Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.oldmtngoat
01-27-07, 11:33 AM
Late last year I was invited to do a tour of Yellowstone National Park in July 07. I obtained my wife’s blessing to go and started the planning stages. I reviewed my options; hmmm….. I own a full carbon fiber road bike and a fully suspended mountain bike. I quickly ruled out the fully suspended mountain bike as being too inefficient for touring. The road bike needed a triple to make it work. Investigation revealed the cost of changing out to a triple was almost ½ the cost of a new bike. I really didn’t want to spend that much money and have so little to show for it. So the question arose-what about a new bike?
So the research began. I discovered BF and read almost the entire touring section going back to the beginning. I looked at the choices for a new bike and found I really didn’t like the bikes in the $600 range with the reason differing from bike to bike. Urgle!
What about a used bike? Because I’m a bit hard to fit correctly, and I lack the confidence to make a good fit choice on a used bike, I ruled out purchasing a used bike. This put me in the realm of spending a significant sum of money. I really didn’t want to spend that much money on a bike that only saw use once or twice a year.
I began to think seriously about not going on the Yellowstone tour. I became very sad over the thought. Weeks went by. I was sadder and sadder about the notion of not going on a tour. I returned to the touring section of BF again and again. I went to the Adventure Cycling site. I went to other cycling forum sites and read their touring section. I read large parts of machka’s, Ken Kifer’s and Bicycle Touring 101 sites. I read numerous blogs of folks who had done bike tours. I realized I really wanted to go on the tour, but just couldn’t justify the cost of a new bike dedicated to touring. I figured I’d only really use it once a year if all I used it for was touring.
Then I started reading the commuting section. Wow, these folks are really nuts!!! They commute on their bikes in wind, rain, sleet, snow and the gloom of night. And a few of them work in offices, wearing coats and ties-just like I do. Maybe, just maybe, it would be possible to justify purchasing a new bike if I commuted?
The commuting section is a lot bigger than the touring section. I only read back about 100 pages or so. Reading the posts on panniers showed lots of creative ways of packing. I tried out a Performance pannier, but my sport coats wouldn’t fit correctly in them without getting mushed and wrinkled. I read all the creative ways of leaving dress clothes at work, but decided it wouldn’t work for me. Then I found some folks who commuted using something from twowheelgear.com that had a way to pack up a coat and tie in a pannier.
I had found a way to commute by bike to an office that required a coat and tie! I could justify purchasing a new bike designed for touring, but would be often used to commute! Halleluiah! Then came the decision-which bike?
My prior readings had pointed me to two bikes, either the Surly Long Haul Trucker or the Trek 520. The Trek came in a really ugly green and The Surly had a color options I liked, so I tentatively decided on the LHT. I had my lbs spec one up and when going over the choices, I discovered the LHT in my frame size dictated 26” wheels. I really disliked 26 inchers and looked at the Crosschek, but didn’t like the geometry. Somewhere along the line, I found out the 2007 Trek was no longer green, but a most acceptable black color.
So now my bank account is much smaller, but I got the Trek and will start commuting in a week or two.
ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!
Thank you.
So the research began. I discovered BF and read almost the entire touring section going back to the beginning. I looked at the choices for a new bike and found I really didn’t like the bikes in the $600 range with the reason differing from bike to bike. Urgle!
What about a used bike? Because I’m a bit hard to fit correctly, and I lack the confidence to make a good fit choice on a used bike, I ruled out purchasing a used bike. This put me in the realm of spending a significant sum of money. I really didn’t want to spend that much money on a bike that only saw use once or twice a year.
I began to think seriously about not going on the Yellowstone tour. I became very sad over the thought. Weeks went by. I was sadder and sadder about the notion of not going on a tour. I returned to the touring section of BF again and again. I went to the Adventure Cycling site. I went to other cycling forum sites and read their touring section. I read large parts of machka’s, Ken Kifer’s and Bicycle Touring 101 sites. I read numerous blogs of folks who had done bike tours. I realized I really wanted to go on the tour, but just couldn’t justify the cost of a new bike dedicated to touring. I figured I’d only really use it once a year if all I used it for was touring.
Then I started reading the commuting section. Wow, these folks are really nuts!!! They commute on their bikes in wind, rain, sleet, snow and the gloom of night. And a few of them work in offices, wearing coats and ties-just like I do. Maybe, just maybe, it would be possible to justify purchasing a new bike if I commuted?
The commuting section is a lot bigger than the touring section. I only read back about 100 pages or so. Reading the posts on panniers showed lots of creative ways of packing. I tried out a Performance pannier, but my sport coats wouldn’t fit correctly in them without getting mushed and wrinkled. I read all the creative ways of leaving dress clothes at work, but decided it wouldn’t work for me. Then I found some folks who commuted using something from twowheelgear.com that had a way to pack up a coat and tie in a pannier.
I had found a way to commute by bike to an office that required a coat and tie! I could justify purchasing a new bike designed for touring, but would be often used to commute! Halleluiah! Then came the decision-which bike?
My prior readings had pointed me to two bikes, either the Surly Long Haul Trucker or the Trek 520. The Trek came in a really ugly green and The Surly had a color options I liked, so I tentatively decided on the LHT. I had my lbs spec one up and when going over the choices, I discovered the LHT in my frame size dictated 26” wheels. I really disliked 26 inchers and looked at the Crosschek, but didn’t like the geometry. Somewhere along the line, I found out the 2007 Trek was no longer green, but a most acceptable black color.
So now my bank account is much smaller, but I got the Trek and will start commuting in a week or two.
ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!
Thank you.