UKC

I know next to nothing about bikes, so please bear with me. I currently have a restored 30 year old Czechoslovakian Favorit road/touring bike: steel frame, 10 speed, non-indexing gears, downtube shifters that can't be trusted to stay put on uphills, and brakes that ask that you book an appointment in advance. It looks beautiful, but shows the limitations of 1980s Eastern bloc technology. By the end of a 50km ride yesterday it sounded like a box full of mice and crows, such was the variety of noises coming from every conceivable place.

Now, I am tempted by something less handsome but more practical. It will be used for touring, up to 150km a day, so it must handle cobbled streets, potholed roads, good cycle paths, dirt/gravel tracks, muddy paths, but no serious off road/MTB territory. It must be able to take a rack for panniers. I've considered a cyclocross bike, or a more modern tourer like the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op Country Explorer, but I think front suspension might be useful, given that I live in Czech Republic and many streets are cobbled or are in a worse state of repair than in Britain.

Any thoughts on the Merida Crossway 100, about £475? http://www.merida-bikes.com/en_int/bikes/cross/cross/2015/crossway-100-lady...

Any other suggestions or advice is most welcome.

In reply to nikkormat:

Maybe my views of the Czech Republic are somewhat outdated but I'm sure that the agricultural design of that bike will enable it to fit in very well but

To be honest for a bit more money you could do a lot better....
a bit more for a LOT more
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s21p2733

a bit less money
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s21p2414

In reply to nikkormat: my experience of Merida is that they are perfectly competent and perfectly dull bikes. And the componentry on that won't be with us in 30 years.

. There is no point comparing the prices against those in the UK - to get to the point how much is that bike going to cost you? From where - local shop i guess.