Recommended Touring Bikes

I have a road bike now, but wish to get into long distance bike touring and centuries. I would ideally like something comfortable, able to haul a moderate amount of gear, and if possible not super slow. I am a larger rider 6'1 and about 210 lbs.  Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by ilter on November 11, 2012 at 4:05pm

Hi all, Jim is right about my experience with LHT. I was very happy with mine, but started to have doubts after my first brevet where I had to climb hills :)  Not being particularly heavy or strong, and not finding time for any touring, oversized (and thick) tubing just did not work for me. I have more fun with my vintage Trek & decided to sell the LHT.

Jim, let`s plan a long-ish ride after Thanksgiving!  Maybe an off-season beer ride :)

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on November 11, 2012 at 4:32pm

My wife has a 2010 Jamis Aurora Elite. It comes with a Reynolds 631 frame and is a great sport tourer. I love it. It's a great do-all kind of bike.

Permalink Reply by David P. on November 11, 2012 at 4:50pm

Dave,

To expand a bit on what others have said, think about what kind of riding you want to do as you narrow down your choices. If you are just going to be doing lightly-loaded trips and credit-card trips and such, you don't need a loaded-touring warhorse like the Trucker, and you'll certainly find something more sprightly nicer to ride, and better at climbing. There are plenty of sport tourers that would fit the bill. As for centuries, you can do those on anything you're comfortable on (people do them on road-tires MTBs) but you'd likely enjoy something like a sport tourer more than a Trucker for that as long as you had a riding position that you were happy with.

David

Permalink Reply by Duppie on November 12, 2012 at 3:21am

David,

Never heard of a sports tourer before. Can you give some examples of what you are thinking of?

David P. said:

Dave,

To expand a bit on what others have said, think about what kind of riding you want to do as you narrow down your choices. If you are just going to be doing lightly-loaded trips and credit-card trips and such, you don't need a loaded-touring warhorse like the Trucker, and you'll certainly find something more sprightly nicer to ride, and better at climbing. There are plenty of sport tourers that would fit the bill. As for centuries, you can do those on anything you're comfortable on (people do them on road-tires MTBs) but you'd likely enjoy something like a sport tourer more than a Trucker for that as long as you had a riding position that you were happy with.

David

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on November 12, 2012 at 4:41am

I bought a Trucker a few months ago and have since acquired all the accoutrements (fenders, rack pannier) to make commuting easier than my road bike, but the Surley is definitely overkill for just going up and down the lake.  Part of me thinks I'd have done better with something like a Cross Check, but then it'd be a lot closer to my road bike.  There's also a certain feeling of inevitability with the Trucker; that it's just going to keep going no matter what you do.  Once you get all that mass moving wind doesn't seem to affect me as much as my road bike.  If the LeMond is like riding a praying mantis the Surley is a rhinoceros beetle, and one geared low enough that you can go through anything.  It's not going to be fast unless you put out a lot of energy, but it will maintain a good speed without too much effort.

I'd like to do some actual touring with it next spring, but need to do a lot more planning.

Permalink Reply by David P. on November 12, 2012 at 4:45am

Dave,

The term in one sense refers to all the UJBs (Universal Japanese Bikes) from the 70s and early 80s but in more useful terms refers to a bike that has frame geometry that is pretty sporty - more so than something like a Trucker - but comfortable for long distances (IOW it's not a race bike), has longer chainstays and rack and fender mounts but has lighter tubing than a loaded tourer. I'm not too familiar with the lineups of the major brands, so I'm not sure what to give as an example (anyone else who does, feel free to chime in.) Arguably a CrossCheck could be considered one, sort of.

You may be perfectly happy with something like a LHT; but think about what kind of riding you think you'll mostly be doing, and find a good shop that can help translate your wants into the appropriate bike. Certainly, test-ride different kinds of bikes to see what they feel like.

David



Duppie said:

David,

Never heard of a sports tourer before. Can you give some examples of what you are thinking of?

David P. said:

Dave,

To expand a bit on what others have said, think about what kind of riding you want to do as you narrow down your choices. If you are just going to be doing lightly-loaded trips and credit-card trips and such, you don't need a loaded-touring warhorse like the Trucker, and you'll certainly find something more sprightly nicer to ride, and better at climbing. There are plenty of sport tourers that would fit the bill. As for centuries, you can do those on anything you're comfortable on (people do them on road-tires MTBs) but you'd likely enjoy something like a sport tourer more than a Trucker for that as long as you had a riding position that you were happy with.

David

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on November 13, 2012 at 4:15am

More light/sport touring bikes include: Salsa Cassaroll, Raleigh Port Townsend, Rawland Nordavinden, Surly Pacer, Bob Jackson Audax... I'm sure there's more!

Permalink Reply by mark stetson on November 17, 2012 at 8:05am

An aquaintance in Minneapolis has this Casseroll frame, fork, headset and rack for sale at $275 + shipping. It's a 60cm, he's about your height.

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Permalink Reply by Barry Niel Stuart on November 17, 2012 at 10:21am

I myself own a Jamis Aurora with the STI shifters.  Others worth considering are the Kona Sutra, Raleigh Sojourn, Salsa Vaya, and theTrek 520.  The Kona, the Salsa, and the Raleigh come with disc brakes.  Also, the current Jamis Aurora Elite has disc brakes.  You might consider disc brakes if you want to handle a really heavy touring load.  By the way, one reason for bar-cons is their simplicity and mechanical reliability. 

Permalink Reply by Will on November 17, 2012 at 11:09am

Sounds like you should really look into the cyclocross/sport touring type of bikes Cameron mentioned, like the Bianchi Volpe and Surly Cross-Check. You can use them for moderate loads, but they're quicker than many true touring bikes, and they're good for centuries.

Permalink Reply by william on November 18, 2012 at 8:11am
I'd find a mid 80s sport tourer (trek, miyata, etc) thats 27" and convert to 700c dynamo wheelset, for fat tire/fender clearance. Upgrade what needs to be replaced and contact points first, the rest as you go. Get a nice rack like a Nitto or Tubus, fenders. And ride the shit out of it. Make it your true all-rounder: touring, centuries/permanents, commuting, get out of the house ride, etc.


If you want to expand your budget (by almost double) get a boulder bicycle rando or bdb pelican.
Permalink Reply by Dave D on November 18, 2012 at 8:13am

Thanks for all of the great tips. 

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