Touring - Dear BikesDirect: Please make mid and high end touring bikes!

I have now purchased two bikes from BD: a Windsor Knight road bike, and a Windsor Cliff 29er Pro mountain bike. I have been very pleased with them so far as they have been fantastic bikes.

BUT, I took a look at the touring bikes and it's just depressing. All of the bikes while decent are nothing I'd want to get on and ride a full week on. Come on now BD, can't you make something like a nicely equipped LHT/520/Cannondale Touring 1/RM Sherpa 30? I was just drooling over the Touring 1 here: http://www.cannondale.com/usa/usaeng/Products/Bikes/Recreation-Urban/Touring/Details/1323-9TR1-Touring-1

I want to see BD make that but charge somewhere in the $700-1,200 range. Here are the specs I'd like to see:

Frame: Reynolds 853/520 or beefy 6061 like the Touring 1
Brakes: Shimano 105/Ultegra long reach or dare I ask for Avid BB7's? I suppose I can dream...
Crank: Ultegra Triple 30/39/52T or XTR
Deraillers: Ultegra or XTR

And a Brooks Swift or B-17 for good measure.

Well.. bikesdirect doesn't make anything so.. You should hope that Fuji comes out with an updated touring bike.. Then maybe bd can grab a few and slap some stickers on it and call it a windsor.

Make, no. Source, yes. They've come up with some nice offerings after soliciting input. I had a Motobecane Fantom Cross, and it was a everything I wanted in an affordable, entry-level cross bike. They also put together an aluminum track bike that's damn hard to beat for the asking price. I wouldn't be surprised if Mike put together a decent touring bike.

I'd have a hard time believing BD would bother... It's just to small of a market. Now if Fuji did an upgrade to it's touring offering then that might be possible or not.

My point is... Don't hold your breath.

True enough. I'd say he could put together a decent offering, but you're right about market size.

Someone that has more knowledge of this can correct me if I'm wrong and please do. I don't want to spread false info. If I get their website info correctly you contact them before you place an order I think the will change some things out for you. I mean I think they will change out some of the components for you but I'm not sure how much they will change, or what the charge will be. You can contact them before you buy. I just took delivery of a Windsor Tourist in its stock form and while I would never call it high end its a very capable ride. Tiagra up front and Deore long cage in the rear with Tektro Oryx canteliever brakes. Its a very comfortable bike, at least mine is for me and I am really happy with my purchase. I knew going in that there were some things to look for such as wheels not being true (they weren't) and cheesy pedals and the brake pads sucked. I changed out the pads to Koolstops and replaced the pedals and put on a set of fenders but I still put about 100 miles on it before I took it to the LBS today to have them give it a going over and true the wheels. The price I paid allows me to do upgrades if I choose without breaking the budget. I Don't know what to tell you but if its mostly the groupset you want to change get the Windsor and change them out. Or get a Long Haul Trucker built to suit. The Windsor Tourist is essentially a Fuji touring bike so that may be how you want to go but mine is pretty nice IMHO

I'd have a hard time believing BD would bother... It's just to small of a market. Now if Fuji did an upgrade to it's touring offering then that might be possible or not.

My point is... Don't hold your breath.

What about the Moto 29er SS bikes? Now THAT seems like a small market, but bikes have been made and are for sale...and actually the Outcast 29er looks pretty sick. With all the bikes made currently, all they need to do is find a different combination of parts and put together a decent touring bike. All that they are really lacking is a better steel tube frame and fork, which can't be all that hard to source. Then bolt on higher end components and some nice sturdy wheels with Continental Gatorskins or Armadillos. Seems like there is a market there they could break into and beat the big names by a few hundred bucks at each level.

Someone that has more knowledge of this can correct me if I'm wrong and please do. I don't want to spread false info. If I get their website info correctly you contact them before you place an order I think the will change some things out for you. I mean I think they will change out some of the components for you but I'm not sure how much they will change, or what the charge will be. You can contact them before you buy. I just took delivery of a Windsor Tourist in its stock form and while I would never call it high end its a very capable ride. Tiagra up front and Deore long cage in the rear with Tektro Oryx canteliever brakes. Its a very comfortable bike, at least mine is for me and I am really happy with my purchase. I knew going in that there were some things to look for such as wheels not being true (they weren't) and cheesy pedals and the brake pads sucked. I changed out the pads to Koolstops and replaced the pedals and put on a set of fenders but I still put about 100 miles on it before I took it to the LBS today to have them give it a going over and true the wheels. The price I paid allows me to do upgrades if I choose without breaking the budget. I Don't know what to tell you but if its mostly the groupset you want to change get the Windsor and change them out. Or get a Long Haul Trucker built to suit. The Windsor Tourist is essentially a Fuji touring bike so that may be how you want to go but mine is pretty nice IMHO

I may just do this...I really like the LHT frame, and I can always swap over the Ultegra components from my Knight. I just wish they would have done this from the start...they might just sell me another bike! :D

I really wanted a LHT but couldn't justify the cost right now so I went with the Windsor. I got to put about 5 miles on an LHT last year and man I was really hot for one but after reading the account of the man and his daughter and her friend that went across the USA on the Windsor I figured it should work for me. If you get the LHT we expect a full report complete with pictures. Best of luck with your search and have fun which is why we do this stuff anyway.

Crank: Ultegra Triple 30/39/52T or XTR


Huh?

Huh?

I mean that I don't really care if it uses a mountain crank or not. For a touring rig, I'd be fine with having a lower range of gears for loaded touring and steep climbs.

Respectfully, Who needs BD?

You could save up your money and buy a very good bike ..... have a USA built custom frame . . . . have wheels built by a true professional .

You'll have the frame for the rest of your life, and you won't need to true or tension spokes for a long time, if ever for the life of the wheels.

What price does one put on that?

Its the whole instant gratification thing, or at least it is for me.:) I like my Windsor just fine and it will do what I want it to do and it didn't break the bank. More power to the folks that want to spend more money and I would were I in the position now or in the reasonable near future but I wasn't. BD is what it is good bad or indifferent. Like everything else we can choose to shop there or not. The guys at my LBS didn't bat an eye when I took it in to have them look it over and not a disparaging remark to be heard from any of them. Got some compliments on my choice of upgrades and I'll pick it up today. I put about a 100 miles on it and they trued the wheelset and are giving it a general look see to adjust what I missed.

Then bolt on higher end components and some nice sturdy wheels with Continental Gatorskins or Armadillos. Seems like there is a market there they could break into and beat the big names by a few hundred bucks at each level.
Maybe, but the overall touring bike market is pretty small, and then it's a small subset of that which is looking for high-end models. BD already has a perfectly serviceable touring bike in the Windsor and frankly I'd find that to be a better all-purpose bike for touring than anything that's higher-end. I have a few Brooks saddles, but I won't put one on my touring bike that may be out in the rain for extended periods, nor do I ever again want to have Armadillo tires on it. And a recognizable high-end set of components would just make it more of a theft target when riding through cities along the way.

Respectfully, Who needs BD?

You could save up your money and buy a very good bike ..... have a USA built custom frame . . . . have wheels built by a true professional .

You'll have the frame for the rest of your life, and you won't need to true or tension spokes for a long time, if ever for the life of the wheels.

What price does one put on that?

I'm thinking that would run about $3,000...and up! I love bikes, but I will never spend that much on one unless I magically start making a ridiculous amount of money. Maybe if I were single and without kids and a mortgage payment, and student loans, and college funds, and braces for the kids, and............

I'm thinking that would run about $3,000...and up! I love bikes, but I will never spend that much on one unless I magically start making a ridiculous amount of money. Maybe if I were single and without kids and a mortgage payment, and student loans, and college funds, and braces for the kids, and............

That's kinda what I was thinking, and I'm even minus the kids, braces, and college funds. Sadly, in my world, money doesn't grow on trees. The difference between a $500 bike and a $1000 bike is not insignificant.

That being said, I'm still gunning for an LHT eventually.

I'm thinking that would run about $3,000...and up! I love bikes, but I will never spend that much on one unless I magically start making a ridiculous amount of money. Maybe if I were single and without kids and a mortgage payment, and student loans, and college funds, and braces for the kids, and............

$3,300 and up:

http://www.co-motion.com/single_bikes/single_bikes_tour.html

$3,300 and up:

http://www.co-motion.com/single_bikes/single_bikes_tour.html

But oh so lovely.

Who needs a new bike? I just buy old bikes. Hang out with us in the C&V section of bikeforums. You'll learn how to find a great bike at an incredible price. You'll learn how to refurbish or modify a bike and perhaps build one from two or more half-working bikes. You save a ton of cash, you get a personalized bike, put together better. And it will have character.

Who needs a new bike? I just buy old bikes. Hang out with us in the C&V section of bikeforums. You'll learn how to find a great bike at an incredible price. You'll learn how to refurbish or modify a bike and perhaps build one from two or more half-working bikes. You save a ton of cash, you get a personalized bike, put together better. And it will have character.

Been there done that love it but I still like my new bike too. Couldn't find an old touring frame in my size and I've been looking since last fall. Every one I came across that was close was so far overpriced I couldn't believe it. Those old Trek 520's and even the old hard tail mountain bikes were stupid money so I got the new bike.I looks kinda old school with the one inch headset and slack geometry. :)

Tour bike ???? haha That Cannondale TR1 frame is almost exactly the same as my HYBRID 2003 Specialized Crossroads Comp, except no suspension fork and a few grommets. A day tourer for sure in my eyes. Find a bike with a real frame.

Well I had one last year that I used for a 300 or so mile tour and it was a wonderful bike. The frame and ride were great, the rear pannier was nicely back out of the way. Only thing the bike lacked was the lower gearing of the T2. Wish I would not have crashed it shortly after that trip as it was totaled.


Tour bike ???? haha That Cannondale TR1 frame is almost exactly the same as my HYBRID 2003 Specialized Crossroads Comp, except no suspension fork and a few grommets. A day tourer for sure in my eyes. Find a bike with a real frame.

I'm thinking that would run about $3,000...and up! I love bikes, but I will never spend that much on one unless I magically start making a ridiculous amount of money. Maybe if I were single and without kids and a mortgage payment, and student loans, and college funds, and braces for the kids, and............


Fair enough. You would not need to spend $3000 though, there's plenty of decent custom frame builders that are not the high profile-high priced ones you glorified online.

I saved for years to get a custom frame ..... and bought one because there were no stock frames in the dimensions I needed. I chose a low profile builder who built me a modest Reynolds 531ST frame for about $800 in 1999.

Not particular to you TwoHeadsBrewing ..... but most people in America waste a lot of money on nickel and dime stuff and/or live beyond their means. They wonder where the money went.


I've been like most Americans who have embraced the China-ization of America via Walmart of buying things as cheap-as-possible-quality-be-dammed. Everyone wonders what happened to America ..... and we've just given away many of our skilled trades. We now look to China for almost everything. There are framebuilders in America , but not as many these days. If they cannot survive we'll all be riding cheap imported bikes. When the frame fails we'll just get another cheapo because there may be no one around to fix it and another frame is so cheap. More junk for the landfills.

We're all to blame really ....... we're consumer junkies. No different than any other addict on the street, in your school or your workplace.


So yeah .... I'm suggesting spend the money to get the most lasting stuff(within your means). . . or like many do and recycle old frames and parts. The bike industry isn't in favor of this though, are they? I hate to admit it ..... but consumerism is failing us all.

I saved for years to get a custom frame ..... and bought one because there were no stock frames in the dimensions I needed. I chose a low profile builder who built me a modest Reynolds 531ST frame for about $800 in 1999.

I think the steel is from England, and probably all the rest of the components are manufactured outside the United States too. Unfortunately artisans with a welding torch aren't going to stop globalization. Walmart and BikesDirect are American companies, that's the reality.