Touring - new touring bike

Hi,

I recently moved to AZ and have gotten into bike touring...although I'm definitly a novice...I'm ready for a new bike...I've been reading some of the threads, and looking around but still don't have a clue as to how to make this decision. Does anyone have any helpful hints or favorites I should check into? Any help would be appreciated...
Thanks,
Susan

Depends on your budget!

I ride vintage, myself.

Modern:

I'd suggest the Surly Long Haul Trucker, right off the top of my head, unless you have a BIG budget, then I'd say go Thorn.:D

If you have a REALLY BIG budget, go Rivendell!:D
Hi,

I recently moved to AZ and have gotten into bike touring...although I'm definitly a novice...I'm ready for a new bike...I've been reading some of the threads, and looking around but still don't have a clue as to how to make this decision. Does anyone have any helpful hints or favorites I should check into? Any help would be appreciated...
Thanks,
Susan

most important is fit and comfort, so it requires that you test out each model you're considering

Jamis Aurora is a good, practical option
Steel frame

Is this bike strictly for touring use?

I bought a bike that I am going to use for touring but probably only about 5-10% of it's lifetime use will actually be touring. The rest will be long weekend rides and commuting. Therefore, I built-up a bike that was certainly serviceable for touring, but really designed with commuting and long rides in mind. How does it breakdown for you, do you think?

If I was climbing mount Everest, just once in my life, and I could only wear one kind of shoes, I guess I would be doing all my dancing in Koflach double boots.

If I was climbing mount Everest, just once in my life, and I could only wear one kind of shoes, I guess I would be doing all my dancing in Koflach double boots.
I would go with millet's everst boots.

Hi,

I recently moved to AZ and have gotten into bike touring...although I'm definitly a novice...I'm ready for a new bike...I've been reading some of the threads, and looking around but still don't have a clue as to how to make this decision. Does anyone have any helpful hints or favorites I should check into? Any help would be appreciated...
Thanks,
Susan

Experienced people here will gladly help you out with suggestions, but it would help to know a bit more about your criteria. Is price important? Do you have a price range? Are you willing to pay a lot of money to get an 'ultimate' touring bike that will last several lifetimes and be relatively low-maintenance?

Or would you rather have a bike that is both high quality and a good value?

Or are you willing to sacrifice a bit of quality and durability, in order to save a few hundred dollars (over the former question's bikes)?

Are you willing to learn bike mechanics to the point of assembling your own bike? Do you want to learn how to maintain a touring bike (on the road or at home)?

Do you want the cheapest possible bike that is still of adequate quality?

Do you want the cheapest possible bike that is of good quality?, or the cheapest possible bike that is of very good or excellent quality?

Or does cheapness not really matter that tremendously?

Do you strongly prefer new over used, as some people do, or is a used bike fine?

Do you just want to keep the process simple, and get it over with? -- in the sense, not spend too much time on all this, but just get out there riding?

Do you want something that is as trouble-free as possible?

Do you think you will be touring in remote areas? Long tours? Medium-length? In the US? Outside? Not sure yet?

On-road, off-road? Mixed?

Do you want something that can do it all?

26" wheels are a better choice for some people, depending on their height and riding conditions.

***
Different people will put different values on different factors. For some, the primary thing is price. These people are sometimes called cheapskates or 'very frugal'.

Some people value supreme quality over everything else, and don't mind at all paying a lot of extra money for it. Others mind a little, but not too much. Others mind a lot.

Some people don't care for learning mechanics; others are interested; others are willing....

For some people, every one of these various factors is given some value or weight, and the value or weight of each factor varies from individual to individual.

***
If you want a custom bike and don't mind paying a few thousand dollars, there are plenty of excellent custom builders out there. (You can check the handmade bike show website for links to some of these builders. Brent Steelman would be an excellent choice. Here are some reviews of one of his frames -- he also makes cross bikes and others, including (last I heard) touring bikes. http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Frameset/product_46178.shtml
Finding someone who is good to work with helps too.)

There are some 'best choices' for each price point or quality level.

Some people place a high value on titanium frames. There are touring bikes available in titanium.

Others prefer high-end stainless steel. Here are some pictures from another thread,

http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=281888 (scroll down a bit)

http://www.frameforum.net/forum2/index.php?showtopic=4058&st=0&p=24954&#entry24954

Independent Fabrications make fine touring bikes, and may be able to make one in Reynolds 953 Stainless. Same with Waterford.

***
Other people are fine with aluminum; and others like steels or exotic steels.

***
There are ways of saving money and still coming up with a good (used) touring bike. If you really want to lowball the price level, you can find them for a song (though you might have to do some searching, and some mechanical work).

There are many different ways to go.

As you can see, there are lots of options, and lots of forks in the road.

***
Fit, as others have mentioned, is extremely important. A cheapish or moderately priced bike (or even an old one) that fits you like a glove is far better than a very expensive one that does not. (And vice versa.)

Bikes can fit well or poorly at every price and quality level.

Hints

must be comfortable

must be bombproof

must be minimum maintenance

When I went through this trial it was hell....
but now I ride a comfortable, bombproof, low maintenance Thorn with Rohloff gears and Schwalbe Marathon XR tyres

Last hint

find as many cyclo-tourists as you can and see what they ride, so go out on a tour and meet them, they are mostly too busy riding to post. LOL

george

ps As soon as I can get the doc's clearance I will on the road again for a long ride instead of just a couple of weeks

must be comfortable

must be bombproof

must be minimum maintenance

These are very good criteria for a touring bike.

Is Thorn available through a dealer/website in the US, or only available from the UK?

find as many cyclo-tourists as you can and see what they ride, so go out on a tour and meet them

Agreed, it can be good to meet actual tourists and talk with them. If you can find a major touring route, and find a stopping point or campground where a lot of riders stop, you can talk with quite a few who will be glad to share their opinions and findings.

There are also some posters here who know as much or more than the average person out on the road. Some of the riders I have met on the road are new, or not very careful about their decisions; and some of them have made bad choices.

Others just have idiosyncratic opinions based on their own life circumstances and limited experiences with equipment. There are those who have done a lot of touring but have never really gotten the equipment side of things ironed out very well.

A few tourists you may be able to meet are real pros, who have both been on the road for years, and have excellent working knowledge of reliable equipment. Even these, though, often have different approaches. Some have done their research, others haven't. Some will go with high-end, new, very expensive bikes. Others are on old, bombproof mountain bikes that are still going strong.

Different people will tell you different things.

You won't go far wrong if you have very durable, non-failure-prone equipment.

Durable wheels that are well-built and hand-tuned, using durable, low-failure-rate components (rims, rim strips, spokes, hubs, tires) are very important. This is particularly important for the rear wheel. It is one of the important and most failure-prone parts of the bike, particularly for touring cyclists. A lot of beginners neglect to do it properly, and their mistake catches up with them. It makes great sense to put some extra attention into making sure it is done properly, and is reliable.

Is Thorn available through a dealer/website in the US, or only available from the UK?
Harris Cyclery

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/thorn/index.html

most important is fit and comfort, so it requires that you test out each model you're considering

Virtually impossible.

Virtually impossible.

unless your LBS has a fitbike that can mimic virtually every bike...

Cheap? rung what you brung (ride whatever...)

Cheapish? mid 80s touring bike aka Centurion, Fuji, Miyata, Univega, Panasonic, etc... (they all made nice touring bikes that can be upgraded if you like or ridden fine as is. I got a Centurion Pro Tour about 1,500 on it, and I'm upgrading it from 5 speed to 10 speed... total cost should be under $250 after upgrade)

Normal? Trek 520 or the likes... about $900-1500 before you upgrade it at all

spensive? custom... think waterford or the likes.