where can be find used touring bike in..........?!

Dear All
I'm an Iranian cyclist who loves cycling and traveling by bike, but here in Iran this type of sport is not common yet , that's why it's too difficult to find touring bikes and the equipments, So I will be happy if you, cyclists from NL, BE, UK, DE, IT, SW, FR, AT can give me some local shops addresses where you live. I mostly travel in my own country and I would like to be more profesional on it, thx in advance for your recommendations.
regards

Hi Mohammad!

Iran is a beautiful country for cycling, great to hear that you are still biking there
I saw in your profile that you already have a bike, even a MTB! These are exellent for biking in Iran Far better than a touring bike as in the middle east most roads are not that good, you will know that.... So why not transform you MTB into a touring bike? Easier and cheaper.

To be able to transport bagage on the front of your bike see if you can buy a lowrider (steel is the best). You can buy them but that may be difficult in Iran. Another option would be to let a local smith build one for you. You can find many examples of lowriders on the internet. They should be able to carry 10kg luggage
For the rear of your bike you can do the same, they should be able to carry 20kg of luggage.
Here in Germany we have Tubus which make exellent lowriders and rear carriers, take a look here under "products":
http://www.tubus.net/eng/index.php

Front suspension is nice but if you have to climb (like in the mountains in Iran) you will lose energy and your bike will be harder to control. So no front suspension is better. If you travel on bad roads just reduce the pressure in your tires. Riding will be more comfortable and you will have better grip on the gravel of the road.

And what helps a lot are cycle shorts like these:
[image]http://www.essentialfitness.co.uk/shopimages/products/normal/0139_512.jpg[/image] They look stupid but they help a lot. Just wear them under your normal trousers. Perhaps you can let one be tailored for you? It is like a piece of long underwear (material is lycra, elastic) with a piece of very soft leather sewn in the bottom.

Do you have acces to Ebay or another international site where people sell stuff? It is a great place to buy things cheap.

Cycle the world,
Whisky