[Artmo]

We shall be taking a Trek 2000 to Europe this summer and will do some credit card touring, so carrying only a light load. Our team weighs 340lb and I would not expect to carry more than 35lb in luggage. The wheels are Bontrager Tandem and I'm wondering if they are man enough for this combined weight.
Any thoughts/suggestions?
I would also appreciate suggestions on gearing as the terrain while not mountainous will be quite hilly in places.

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[geoffs]

I would be taking a set of ordinary wheels with plenty of spokes, good hubs and rims such as velocity Dyad.
If something does go wrong with the Bontrager wheel you wont be able to get parts. Also when using low spoke count wheels if a spoke breaks the deflection on the wheel will mean that you will need to adjust the brakes a fair way away from the rim so that you can keep riding to the next town. There is no way known that we would want to descend some of the hills we did in France with anything less than the availability of maximum braking. At 35 lb you are intending to stay in accomodation and are just using rear panniers and a h/bar bag?
Where are you going?

Cheers

Geoff

[bikeriderdave]

Bontrager tandem wheels are extremely strong (and, not coincidentally, slightly heavy for "go-fast" wheels). The engineer who designed them has told me that analysis and testing show the 24-spoke Bonty Race Lites to be equal in strength and durability to conventional wheels with 48 spokes. Certainly "man enough" for a team+load weight of <400 lbs.

Throw a couple of spare spokes in your kit for that warm and fuzzy belt-and-suspenders feeling and go for it. Unlike Rolf wheels, the Bontragers use conventional, exposed nipples. No special tools or techniques are required to true them.

As for gearing, it depends on team fitness and riding style. We're relatively light and can become reasonably fit. A 28x27 low gear worked for us when we climbed Mt. Ventoux a few years back. Yes, we spent a lot of time in that gear, but did complete the climb from Bédoin to the summit (on an admittedly fine day) without having to stop and rest. I see that you're in Florida, though, and -- unless you live in the panhandle or near Gainsville -- may not have any hills to practice on. In that case, you might just put a 34t in the back and be done with it. There are worse things than having to walk a hill -- especially when the scenery is great :).

Enjoy!

[Artmo]

Geoff & BR Dave- Thanks for your inputs. I had thought of the Dyads, but might just risk the Bontragers, judging by what BR Dave says.

We are not sure where we are going yet. We shall be based in Brighton on the S coast S of London, in case you don't know it, so we can practice on hills E and N of there, and we hope to get to the Loire valley and maybe beyond. We've never toured by bike although we do a fair amount of cycling, especially me - about 600 miles/month. We are in our 60s, but reasonably fit. Yes, we will have rear paniers and a bar bag.
Our lowest range at the moment is 30X34 which gives us 24" vs your 28".

[mrfish]

Plenty of hills round Brighton. Basically it's uphill anywhichway to get out of town! Ditchling Beacon is moderately challenging in the other direction, but is reputed to be hard as most people hit it at the end of London to Brighton.

The hills in UK tend to be shorter and steeper than those on the continent though, so if you're OK round Brighton I would forsee no gearing problems in middle of France. Just look on the map for some single and double arrowed hills in the UK - if you can do those, no problems in France. Just take it easy to begin with and make sure you don't wreck your knees in the first few days or get carried away on a ride and blow up with 2 big hills to go!

As a fellow T2000 owner I find the gears pretty low, meaning you can spin up just about anything if there's traction on the road. Thus we've only used bottom gear on the T2000 once. For reference on single bikes we can manage any UK hills on 39x25, my wife on 34x25. We are of reasonable non-racing club rider standard.

Btw the Bonti wheels also take standard spokes temporarily, so are just as repariable as any other wheel. In practice I would find it unlikely that you are any more likely to be able to get hold of a tandem spaced wheel or a 48 spoked deep rim at the drop of a hat in any non-specialist bike shop. Better IMO to stick with the Bontragers and get the nearest Trek dealer (of which there are many) to get a new Bonti wheel airfreighted in overnight under warranty. Worst case you could always give me a call (assuming I am not on holiday with the tandem) and I can lend / sell you my wheel or at least point you towards a competent bike shop for service. Just pm me and I will send you my contact details.

[TandemGeek]

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Enjoy the trip and don't worry about your wheels or your gearing if all is working just fine at home. If you feel you'd like to build some confidence, go ahead and start riding with the 35lb load before heading off on tour just to get a feel for it.

As someone else noted, Bontrager's wheels can be fixed using standard spokes... no special parts required short of a major shunt that damages the rim.

[Artmo]

Thanks MrFish. We are originally from the UK and know the Brighton area. I keep a solo bike there, but was not sure about gearing for a tandem, nor the strength of Bontrager wheels.
I think you and the other kind folks here have answered all my questions. Many thanks