Touring - What bike frame won't flex under load?

I'm thinking of building up a new bike. I've been riding my Trek 520 on tours for years now, and have been more or less happy with it, but it gets "whippy" under heavy loads. It seems that the older I get, the more stuff I end up taking on tours with me. At this point, I tow a BOB, and take front and rear pans along for the ride. My whole rig weighs in at around 120 pounds by the time I'm done. That's quite a bit, but that's the way I like to do it. I'm in no hurry.

The bike gets pretty wobbly towing a load like that. It doesn't help that it's an X-large frame. Especially when standing up. So I'm considering putting together something that is a little stiffer, or at least a little less whippy/wobbly when loaded. Does anyone know of a touring frame that would foot the bill? I've heard that the Surly LHT is a little heavier, but I have never ridden one, so I don't know.

Any info appreciated.

Well aluminum frames like those on Cannondales will be stiffer than steel. My Jamis Aurora is pretty flexy hauling a BoB as well. My next bike will probably be a European Cannondale touring bike. They have a really nice bike with a Rohloff and dynamo already installed. The exchange rate is brutal though.

I might consider the Cannondale. I've owned a couple of aluminum framed bikes, but never tried to tow a load with one. Maybe I'll hook my BOB up to my girlfriends bike (Giant OCR 1) and see if it's less flexy.

Well aluminum frames like those on Cannondales will be stiffer than steel. My Jamis Aurora is pretty flexy hauling a BoB as well. My next bike will probably be a European Cannondale touring bike. They have a really nice bike with a Rohloff and dynamo already installed. The exchange rate is brutal though.


I'm not sure this is correct as there are different types of stiffness and the type given by an alu frame may not be the one required.

My Cannondale T2000 is by far the stiffest bike I've ever ridden. The huge tubes and thick aluminum means it could stand up to pretty much any load a person could pedal.

It comes at the price of a cushy ride, though, that's for sure.

Canondales are plenty stiff! I have two in my garage - one ST700 touring model I bought my wife and one M900 no-suspension MTB I bought my son. I had two others, an M200 and R400 road bike. The road bike was stiff to the point of being punishing, but it took off like a rocket when I mashed the pedals.

My Cannondale T2000 is by far the stiffest bike I've ever ridden. The huge tubes and thick aluminum means it could stand up to pretty much any load a person could pedal.

It comes at the price of a cushy ride, though, that's for sure.


This is what I keep hearing, that the aluminum frames are harsh. Even with 32-35mm tires and touring saddles and all that?

You could still put on a steel fork and use a Brooks B67 (the one with springs) to soften things up. The stiffness is needed in the rear triangle more than anywhere else.

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/Images/bikeenlargeexp.jpg

I have a LHT and love it, however, the frame tubing isn't really extra heavy duty. It is fine for typical touring loads and I haven't tested it beyond the lighter end of the spectrum, but given the tubing material, the tube diameter and thickness I wouldn't think it would be super stiff if really heavily loaded. That isn't a knock against Surly they built the bike to handle expected touring loads well while keeping the weight and cost in balance.

If you want to be able to haul the kitchen sink with you there are always custom bike builders that could do what you'd like or something like the Thorn EXP (http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/exp.html) pictured above. It has tubes that are thicker and larger diameter than the LHT for carrying really huge loads over rough roads. Naturally this doesn't come cheap although you can buy just a frame and build it up at home. I've read more than one bike tour journal that noted the Thorn EXP solving frame flex issues for the owner.

I bought a Thorn Sherpa frame (http://thelazyrandonneur.blogspot.com/2007/11/thorn-sherpa-redux.html) to build up as a 26" wheeled touring bike. Thorn was easy to deal with and they make a great product. However, it will cost about double what a frame would cost here to get it from the UK. The Sherpa has tube diameters and thicknesses about the same as the LHT. Since I weigh 160lbs and tend towards the lighter side in what I carry that works fine for me.

I have a Cannondale T1000. It came with a steel fork 32mm Conti Top Touring tires and a Brooks saddle. It is stiff, but it is not 'harsh' - at least relative to the lugged steel Miyata it replaced.

It's quite comfortable on longer rides, lightly loaded. I haven't loaded it heavily, since I don't have baggage for that yet.

I'm 6'2" tall and 225lbs, my touring bike is the Jumbo size Cannondale T2000 and it is stiff and efficient.

My choice for a touring bike will always be a stiff frame with a resilient fork, sprung Brooks saddle and generous size, relatively low pressure tires. The stiff frame gives you an efficient well handling bike under load and the fork, tires and saddle take care of the comfort.

I need to add that my R400 road bike was harsh and buzzy, but it rode on 23-size tires pumped up to 110 psi. Larger 28-and-up sized tires will definitely smooth things out while keeping the power transfer you need.

I asked a similar question because I'm big and want to do a fully loaded tour (I'm 6' 2" and 235lbs). Rather than cut and paste all the info here's a link to the thread

http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=378607

Lots of good options for heavy duty touring bikes. Cannondale was mentioned.

FWIW if you do go with a Cannondale and aren't completely against the idea of carbon you could consider a carbon handlebar. I had some numbness issues on my C'dale mountain bike from vibration especially on longer descents (with a 100mm travel suspension fork) and as soon as I put a carbon handlebar on the numbness and pain went away immediately.

+1 for the Cannondale T2000

This is what I keep hearing, that the aluminum frames are harsh. Even with 32-35mm tires and touring saddles and all that?
Well, my feeling is that all other things as equal as possible, a steel bike with 32mm tires will be plenty stiff and more comfortable than the aluminum frame. So I'd expect the Cdale touring to be a little harsher, but also a little more efficient, than a steel touring bike.


As to the whippiness: although I haven't done any experiments, I doubt that any standard-issue touring bike will handle 120 lbs of gear well.

If you're going to continue to take the cast-iron pans and 32" TV with you on tour, :D look into an Xtracycle. The handling will be different but it is specifically designed for massive loads.

[QUOTE=Bacciagalupe;5987476]

As to the whippiness: although I haven't done any experiments, I doubt that any standard-issue touring bike will handle 120 lbs of gear well.

QUOTE]


Well, I should mention that the 120 pounds is gear, bike, trailer, everything. It's probably about a 35-40 pound bike, a 17 pound trailer, and 60-70 pounds of gear.

I also have a 520 that gets somewhat flexy under load when standing or descending bumpy roads. And I am never as loaded as you are. For your purpose I would definitely second the opinion of the Cannondales - I had a T800 for a year and while I never toured with it, the frame was very stiff, while the tires and steel fork added enough compliance to take the harshness off. No doubt it would be perfect when maxed out, and do the job for you. Also MTB frames are generally stiffer, but you run into potential issues of proper chainstay length, comfort, etc.