Long distance biking (bicycle)

[Lasse]

Hello everyone,

Since I like biking a lot as a cheap, healthy, sporty, environmentally friendly way of transportation and I have a girlfriend living about 400 km away, I'd like to get some gear to make travelling long distances a bit easier than with my mountain bike... Either by adding/changing details to my current bike or by buying a second bike specialised in long distance travelling.

Distances of 150 km per day are no problem with the mountain bike, but I'd like to be able to carry a bit more cargo comfortably and travel at higher speeds so that I can do 200 km (124 miles) in one day. There's no off roading on these trips, unless I make a navigational mistake...

So, my question, what do you use when cycling longer distances? Which ideas/recommendations do you have?

Thanks in advance,
Lasse

 

[locum76]

I've got a reasonably decent mountainbike. I've added a luggage rack and panniers to the back. They are 20l each which is enough room for most of my kit. They can be pretty heavy though.

 

[ickyan]

I get tired after 10 miles

 

[Lithril]

Road or offroad use? If you're looking at road use then a touring/audax bike is pretty much what you're looking at, if you want limited offroad/track then look at some of the cyclocross bikes. What sort of price range are you looking at?

I've recently bought a Trek Portland and it just eats the miles up, takes panniers easily and is a dream to ride. There are some really nice dedicated tourers but again it depends on budget.

Matt

 

[the laird]

I use a rack and panniers thru' the summer, but during winter I use a trailer its ideal for extended trips carrying lavuu, firebox and heavier winter sleeping kit

 

[pastymuncher]

Very much depends on the bike you have. Suspension brakes etc.
If you are doing 150km adding more stuff will slow you down. I assume you are already running road tyres. Most tourers have a more upright sitting position (again slower) for more comfort, and multiple positions on the bars. I have recently become a convert to Brookes saddles and wish I had done it years ago, 4 hours in the saddle without padded shorts without a problem.
Adding storage, Ideally you want to balance the load 60/40 front an back. Or a trailer.
Handlebar bags are another option rather than rack and panniers up front.
You could check out here http://www.crazyguyonabike.com

 

[mayfly]

You say you want to do serious distances on-road and carry weight, in which case there is really no substitute for a dedicated tourer. Though you are talking about some very serious daily distances there!! This is a great touring bike for the money. Such bikes will go up in spec and price from there. Thorn are some of the best you can buy. There is a pretty good summary of high end options here though those are all serious (and expensive!) load carrying machines and you may prefer an audax bike for fast travel like Lithril says.

 

[pastymuncher]

Distances of 150 km per day are no problem with the mountain bike, but I'd like to be able to carry a bit more cargo comfortably and travel at higher speeds so that I can do 200 km (124 miles) in one day. There's no off roading on these trips, unless I make a navigational mistake...


Thanks in advance,
Lasse

Carrying more and going faster are mutually exclusive.

 

[bothyman]

If you are not going offroad, put road tyres (smoother tread) on the bike.

I have a Surly Crosscheck running on 700x35 Tyres (Schwalbe Land Cruiser) .

It's a Cross between a Light Touring bike and a Cyclocross bike, it's good for roads and Forestry tracks.

I used to carry more stuff than I really needed, but now tend to carry the minimum I can get away, even in the Canoe.

MickT

 

[Lasse]

Thanks for all the quick replies!

I haven't switched to road tires yet, have been thinking about it for a while though. Is it easy to swap the off road tires back on again? Still enjoy some off road now and than.
Or could it be a good idea to buy entire wheels or combine a middle class back wheel with the mountain bike and the road wheel? The front wheel is very easy to replace. Or would that make no sense at all?
Longer trips would all be on very reasonable roads.

To make it a bit clearer, this is my bike I've been using for the past 10 years:

It has 24 gears (3*8) and no suspension. Breaks and gears are all Shimano.

Without luggage I've used it on a trip where we did up to 150 km / day for 10 days in a row and that felt very relaxed, a lot of fun and no pain (and I don't have padded shorts ). Last summer I installed a very basic rack on it (which frustratingly didn't hold, so had to repair every X bumps) and did 160 km until the sun floored me...

Some very nice bikes you mention Mayfly, if that first one is well built it'd be exactly the type of bike I'd consider if I have to buy one in addition to my mountain bike.

A trailer sounds interesting when carrying lots of gear, but I doubt I'll need one for the plans I have. The ones I saw all were around € 300 too, is that a normal price?!

Cheers,
Lasse

 

[mayfly]

Tires would make a big difference. Even more so, you will be amazed how much easier it is to travel faster and longer on a proper road machine, especially one designed to carry loaded panniers. No comparison. Edinburgh Bicycle have been in the game for a long time and have quality links with the factories that make those bikes. The QA on their bikes is good. After sales care good too. Highly recommended. No interest in them, just been shopping there a long time.

 

[Peat]

Tires would make a big difference. Even more so, you will be amazed how much easier it is to travel faster and longer on a proper road machine, especially one designed to carry loaded panniers. No comparison. Edinburgh Bicycle have been in the game for a long time and have quality links with the factories that make those bikes. The QA on their bikes is good. After sales care good too. Highly recommended. No interest in them, just been shopping there a long time.

Ditto. If you can manage 150km a day on those tires, you should be able to cover massive distances with a set of road or hybrid tires. My previous bike (got nicked) had hybrid tyres with a close to circular cross section with tread around the sides. This means that on the road the area of the tire in contact with the road is small, but they can still handle rougher conditions. A good compromise.

 

[pastymuncher]

Being as your in Belgium you should take a look Koga Miyata in Holland, very good touring bikes.
If you are doing 150km on your bike as it is, then you will have no problems with a set of road tyres. TBH the bike looks a little small for you, but if it's comfortable then carry on.
The cheapest option for tyres would be to swap them over with your current tyres, personally I wouldn't go down the semi slick route. However if your going to be doing a lot of loaded miles then getting yourself a set of 36 spoke handbuilt wheels from a good wheel builder will pay dividends. They don't have to be very expensive Shimano LX hubs are well up to the job, but they do need to be well built.
Tubus racks are the probably the best racks (with a price to match) but Blackburn are quite adequate for your needs.
For panniers Ortleib, Carradice, Vaude, Brookes are all very good but depends on your budget and tastes.
Do you have an idea of your budget

 

[Lasse]

Let's say my max budget would be around € 700 / £ 600 for a bike and would prefer spending less.
Looking at the prices of top brand touring bikes (like Koga Miyata, starting at € 1.250), I wonder if it would be any good buying a cheap one within my price range? Still reading reviews of the EBC models though.

 

[pastymuncher]

Let's say my max budget would be around € 700 / £ 600 for a bike and would prefer spending less.
Looking at the prices of top brand touring bikes (like Koga Miyata, starting at € 1.250), I wonder if it would be any good buying a cheap one within my price range? Still reading reviews of the EBC models though.

I got myself an 1987 Raliegh granada lightweight tourer of Ebay for £130 and with a few upgrades- saddle, stem and built myself a set of wheels with some MTB hubs I already had and a good set of tyres (Schwalbe marathons). It's turned out to be my favourite bike and most usable, despite having over £10k worth of bikes sat in the shed.

If you are comfortable with the bike you have, then just fit it out with racks and panniers and go. You can upgrade bits or get another bike when you get more experience and know what you want.
You may find you don't like fully loaded touring and want to go for a faster lighter approach, like an audax bike.

Check out http://www.rivbike.com/ they make some very nice high end bikes, but more importantly check out their information on bikes and gear, at the top of the page, to dispel some of the myths about what you must have/do to tour etc.

 

[TREETOP]

Thanks for all the quick replies!

I haven't switched to road tires yet, have been thinking about it for a while though. Is it easy to swap the off road tires back on again? Still enjoy some off road now and than.
Or could it be a good idea to buy entire wheels or combine a middle class back wheel with the mountain bike and the road wheel? The front wheel is very easy to replace. Or would that make no sense at all?
Longer trips would all be on very reasonable roads.

To make it a bit clearer, this is my bike I've been using for the past 10 years:

It has 24 gears (3*8) and no suspension. Breaks and gears are all Shimano.

Without luggage I've used it on a trip where we did up to 150 km / day for 10 days in a row and that felt very relaxed, a lot of fun and no pain (and I don't have padded shorts ). Last summer I installed a very basic rack on it (which frustratingly didn't hold, so had to repair every X bumps) and did 160 km until the sun floored me...

Some very nice bikes you mention Mayfly, if that first one is well built it'd be exactly the type of bike I'd consider if I have to buy one in addition to my mountain bike.

A trailer sounds interesting when carrying lots of gear, but I doubt I'll need one for the plans I have. The ones I saw all were around € 300 too, is that a normal price?!

Cheers,
Lasse

I use a mountain bike as a tourer, all i've done is added good quality touring tyres £50 added a brookes saddle £40 and bought a trailer for £200. A set of racks and good panniers will cost way more than a trailer and the bike handles badly too with panniers.

Loading a trailer is very easy you don't have to mess about trying to keep the bike balanced like you do with panniers, and best of all when you get where your're going just unhitch the trailer (5 second job) and your bikes back to normal no racks getting in the way for working on your bike.
In my honest opinion panniers are sh*t, I used them for 15 years but after trying a trailer for 2 weeks there is no way i'd go back to panniers now.

 

[Pcwizme]

For me its paniers all the way, ride daily to work with a rack bag, and then often with panniers are the weekend, the big bonus over a trailor (and yes i do have one all be it a fairly cheap one) is the flexablility. Its far easier to get down a thin track with out the trailer! but if your mainly on road, well then the trailer is a good option,

 

[Lasse]

Ended up ordering some new tyres (Schwalbe Kojak) and a good rear carrier. Will be using some cheap panniers which were laying around in the garage until I feel like I need some better ones.
Looking forward to testing it out this summer, thanks for all replies!

Cheers,
Lasse

 

[dr jones]

Also try and get yourself some clip pedals that attach to your shoes its astonishing how much extra power you can transfer to the wheels without noticing . suspension is useless and energy absorbing on the road so make sure you can lock the shocks for road use . I also switched to a brooks saddle , far better to have a saddle that moves with you than one that doesnt , stops you walking like John Wayne when you get off !

 

[hairyhippy]

Add a second water bottle if you can. It'll help on longer runs.
Although it may look a bit silly on an MTB, tri bars can help to give a better position when going into a head wind.
Also consider the second hand market. Careful consideration can make you money go a lot further.