I'm speaking as someone who has built my own bike through months of riding it as a single speed, adding gears for country rides and commuting, adding (engineering) a rack to an old racing bike not intended for hauling weight, rebuilding used caliper brake sets, changing handlebars for better comfort...what I mean to say is I knew what I needed from trial and error with an old build. The randonee is built exactly-component by component-exactly for what I need. I should mention too that I cracked that old racing frame...I imagine it had to much weight stressing the seat stays. The randonee has much better contact points on the seat stays to support the weight of touring.So, if you are wanting to commute and intend to go on any camping trips with your bike or want to bike from coast to coast this is the bike to do all of those things. Don't waste your time trying to make your little racing frame into a touring bike! just get the randonee. I didn't have the budget, or the lifestyle to commit to bike commuting until now or I would have purchased one a while ago.The other top three choices for me were the Verita, Trek 520, and Surly LHT.The verita didn't come with a rack and despite good gearing and great brakes it didn't have the stopping force or as many gear options as the Randonee. I might just be hauling a guitar amp or children some day on a trailer behind this thing. I need the options the Randonee has.The Trek 520 costs more but I didn't think the service at the local [@] matched that price point. I knew I would end up taking it to REI to get service in the future. The frame also didn't have as many braze-ons as the Randonee (extra spoke holders, front dynamo hub thingy, additional low rider front pannier rack, etc). The components on the 520 are so similar to the Randonee I couldn't figure out why the extra cost...probably the paint job or the wheelset. I think the Mavic A319 rims on the Randonee will be just fine.The LHT wasn't anywhere for a test ride so the best I could do was imagine what the geometry would feel like...based on pictures. Looked a little too upright to me. The seat tube angled further back than the other bikes. The randonee still has a slightly more agressive/forward geometry good for quick trips with little weight. I've also been told that the 4130 cromoly on the LHT is a little less forgiving, more rigid and uncomfortable than the Reynolds they build the randonee with. As a final note, I think the 2012 Randonee incorporates all the comments and advice REI gets from the owners of earlier models. My friend got a Randonee in 2009 and wished it had bar-end shifters and better brakes. This has those things and better stock bar tape and more braze-ons to boot. Besides the paint job and color are more stylish too.Bottom line: yes I will recommend this to my friends...I want someone to ride to the west cost some day with me.

Comments about Novara Randonee Bike - 2013:

I've owned the Large frame bike for a month and have over 500 miles on it. I had a safari before the Randonee and it's a night and day differene between the two. The Randonee is certainly worth the extra cost. The bar end shifters work flawlessly and after the first two hour ride they really made sense. The bike easily hauls a load with no problem The three chainrings are geared very nicely. Tires are great and no flats yet. A perfect match for a fast do it all bike. I'm 6.1" and the large frame fits me perfect. The XL frame had me stretched out with fully extended arms and not near as comfortable for my 47 year old body...
Again the perfect bike for my 30 mile commute, long 3-4 hour rides on the weekend and great to run to the grocery store for almost anything I need when I snap on those huge orb bags.
With three other bikes in the garage this one is racking up the miles 10 to 1 compared to the others. I could probably get ride of everything but a dedicated Mountain Bike and be happy forever.

Service and delivery comments:

The Spokane store was fantastic. I had to return my Safari because of constant pain and Riki the cashier up front was patient and helpful. I wasn't able to locate a large frame Ranonee frame on the floor but she found it in the computer then went out on the floor and grabed a bike employee to help me with it. Thanks again. The bike service guy; (John) did a great setup job and had all my add on from my safari swaped over in minutes. I've been very impressed with REI's bike shop and have brought in two other customers to buy their first bikes at the Spokane Store.
Thanks again folks,