Touring - Advice on touring bike

My friend and I are doing a cross country tour in less than a year (NYC to San Francisco), and I was wondering what some experienced tourers thought of the bikes.

I am taking my Trek 2100 and my friend is taking his Trek 1000. We are pretty much doing a credit card tour, and taking a trailer, so I am not too worried about too much load on the bikes.

What are some adjustments I might need to make to these bikes? I am not very handy with maintaining a bike, so will these bikes make the long haul without having a serious problem (I understand this is nearly impossible to answer, so I guess what I mean is "are they too fragile for the trip")?

For those who encountered serious bike problems that you were unable to fix, what did you do? Walk the bike to a town and hope for a bicycle shop there?

Thanks for any suggestions,

Michael Williams

I am not very handy with maintaining a bike


Make sure you can change a tire and true a wheel. I don't think you need to know how to do much else; Its easy to ride without back brakes, or any shifting. A chain tool to repair your chain is good too.


"are they too fragile for the trip"?

As long as the tires are sturdy enough for the terrain you'll be riding on, they'll be fine.





For those who encountered serious bike problems that you were unable to fix, what did you do? Walk the bike to a town and hope for a bicycle shop there?

Pretty much. Try to make the bike rideable. Try and hitch a ride. Jog while pushing the bike along. Whatever needs to be done.

just about any bike will make a cross-country trip, especially without a heavy load.
even huffies have been known to make the crossing. important thing is that the
bike is properly maintained. doityourself or have your lbs do a thorough tune-up
before the trip.

if you will be making the trip within a year, you have plenty of time to learn how to
maintain your bike. buy a comprehensive repair manual, and practice adjusting
each component. you'll know what to do in the event of a breakdown, and will
know which tools and spares you should carry along.

Thank you both very much for the replies.

Three more small items:

- I read somewhere that I should probably up my tires from 700x25 to 700x30. What do you think of that?

- My lowest gear inch is about 31... is that going to be sufficient for all the tough climbs I am going to encounter? I do a fair about of climbing and cycling now (~150 miles a week, with a few decent climbs), and I have never gotten anywhere close to my easiest gear.

- Will a trailer (Say the BOB models) attach to a Trek 1000 and Trek 2100?

Thank you very much ...

- I read somewhere that I should probably up my tires from 700x25 to 700x30. What do you think of that?

..

I had a trek 1000 for awhile last year. I found it hard to get the 700x25 tires through the brake calipers when I removed the wheels.

It seems many new road bikes have little clearance for tires larger than 700x25. I would be surprised if you could get a 700x30 in the bike. If you wish to try, I suggest having the bike shop mount the tires and trying it before buying. Or maybe they can tell you up front if the tires will fit.

I'd say the same thing probably applies to the 2100, also.

if you're not carrying gear, you can probably get by with the 25's, but keep in mind
that pavement is of varying quality, and may not be a very comfortable ride. go with
the widest that will fit, but then i run 700x35-38's with a heavy load.

what gearing do you currently have? 31 may give you some trouble up the long hills,
plus the trailer will add some drag. (my small gear is about 20 inches.) going thru
colorado? rocky mountain nat. park? estes park to conti divide is a 20-mile
constant grade with a one mile gain in elevation. then if you take hwy 50 across
nevada, be prepared for what seems like an endless series of ranges. short
version: look for a triple crank 26-36-46 and a 7- or 8-spd cogset in 14-32 or
14-34 if your derailler will handle it.

bob should fit any bike with a quick release skewer.

32mm tires are a good compromise between comfort and rolling resistance (read: speed). Less than that, you go faster at the expense of comfort; more than that, vice versa. I have 32mm Conti Top Touring 2000s and they're pretty smooth and swift. Many have noted problems with their sidewalls, but I haven't run into that (yet). Armadillos are another popular choice.

Why are you taking a trailer? For a credit-card tour, I think panniers would be a better choice. You don't need to bring much.

Your climbs on a loaded bike will be much more enjoyable if you're able to drop your gearing down to about 20 inches. In most cases, this means running mountain cranks and cassette on your 700c rig.
But on a credit card tour carrying lightly loaded panniers, you'll probably get by with your 31 inches.

Ok, this is all good advice, so I believe I should rethink my choices so far.

First, my gearing is a triple crank 30,42,52 and my cassette is 12-26. This gives me ~30/26*27~31 gear inches at best (this is for the Trek 1000... my 2100 is about 32, but I am a little bit of a stronger rider than my friend). So, with what everyone else has said about this being a credit card tour with a light load, I guess I will just try to stick with it as it is now.

I opted for the trailer mainly because I didn't think the Trek 1000 would be able to carry much of a load (any load at all really). If the Trek 1000 and 2100 can sustain the load then I have no problem taking panniers (in fact, I rather). So, will I be able to mount panniers to these bikes and will they hold the load? I don't think I will be taking much, but I do know for a fact I am taking an 8 lbs laptop along the way.

Thank you all very much for the help so far.

Michael Williams

i've got 700x28 armadillo's on my trek2000 & anything larger would most likely rub the chainstays, you might be able to get something a little more large up front. i have to deflate my tires to get the wheels off, they don't fit through the brakes