Originally Posted by Richard W
Stuart - the issue about the spokes is one which I inquired about at my lbs. They told me those wheels actually have stronger rims and so need less spokes. I would probably change the tyres anyway.
I'll also enquire about the aluminium fork.
Thanks everyone.
Richard,
The problem with those wheels and touring isn't the rims. I'm sure the rims would be just about unbreakable since they beef up the rims to take more of the load so that fewer spokes can be used. The problem is that touring puts a lot of lateral load on the spoke head which can lead to failure. My T800 has a 36 spoke wheel and I would rather have 40. The more spokes, the less hard each spoke head works. I would suggest that you do a ride (or several) close to home carrying a load similar to what you would out on the road. I carried 40 lbs of beans and rice (easy to get in 5 lb increments and edible afterward) for 2 months as training and shakedown for my tour last year. It's better to have something break near home then out in the hinterlands.
Looking at the bike on Trek's website, it looks like the fork has eyelets for lowriders. Don't change the fork, that one looks good enough. Save your money on the fork and buy a good set of racks and lowriders - I like the Tubus Cargo for the rear and the Tubus Tara for the front. They are expensive but they are worth every penny! Plus the Tara is about the sexiest lowrider rack I've ever seen! (My wife thinks I sick.) Take a look and see what you think
http://www.tubus.net/eng/produkte/lowrider/Tara.php. You can get both at
Wallingford Bikes.
Update us when possible
Stuart Black
"It was a long tour. I had to have something curvy to look at."