Touring - Touring with Trek 700 Multitrack Hybrid?

Hi everyone. I just got a new Trek 520 and I my wife and I want to do some touring, but the only bike she has is a Trek 700 Multitrack (hybrid - picture below).

Just wondering if anyone has experienced loaded touring with a hybrid like this? Did you have any issues/problems? Will this thing be hefty enough to handle loaded touring? My wife weighs about 140 lbs, plus her gear is around 60 lbs.

Any thoughts?

I haven't done any touring on my FX 7300 yet but I'm getting ready too.I put a rack on the back and have WTB rims which they say are adequate.I weigh 195#,so I would think that if your wife weighs 140# you shouldn't have many problems.I asked the same question as you and didn't get any replys so you may try to ask Google.Good luck George

Sorry I take that back, there is a guy and his wife that tour overseas and she rides a TreK 7200,I'll see if I can find there web site

http//www.geocities.com/bike_journeys/index.html

I have a Trek 790 (92 model) that I bought new. I toured on it until 2004. I have used four panniers and then switched to towing a BOB trailer, then went back to the four panniers. The bike is heavy but that was my only complaint. I had some good wheels built for it and it is good to go. I now use my new bike to tour on but would not have a problem using the Trek again if need be.

I have done a couple of short tours on my Fuji hybrid and found it worked well. On one trip, the load was only light panniers (but I weighed 260 on the trip) so the load was considerable. A second longer trip was 120 miles on a gravel towpath with a BOB type trailer and once again the bike held up well. I would guess that the Trek would do just as well. The only issue might be heel strike, but your wife hopefully has smaller feet than me!

Many folks on this board get way too fixated on the bike. It's not the most important part of the trip, really. Buying a top end touring bike doesn't make you a cyclotourist. Don't get me wrong-- a good bike is worth having. But millions of riders in Europe go for short tours on hybrid bikes every year. The Rine river bike paths are jammed with families riding bikes just like the Trek pictured above.

Good thing nobody on this board told them they couldn't :)

The number one question is.... is your wife up to touring? She needs to be in somewhat good physical shape and ready for the mental challenge of the trip. It's mostly the mental part that's important. Fat Germans often go for a easy 7 day tour and sweat and suffer through the trip...with a smile! Fat Americans....well most would just quit the 2nd day. So it's mostly mental.

Many folks on this board get way too fixated on the bike.
X2

The number one question is.... is your wife up to touring? She needs to be in somewhat good physical shape and ready for the mental challenge of the trip. It's mostly the mental part that's important. Fat Germans often go for a easy 7 day tour and sweat and suffer through the trip...with a smile! Fat Americans....well most would just quit the 2nd day. So it's mostly mental.

Well, with all due respect to those smiling fat Germans, my wife and I ain't gonna quit for nothing. :D It was just an equipment question; wasn't asking about the mental attitudes of various nationalities. Thanks for answering, nonetheless. :)

Here's my loaded touring bike.
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/4637/loadedtourlg2.jpg
Late 90's Specialized CrossRoads Hybrid with Shimano BioPace crank. That bike was found at a thrift store for $5. Someone had tried to use it as a mountain bike and had beaten the wheels off it. I picked up a new set of wheels off Ebay for $30 and added front and rear racks I already had. The panniers are three modified gas mask bags costing $2 at an Army surplus store and the yellow pannier is a modified briefcase found in the same thrift store for $1. I have over 3,000 miles on it since April of this year (2006) and other than replacing the tires I have worn out I have had no problems with it at all after all those miles. Oh, I had just crossed that distressed bridge in the background! Hybrids do make good loaded touring bikes.

Here's my loaded touring bike.That bike was found at a thrift store for $5. Someone had tried to use it as a mountain bike and had beaten the wheels off it. I picked up a new set of wheels off Ebay for $30 and added front and rear racks I already had. The panniers are three modified gas mask bags costing $2 at an Army surplus store and the yellow pannier is a modified briefcase found in the same thrift store for $1.


Wow. Nice ride. My wife would love you. She's a coupon/discount shopper. Nice deal. I love it! :)

Yeah, n4ou, that's a nice ride.

markwayne,

I would call everybody in the USA a quitter, or every German tough. Most of it has to do with having a realistic view of cycling. It's hard work. You get rained on. Your legs get tired. At some point you end up suffering.

I love this. It's why I ride.

markwayne,
I would call everybody in the USA a quitter, or every German tough. Most of it has to do with having a realistic view of cycling. It's hard work. You get rained on. Your legs get tired. At some point you end up suffering.
I love this. It's why I ride.

Yep, me too. I have 2 short ten-day tours under my belt thus far. Around 1000 miles each tour. A few days were 130+ miles. I know it's hard work. The first day of my first tour, the temp dropped at night (in late August) to 36 degrees F. and I had only packed a thin army blanket instead of a sleeping bag. On top of that, it was rain/sleet mixed the following day - and we did 75 miles that day. Granted, that was when I was younger, but I know it is worth it.

You generally get out of life what you put into it. I'm at the age now (45) where I want to slow down and enjoy life by getting out there an cycling as much as possible, with good equipment now that I can afford it.

Thanks and happy biking! :)

You generally get out of life what you put into it. I'm at the age now (45) where I want to slow down and enjoy life by getting out there an cycling as much as possible, with good equipment now that I can afford it.

Thanks and happy biking! :)
I am 50 Yrs old, retired, and have the same attitude. Cycling keeps me pain and dope free from the Arthritis I have so I am on one of my bikes almost every day. I mostly go solo so I can do the mileage as I like or feel like doing and explore places no others would try. Take the photo of my bike above as an example. There were signs saying the bridge in the background was out and the road ahead was for local traffic only. The few people I have toured with did not want to go the 2.5 miles to check it out for fear of adding 5 miles to the trip if it were impassable. I did and had no problems crossing it. I still can't get them to run that road which offers spectacular vistas and no traffic.
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/5342/littletankmtgq6.jpg

I am 50 Yrs old, retired, and have the same attitude.

Ain't life great? Another thing I have in common with you - ham radio. Now if I could only get my Yaesu 840 FT strapped to my bike. :rolleyes:

73

I have a Trek 790 (1990 model) which I use to this day and have done heavy, loaded, unsupported solo touring with it. No problems at all though I do suspect its geometry is not the best for what I've been using it for. hehehe

I ride a 15+ year old 750 on all sorts of terrain. Had a 720 before that.
If your wife likes the fit and the ride, the bike should be fine. They're a bit heavy, but the 700 series is very sturdy.

Long story short, you can tour on anything that can be fitted with the proper racks. There's a couple of guys who toured the coast of the UK for on tall bikes, fer cryin' out loud... ;)

Anyway, as long as it's comfortable it should work out fine. I'd put ergo grips and bar-ends on, for more hand positions and hand comfort.

And.... 60 lbs of gear? I do credit card touring and only have 20 lbs of gear. What's the other 40? Is she bringing a TV or something? :D

What matters above all is that you do ride, not what you ride.

Trek 700/720/730/750 have same geometry as the Trek 520. Trek 750 is made from very high quality double-butted steel in the USA. The others are not, but they are just as capable of taking you places.

What matters above all is that you do ride, not what you ride.

Trek 700/720/730/750 have same geometry as the Trek 520. Trek 750 is made from very high quality double-butted steel in the USA. The others are not, but they are just as capable of taking you places.
Exactly right, it doesn't matter what you ride, I did the BAK (Bike Across Kansas) in 2004 and this guy did the whole ride on a unicycle. Did it to raise funds for cancer.

Ain't life great? Another thing I have in common with you - ham radio. Now if I could only get my Yaesu 840 FT strapped to my bike. :rolleyes:

73
HTX-252, 1/4 wave antenna on the front rack, and 7 amp-hour SLA battery. I use it sparingly for emergency communication and weather reports. Cell Phones are pretty much useless in the areas I go. I guess that’s another reason others fear to go where I do!

I have a Trek 7200 and while it isn't ideal it adequate. Think about beefing up the rear wheel or learning how to change spokes (I did both).

n4Zou, I like the water bottle+straw on the bars.

I would suggest bar ends and/or clip on aero bars to provide more hand/body positions.

n4Zou, I like the water bottle+straw on the bars.

I would suggest bar ends and/or clip on aero bars to provide more hand/body positions.
I have been considering the nashbar trekking handlebars and would have ordered and installed them already but I don’t have any problem with the single hand position so I am not in a hurry. I am going to wait for the after Christmas blowout to order the stuff I need from nashbar.
I've been modifying bottles with straws for years. I use the other bottles to keep that one refilled. It makes getting a drink so much easier and safer as you don’t need hold the bottle in front of your eyes as you take a drink.
http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/NS-TRK.gif