Touring - Touring bike for road rides

I'm curious how many of you use your touring bike for road rides.
I'm starting to think about selling my alu/carbon sub 20lb road bike to put toward a touring bike which I would use for road rides.
The problem is, I will probably only get 1/2 of what I paid for the road bike.

I have mutiples of each - but if your a gram counting roady you'll need one of each. You won't be happy of the in between performance of a in between bike.

I ride a bunch on my touring bike for regular road rides including a few centuries. It really is a pretty good general purpose bike and could easily suffice as an only bike for the non racer. I still love them both though and don't plan to get rid of either.

Well, if the truth be known, I'm primarily a mountain biker,so I have a high end full-suspension mountain bike,an old rigid MTB for off-road touring and the road bike. I probably don't really need a dedicated paved road touring bike on top of all that,but I'm gonna get one anyway.

It also depends on the design of the touring bike. I have a Mercian Touring bike that I ride almost all the time over a more race-like Specialized because of the more comfortable ride. That said, the geometry of the Mercian is much more like a 1970's road racing bike (eg my old Holdsworth Strada Road racing Frame), but with slightly stiffer tubing. Since I now weigh about 50 pounds more than when I raced its a nice compromise. A ride like a LHT with heavy stiff tubing may be slightly less satisfying as a comfortable road bike, but comfort is in the butt of the beholder.

On the value of your current bike, that's the way it is for bikes, they decrease in value a lot at first, then much more slowly, then they get called vintage and are sold on Craigslist for outrageous amounts.

My main bicycle is a "sport touring" bicycle (or otherwise called an Audax bike). It is designed mainly for long distance cycling, but can be used for light touring ... although I've toured fairly heavily with it. Because it is a bit lighter than a touring bicycle, I can also use it as a road bicycle, and I've even raced with it.

If you aren't completely sold on the idea of touring, you might consider looking for a sport touring or Audax bike ... sort of a cross between a racing bicycle and touring bicycle.

My main bicycle is a "sport touring" bicycle (or otherwise called an Audax bike). It is designed mainly for long distance cycling, but can be used for light touring ... although I've toured fairly heavily with it. Because it is a bit lighter than a touring bicycle, I can also use it as a road bicycle, and I've even raced with it.

If you aren't completely sold on the idea of touring, you might consider looking for a sport touring or Audax bike ... sort of a cross between a racing bicycle and touring bicycle.

This is sort of what I did as well. I have a cyclocross bike (Specialized Tricross) that is an all around type of bike. It's got the rack mounts front and rear and works ok as a touring bike. It's light enough (20lbs) that I enjoy it on regular road rides and is comfortable enough to take on very long rides. Have done double centuries on it with no problems. It's tough enough to take off road and fairly unique. I've been very happy with this type of bike for it's multitude of uses. Though, I will admit, that it's not great at any one thing.

I'll second Machka and knobster. Sport tourer all the way.

Ditto on the weight concerns. I'd love to get a Novara Rondonee or preferably the Raleigh Sojourn, but the 30lb weight keeps me from it. Instead I use a cyclocross bike which weighs under 20lbs. My gargoyle Flyte bike with Campagnolo components and tripleizer by IRD tackles off road and group rides with a switch of tires. The picture below is of a bike that's identical to mine minus the disc brakes, which I wish I had but it's tough to find Campy-compatible disc wheels!

http://k43.pbase.com/g6/85/557985/2/77784975.fd3o3Oz2.jpg

This is sort of what I did as well. I have a cyclocross bike (Specialized Tricross) that is an all around type of bike. It's got the rack mounts front and rear and works ok as a touring bike. It's light enough (20lbs) that I enjoy it on regular road rides and is comfortable enough to take on very long rides. Have done double centuries on it with no problems. It's tough enough to take off road and fairly unique. I've been very happy with this type of bike for it's multitude of uses. Though, I will admit, that it's not great at any one thing.
My wife and I got Tricross Comps also. We wanted something we could use for all around riding - roads, MUPs, and credit card touring. Neither of us likes to camp so I doubt we will do any self supported loaded touring. I also like the brake levers on the flats.

Great. Now I've narrowed my search down to;
touring bikes
sport touring bikes
street/urban/hybrids
cyclocross
Specialized seems to have several interesting bikes that would work for touring without having a dedicated touring bike.
FWIW, I camp but have a bob trailer, so that opens up alot of possibilities.
The front runner right now is the Jamis Coda with a few upgrades.

The front runner right now is the Jamis Coda with a few upgrades.

The Coda is a good bike. I have a few friends that are very happy with theirs but I like drop bars on the road. The biggest reason I bought my dedicated tourer, a Jamis Aurora, wasn't so much for touring as for the rack and fender thing.

I love to take my Soma Double Cross out on the trails where fenders get in the way and I don't like the extra weight of the rack. I also use the Soma for most of the shorter sub-100km road rides. The aerodynamic penalty of full fenders is noticeable, much more so than the extra 5-10 lb. rack+trunk bag+tools. At about 17 mph, my Freddy Fenders Hardcore front fender starts to resonate and wobbles like the Tacoma Narrows bridge used to do.

After a year and a half, I grew weary of swapping the fenders and the rack on and off the cross bike. Now I always have the tourer set up for foul weather, grocery shopping, and the odd loaded weekend. The Soma still gets set up with a commuter rack for a few months out of the year but it doesn't leave me without a grocery hauler when it's set up for cyclocross instead.

My wife and I got Tricross Comps also. We wanted something we could use for all around riding - roads, MUPs, and credit card touring. Neither of us likes to camp so I doubt we will do any self supported loaded touring. I also like the brake levers on the flats.

I've got the 2006 Comp and love this thing. I keep getting other bikes, but this one is the one I ride all the time. It's just perfect. I've read about someone (on BF actually) that used one to tour through Europe I believe. Fully loaded. He said it worked great. Only bad thing is the price. $1800 new is pricey. I got mine last year for $900 used.

Isn't this an aluminum frame bike? I've read a few reviews from guys who were used to riding steel which said that it rides a bit harsh by comparison.

I have a Surly Pacer as my road bike, but I consider it more of a sport-touring bike. It would be an excellent bike for a long supported tour where I'd want to bring some small panniers for things I'd need during the day. With the steel fork on it I think it may do ok for a loaded tour in a pinch with a front rack and 4 panniers, if I wasn't going to pack heavy. It only has caliper breaks, and not long chain stays, but the frame seems sturdy, maybe overbuilt.

But I also have a Surly LHT tourer. It's very comfortable and stable, carries anything I can strap onto it, but heavier and slower than the Pacer.

Isn't this an aluminum frame bike? I've read a few reviews from guys who were used to riding steel which said that it rides a bit harsh by comparison.

Yes it is. I hated Aluminum prior to this bike. My first bike was a Trek 1200 and I almost gave up cycling because of it. It beat me to death. I went with carbon, steel and Ti and then took a chance on this bike as I liked the looks of it. It rides as good or better than any bike I've ever had. Very, very comfortable. I'm impressed with it, but don't understand why it rides as well as it does. It does have a beefy carbon fork though.

My Flyte is aluminium with a disc-capable carbon fork which I love. The bike is smooth! I use 28c tires in street/training trim, so that helps a little. My old Cannondale R400 used to beat me up, but the Flyte is very comfortable.

I use my Rocky Mountain Sherpa on road rides. It's the only bike I have.. so, not alot of choice. It's fine on the flats, I fly past everyone on the descents, and I get killed on the climbs. It works, but requires more effort. Now, I'm by no means talking about racing type of road rides, but rather recreational/fitness rides. The guidance on these rides says 16-20 mph. Each ride seems to include at least a few good hills. My pace for the rides is closer to the 16 than the 20. I know I'm working harder than the other riders... but nothing wrong with that, right? I do hope to get a dedicated road bicycle for these rides, but until then, I'll keep riding the the Sherpa.