Bicycling Touring

[Highbinder]

Hey guys,

Anyone into this side of the hobby? I'm considering spending a month or two on the road next spring, cycling the GR trails into France and across to Italy.

Is there a forum/website equivilant to BcUK I can learn a bit more about it? I need to do a bit of research before I buy a bike. ATM I'm thinking of picking up a standard 26" 'tourer' mtb, no suspension (maybe front shocks only?), and buying a drop handlebar, racks and spring seat seperately.

You seem to be able to get crazy storage on the bikes with panniers, too! LOVE how you can get drybag panniers, think I'll go with a pair of 40l which will be more than enough space plus a small backpack. Extra space means I'd be able to pack a bivvy as well as my hammock, plus a few other luxuries (netbook!)

If anyone has any advise/wisdom/experience to share I'd be grateful

 

[ged]

I've done a bit of cycle touring/camping but I'm no expert. You shouldn't have any trouble finding forums specific to your needs although quite a few people on this one have done serious touring.

My biggest problem was breaking axles, presumably from overloading them as I've never really managed to travel light. In the end I made a trailer which helped a lot but I wouldn't want to use it off road.

My wife has front panniers as well as rear and if we did manage to get out more on the bikes I'd definitely get a pair too.

 

[Highbinder]

I'd expect my load to be under 20kg. I can usually get out into the woods for a week at ~10kg, so with the extra clothing and such for a longer time away I should still be relatively light. What kind of weights were you carrying? What diam were your axles? I used to ride bmx with 14mm axles, never had trouble but did pop a couple of spokes.

Any advantage of front panniers rather than just rear? Better weight distribution would be better for the bike, does it make for an easier cycle, too?

How does a loaded bike handle compared to a mountain bike on hard trail?

 

[ged]

I'd expect my load to be under 20kg. ... relatively light. What kind of weights were you carrying?

Not a great deal more than that most of the time, but often nearer 30kg and all in/on the panniers/rack/saddlebag. At 65-70kg myself depending on state of training and clothing I'm not a heavyweight. People have said maybe there was a frame problem but I'd be more convinced by that if axles broke with no luggage loaded, and they didn't seem to.

What diam were your axles?

3/8", which will give you an idea of how old I and my bikes are...

i used to ride bmx with 14mm axles, never had trouble but did pop a couple of spokes.

You'll be a lot better off with 14mm axles. Yeah, I still carry spare spokes, used to get through them all the time.

Any advantage of front panniers rather than just rear? Better weight distribution would be better for the bike, does it make for an easier cycle, too?

Best talk to the wife about that, she's never let me ride the Rourke. She likes them. I think convenience is one major benefit, like having extra pockets, and the wife's front panniers just lift off the supporting tubes, no fasteners needed, so you can keep precious stuff in there and easily lift it off to carry it into a shop or whatever. So security too, which is an important consideration when touring on a bike.

How does a loaded bike handle compared to a mountain bike on hard trail?

I think it sucks, but you get used to it. Slows the steering down but I've never been a fan of excessively quick steering so form that point of view it's not a big deal to me. Rolling resistance is a lot better on high pressure road tyres of course.

 

[Maggot]

We go on at least one cycling holiday a year as a family, and I have toured all of the UK, France, Holland, John O'Groats to Lands End etc

700c wheels are the preferred size for touring, not 26" which are generally mtb sized. There is no need to do loads of research, just get a Dawes Galaxy/Ultra Galaxy and you'll never need to buy another. What is your budget? Don't worry about axle size, it's a red herring. Rims are much more important than axles. Don't waste money on a spring saddle, just added weight for no particular gain.

I usually carry two rear panniers and a tent on the rack if I am on my own, but have front panniers for when I am with the family.

The most important thing about cycle touring is distance. Do not get stressed about how far you go, just pedal, then when you want to, stop, then carry on again. Take it really easy. We went away earlier in the year and managed 25 miles a day, with our 9 year old daughter, every day for 5 days, it's easy. When I am on my own I usually manage about 60 miles a day, but I cycle loads.

Cycle touring is great fun.

 

[eel28]

Have a look at http://www.bikeandbivi.co.uk/ think you will find it's the site you asked about in your first post

 

[silentman]

Hi have a look at a site called http://www.bikeradar.com/ it cover most types of cycling

 

[sandbender]

"...If anyone has any advise/wisdom/experience to share I'd be grateful..."

I used to cycle to work in both Edinburgh and London and that is all the cycling experience I have, however I have corresponded with Jerry Webb of Bliss On Wheels and if you have a look through his website you will find lots of hints, kit lists and useful info. You could probably drop him a line with any questions you have.

 

[Highbinder]

Thanks guys, I'll check out the sites!

I unfortunately don't have a lot of cash to blow on a bike. What I'm curious to know is about the frame geometry. Most sites I find on touring state that is the #1 in terms of importance. What makes good geometry tho? All going well I should have about 500eu total to spend, which is why I'm thinking more a 2nd hand bike.

The distance is of great appeal to me. I used to cycle everywhere before I bought my car, and it'll be nice to get a bit of that experience back. Humping it on foot I can barely make 25mi in a day, the advantages of a bike are really starting to sway me. I love the idea of not having to have all the weight on my back.

I think I'm going to try and borrow a bike and do a section of the GR5 trail to see how it actually is.

At first I was considering LDP,

But I don't think I could hack it just now with me knee

 

[Berk]

To the person that states that 700cc wheels are the standard for touring, that doesn't matter one jot. Tour on whatever size wheels you like. 26" wheels are actually preferable if you're touring the world by bike as it's the most common size in a lot of places, making it easy to get spares. In Europe and the USA though, either can be used.

Think carefully about switching to drop bars if you buy a straight barred bike, it can get costly. The main reason for this is the fact that brake levers and gear shifters for drop bars are based on road bike equipment, that often has a different pull to mountain bike stuff, but you can get brake levers for drop bars that work with V-brakes, as well as bar end shifters that should work with the dérailleurs.

Make sure whatever bike you choose has the fittings for mud guards and racks, and the clearance to take them. Also be aware that if you get a bike with front suspension, it will be a bit more costly to get a decent front rack for it, but there are racks out there from Old Man Mountain and Tubus iirc. Ortliebs have a good name in the cycle touring community, for quality and waterproofness. I've got a pair of Carradice Carradry's, they have slightly more space but lack the roll top feature that would let them survive a dunking.

Don't forget spares, spare inner tubes being the main one, as well as tools and other spare odds and ends. Cyclechat forums have a good touring section, as do BikeForums, but they're American based. There are also loads of bike touring blogs out there, TravellingTwo being one, it's also worth checking out CrazyGuyOnABike where lots of people upload their adventures. I've avoided linking them as I can't guarantee they match the same standards of family friendly that this forum does, but they're certainly not smutty.

If I think of anything else, I'll post my thoughts.

 

[Highbinder]

I think with my price ranges it'd be difficult to find a cost-effective tourer. After some more reading (I love reading into new nomenclature) I think it would be much easier to choose an appropriate mountain bike that I could use as a tourer.

Prefered criteria so far would be things like a steel hardtail frame, a good low range on the gears, a long enough chainstay to avoid catching panniers, the mounting points for racks and guards, maybe lockable front shocks.

As for the handlebar switch, I will leave the decision at the very least till I've borrowed a dropbar. Cost wise I think a set of bullbars would be a good compromise. I was at the mapshop yesterday investigating some of the main trails, and also thinking back to the sections I've walked I think a mountainbike brake positioning would be more comfortable.

How is buying bikes second hand? Theres a website called loquo, which is the spanish version of gumtree, which means I could pick something up locally. Another reason for second hand is Barcelona has a lot of bike theft and a cheaper/less flashy bike would make me feel a lot more at ease using it for commutes before and after the trip.

 

[calibanzwei]

The touring section of the cyclechat.net forum has loads of good info - http://www.cyclechat.net/forum/12-touring-and-expedition/

 

[ickyan]

It would be better to get solid forks as they are lighter have a slight flex which would be more comfortable than locked shocks.

Suspension is heavy and sucks up allot of your power up hills.

If going on rough terrain, wider tyres (your bike will need the clearance) and solid forks will get you over most stuff.

 

[ged]

... How is buying bikes second hand? ...

The nice thing about bikes if you're buying second hand is that you can see pretty much all you need to see as soon as you stand somewhere near the bike.

The bearings rarely wear out, although it does happen. It isn't a big deal to replace them if you have to.

In the UK, if you look around you can get a bike that I would cheerfully tour on for less than fifty quid. Sometimes a lot less.

A friend of mine in the USA bought a Cannondale for twenty dollars at the police pound, it was recovered stolen property but nobody had claimed it. For a few months I rode it sixteen miles a day from Marina del Rey to Glendale in Los Angeles while I was working there. One day I had to stop at a petrol station for a few drops of oil (I found a discarded oil carton in the bin and that did the job nicely) but that's all it ever needed.

 

[gobfish1]

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/?o=1r4vFZo

 

[Berk]

Old Specialized Rockhoppers seem to be a (relatively) common choice for touring on an old rigid MTB. The old eighties versions have long chainstays and a solid steel frame. Most older mountain bikes might do you.