Touring Bikes

rover4x4

Adventurer
I am somewhat ignorant on what is available, I have considered building a Surly Long Haul. Id like a 700c wheel, Ive seen a couple ready to ride bikes from Raleigh Cannondale etc. What are you all riding, this bike will be primarily for commuting
 

Photomike

White Turtle Adventures & Photography
Back in 1985 I bought a Miyata 1000 touring bike. This was after having 50 other bikes that never lasted. It has a longer wheel base and 700c tires. At that time no such thing as click/index shifting, but I did add bar end shifters as it has drop handle bars. This bike has been through a lot, still in amazing shape. I would not hesitate to get on it tomorrow and ride around the world with it.

That being said I have thought many times about adding wider tires to it. I love how fast it is with the narrow tires but can be a pain (in more ways than one) when you are on gravel, dirt or even roads that have debris on them.
 

FurthurOnTheFly

Glamping Society
I have a 2009 Scott Sportster that I bought for commuting. After a year, I had a friend convert it to SS and throw some lighter rims and smaller tires (700x28) on and the thing must have lost about 5lbs! Its turned into a great commuting/general road riding bike.

I do like the long haul. I like the Surly bikes in general. I agree with the smaller tires though having some problems in certain terrain. If I'm just riding on the road its not big deal, but if I take a ride down the canal or something more rough I slip and slide all over.

Really for a commuter you can use just about anything. Pick up something used on craigslist and ride, ride, ride!
 

rctr03

Adventurer
i have the surly long haul trucker and love it, it a great touring bike, i would ride it everyday if i could!

jimmy
 

Victorian

Approved Vendor : Total Composites
I have been on bicycles for most of my life... road racing, loooooong bike trips, commuting and lately I took up xc mountain biking.
Although, there many many things I haven't tried and/or gotten my hands on but a couple of things are a must for me:

1. Frame has to have mounts for disk brakes, fenders and racks!
2. Suspension fork and suspension seat post!
3. Schwalbe Marathon tires (no more flats!!!)
4. Hub generator for great lighting at night
5 11 speed internal gearhub! Especially for commuting.

I didn't find weight a huge issue, yes it is important, but I rather know that my bike will run trouble free night and day then saving a couple of pounds...

As for the frame/brand:
I think as long as the bike fits you go for it. No matter what color or brand. Heck, I would even ride a "ladies" bike if that is what would fit me best :bike_rider:
 
I've also got the Surly Long Haul Trucker. I travel fully loaded and pull a trailer with a 70 pound dog in it. When I bought mine the 700's were not available. I'd go that route today if I had the chance. I have no complaints with the bike so far.
 

kmacafee

Adventurer
The LHT

is available in both 26" and 700c versions. If one were going to travel in remote areas, especially overseas, the 26" version would make it easier to find replacement tires and wheels if needed.

The 26" version also gives you the option of fitting some really great all terrain touring tires including many from Schwalbe

Both are excellent bikes and at slightly more than $1000, a great buy. Adding racks, fenders and other reasonable mods and its $1500 out the door.

Read all about it. http://surlybikes.com/bikes/long_haul_trucker_complete/

Cheers :bike_rider:
 

R32GT-R

New member
Ive got a Tout Terrain Silk Road that i had custom built by peter white cycles, Rohloff internal hub, hydraulic disks, Columbus Zona steel frame. nice fat schawable marathon dureame tires. dynohub with led lighting, pretty much exactly like this, only mine has some upgrades

TTBERF1.jpg
 

chp-sk8

Adventurer
long haul

There are alot of builders out there that produce nice products. For the $$$ it is hard to beat the trucker. If you are doing Long trips 2k+mile with 80lb+ strapped to your rig make sure you buy a steel frame (steel is real). Take a look at CoMotion, they make a living fabricatiing what you are looking for at a reasonable price. I am retiring soon and am riding from AK-Torres South America. They are going to build my frame. Hope this helps.

http://www.co-motion.com/custom_bikes/custom.html

these guys are on there game, and been around for a while...good stuff.:victory:
 

Victorian

Approved Vendor : Total Composites
Ive got a Tout Terrain Silk Road that i had custom built by peter white cycles, Rohloff internal hub, hydraulic disks, Columbus Zona steel frame. nice fat schawable marathon dureame tires. dynohub with led lighting, pretty much exactly like this, only mine has some upgrades

TTBERF1.jpg

Nice bike!
3 weeks ago, I almost bought a Rohloff, already had it in my hands... But my dealer showed me the new Shimano Alfine 11 and for less then half the price I couldn't resist... So far I'm very happy with it... I guess time will tell if it was a good investment :coffee:
 

3konas

Observer
Your title says touring but you say it will be used primarily for commuting. I commute on a cyclocross bike, for me, it's the perfect utilitarian bike, faster than a mountain bike and more robust than a road bike. The bonus is they're relatively inexpensive, I don't want to be stressed having my bike locked up outside a store while I'm inside shopping, or being scratched while hanging from the railing on the ferry. For the terrain, length and potential options of my commute, a cyclocross bike works great.
 

R32GT-R

New member
i was in the alfine vs rohloff boat, i just couldn't wait, they delayed it one to many times and lost my business. from what i hear tho alfine-11 is one hell of a deal. too early to tell reliability, but shimano stuff is top notch anyways.

thorn bikes from the uk are very nice as well, igh, thorn raven tour, very good value, civic hyland if you want something a little more city, tout terrain makes a nice commuter, Broadway i think, but its pushing 5K fully loaded.
 
Hi Everyone,
I am setting up an older Litespeed Ocoee, '99 hardtail with hydraulic fork and sprung seatpost for treking.

Could you recommend a modern, reliable hydraulic fork. I don't need latest tech,I will be pulling an Extrawheel trailer, probably 60 lbs.of gear plus food and water depending.

Any suggestions or a fork for sale? would be appreciated.

LitespeedandExtrawheeltrailer019-1.jpg


Here are more pics of my rig.

http://s95.photobucket.com/albums/l146/bmwstbill/bicycle pics/
bill
 

ddog45

Adventurer
I really like my trek 520 from the mid 90s I bought it from an old man for 200 bucks. It is in perfect condition, I would like to upgrade the wheels at some point.
 

Jay H

servicedriven.org
There is nothing wrong with the long haul trucker however the REI novara randonee is really similar and a little cheaper. You don't have to jump all the way to a top of the line comotion or civia ect to have something considerably nicer and more expensive than a long haul trucker. I have a 1st generation salsa fargo and I really like it. I have two sets of wheels one with a massive wtb weirwolf lt 2.55x 29 (55-622) tires on wider than average wtb laser disc trail rims. The other wheels are wtb speed disc 29ers with shimano deore hubs and 700x32 (32-622) cross tires. This is one versatile bike, full on single track check loaded road touring check. Commuting with an absurd amount of groceries check. Another option that is more road oriented and gains disc brakes with out being over the top expensive is the salsa vaya. Thankfully I can and do have several bikes at any given time but if I could only have one it could very likely be the Fargo.

Another bike I have to mention because it just looks so good is the Van Dessel ******. I guess I have always been partial to monster cross.

Try several handle bar types, traditional dop bar, jones style H bars, low drop flared off road drop bars, riser bars, swept back bars ect. For a bike you spend a lot of time on having the right handle bars is critical.

One thing is for sure touring bikes are quite personal and what works for one may be hated by another.
Since your just easing into this don't skimp but don't drop 4000-8000 on a full custom, you wont really know what you want until you ride a bit.
The 700c wheel and the 29er are both 622 millimeter rims so there are a ton of good tires and rims available. A fat cross tire and a small 29er tire are much the same. I like disc brakes for touring mostly because rims with out brake tracks tend to be strong.

I would not want to commute or tour on a tire smaller than a 32. 700-32 is where the jump from road tires to cyclocross and serious touring tires happens.

Avoid ALL cable pull disc brakes that do not say avid BB7 on them, they are terrible, worse than good side pull (v-brakes). The BB7 really is the brake by which all others should be judged.

Watch out a touring bike or commuting and especially dual purpose bike will end up wearing 300 dollars in accessories in the blink of an eye. Some one will try to sell you a lot of accessories and you probably actually need many of them.

It would be nice if you could test ride a bunch of bikes but many touring models are not stocked by shops in full size runs.
 

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