# REI Navaro Randonee touring bike



## two wheel texan (Jun 26, 2005)

Was at my local REI today and took a quick look at their touring bike. I know this bike has been around for a good while but I was hoping that I could get some real world feedback from anyone out there who has one and has done some self supported tours on it. I am planning my first tour on the Natchez Trace Parkway this fall and thought this bike my be a good fit. The bike seems to be a good value and the price is right even if I have to upgrade some things. The ony thing that comes to mind right away is the front chain rings are a 52/42/30 but I could live with that on this upcoming tour since the terrain from what I have gathered is fairly flat.Any feedback from some of you more experienced tourers would be welcome.


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

My Randonee dates back to about 1990, when Shimano still made cranksets with realistic gearing (in this case, 46/36/26). I've done a fair number of self-supported tours with it over the years, although not much lately. It's proven to be a solid, stable and reliable platform over the years; absolutely nothing flashy about it, and it's definitely not built for speed, but it's also been a good commuter and decent all-around bike.

You're right to be concerned about the gearing, but like you say, you can probably get away with what the bike has for this tour. I'd recommend looking into something like a Sugino triple, which won't blow the budget--I think the XD300 goes for about $60 and the XD600 for around $90, and since it's 110/74, you can get chainrings to customize the gearing if you're not satisfied with the stock setup.


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

*A buddy of mine likes his...*

A couple of winters ago we road 1,000 miles from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas with no problems to his bike other than a broken spoke.


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## bikenraider99 (Mar 6, 2002)

Been looking at the same bike and decided to buy it in August. I've test ridden it and dialed in on one but didn't pull the trigger on buying it just yet. The shop guy here was saying to wait till August when it gets marked down. True I won't get the purchase to count towards the dividend, but I'll get it hella cheap.

The riders here I've met with it, very few, have had nothing but good things to say about it. One thing that comes to mind is the wheelset. It's a bit on the cheesy side as all three of the riders had mentioned breaking a spoke. Another ditched the adjustable stem in favor of a fixed stem. Didn't like the idea of something being that adjustable on the front of the bike. Two of them had switched out the drive train in favor of a Shimano XT/LX system. Worked for them.

I plan on leaving it stock, with the exception of adding racks and a fendors to it. I'm going to try out the gearing as is, figuring that most of my riding down here is flat. I might take it through the hill country once to see if I'm going to keep the gearing. Eventually I would like to swap out the Shimano parts to Campy.


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## Dick Rhee (Jun 15, 2005)

I bought one as a beginner's bike and have since decided that it's not really what I'm looking for. It's a nice bike, but I am really looking for something a little smaller. Ha, if you live in Seattle and happen to fit a 56/57, you can buy a 6 month old bike if you want.


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