Touring - Beginner-In need of a touring bike!

Help! I am lost in not knowing which bike to get..which brand..ect..I've looked at the Giant OCR3...liked it but not sure because I dont know what is out there.

Any suggestions? My price range is below 600...I'm thinking ebay but im not totally sure if that is a wise choice.

For under $600, the best bet is to convert an old steel frame mountainbike to a tourer-rigid fork, semi-slick tires, front and rear racks. This can be done fairly cheaply as I recently turned this-> http://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike.php?bikeid=1033000&f=23
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http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=92&subcategory=1049&sku=9756&brand=
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http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=114&subcategory=1082&sku=14136&brand=
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http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=112&subcategory=1079&sku=17041&brand=
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http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=112&subcategory=1079&sku=7723&brand=

= A tourer under $600 I am well pleased with.

Some stuff about the OCR3. Great entry level road bike, but not a touring bike by any stretch of the imagination. It only has eyelets for a rear rack, it has no clearance for anything fatter than 700c X 28 tires, (let alone fenders!) it has caliper brakes, (you'll want cantilever, V-, or matbe disc brakes for loaded touring.) If you really have your heart set on the OCR, and can deal with the shortcomings, get a BOB trailer-> http://www.bobtrailers.com/ but keep in mind, you'll be on skinny racing tires with no fenders, and any panniers you can hang from the rear rack will probably strike your heels due to the short chainstays.

Also, something that is like the OCR, well-priced, and wouldn't be bad for tours is the Giant FCR http://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/030.000.000/030.000.006.asp?range=254 It's got v-brakes, the price is low enough to maybe also afford a BOB trailer off E-bay, and it has good tire clearance. Good luck, I hope I helped more than confused you.

A buddy at a lbs sold me a Cannondale touring frame for $60 then assembled a working bike out of two older tourers I had trashed. For free. You might start haunting Goodwill stores and the like or put a few ads in bike related magazines. Besides BICYCLING that is. A high end set of bags and racks can cost more that $600.

I was looking at ebay under "touring bikes"..found a litespeed blueridge...not sure about it? Any thoughts?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Litespeed-Blue-Ridge-ultimate-titanium-touring-bike_W0QQitemZ9150485101QQihZ011QQcategoryZ617QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

the first thing you've got to find out is what size bike you need

also look at the "newbie's guide to touring bikes" sticky at the top of the touring page

I was looking at ebay under "touring bikes"..found a litespeed blueridge...not sure about it? Any thoughts?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Litespeed-Blue-Ridge-ultimate-titanium-touring-bike_W0QQitemZ9150485101QQihZ011QQcategoryZ617QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


That one maybe a scam, look at where it is listed. Also the Ebay name is from Germany not the US. I would also wonder about no reserve with such a low starting bid.

Aaron:)

Fuji are good at the budget end of the market.