Touring - Nashbar Steel Touring Bike?

What say you?

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_522412_-1_202339_202326_

I tried to search BF for this, but...Is this just another version of the Windsor, or something different?

It looks a lot like the Trek 520.
Gearing way too high for most touring.
All sizes look to be out of stock.

Nice bike but sold out completely.

Looks like a brand new bike that they have yet to get into stock. I don't remember seeing this bike on their website anyway.

It would be good to know what sort of wheels this bike has. That would make or break the bike. The wheels on Nashbar bikes are typically not that good.

The sizing's pretty bizarre (available in 43cm, 49cm, 54cm, 56cm, 58cm, and 64cm).

As has been mentioned before, the gearing is a bit high, but that can be fixed. At the very least, it looks like a good commuter bike as is.

The picture shows the bike with 105 shifters (and not the Tiagra shifters that are mentioned in the specs).

Googled the available sizes. I think this is your bike, mostly:

http://2009.fujibikes.com/Specialty/Touring/Touring.aspx

Is this just another version of the Windsor, or something different?

Sure looks like it to me.

Without geometry chart I can't say, but if it's the same then it's got 44cm chainstays, suited only for people with small feet and small panniers.

For me, this bike @650 costs $725 delivered (27 s&h, 47 tax). BikesDirect price is $700.

Googled the available sizes. I think this is your bike, mostly:

http://2009.fujibikes.com/Specialty/Touring/Touring.aspx


Pretty clever. :)

Brad

'dog, Looks like an entry level touring bike, not perfect, but certainly good enough for multi usage.

Brad

check out the front cable hanger in the picture-- something's janky.

Also, the photo shows 105 shift/brake levers but the spec says Tiagra.

Nothing against Nashbar; it still seems like a good deal.

moot point, sold out. go to a second choice..

I wonder why they don't also sell a steel frameset as well. Wouldn't mind seeing compact frames and step-through instead of standard frames. I don't know what the point of a standard frame is anyway.

moot point, sold out. go to a second choice..
Its pretty well sold out, too.

Its pretty well sold out, too.
better luck in the spring, they're all on the road being ridden somewhere.

like shoes that go on sale only when the size that fits you are gone.. too..

better luck in the spring, they're all on the road being ridden somewhere.

Don't think that you'll need to wait that long. This is a brand new item, and they just put up the page to take orders before stock comes in.

check out the front cable hanger in the picture-- something's janky.
You are right. The Windsor Tourist appears to have the same threaded fork and stem, with the cable hanger installed properly.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/images/tourist_x_2100.jpg
Looks to me to be based on the same frame and fork, to say the least.

Nothing wrong with the Windsor its nearly identical to the Fuji. Mine has served me well and there have been folks that have ridden cross the USA on one including the infamous "Hell *****" owned by Linda Der Weltenbummler, sorry Linda I think I spelled your name wrong. Check her out on crazyguyonabike.com I think she did a few mods but it seems to be holding up well. Agreed the gearing isn't the best

it really is just plain dumb why either fuji or whoever put these "touring bikes" out there with 52/42/30--it has to be cuz they can get the cranks for cheaper than 46/36/26 or whatever.

Nothing wrong with the Windsor its nearly identical to the Fuji. Mine has served me well and there have been folks that have ridden cross the USA on one including the infamous "Hell *****" owned by Linda Der Weltenbummler, sorry Linda I think I spelled your name wrong. Check her out on crazyguyonabike.com I think she did a few mods but it seems to be holding up well. Agreed the gearing isn't the best
I think I've read everything Linda has written so far. Her rapier like wit is rich; we'd get along just fine. I'd love to meet her some day.

I think I've read everything Linda has written so far. Her rapier like wit is rich; we'd get along just fine. I'd love to meet her some day.
Yeah Louis I'd bet she is a piece of work for sure. sorry mods I forgot about her bikes name but that's what she named it. Why did the second part of the bikes name get bleeped but not the first? I'm not hacked about it just wondering.

Sure looks like it to me.

Without geometry chart I can't say, but if it's the same then it's got 44cm chainstays, suited only for people with small feet and small panniers.

For me, this bike @650 costs $725 delivered (27 s&h, 47 tax). BikesDirect price is $700.
Looks like the BD cost on the Windsor Tourist is still $599.00 and free shipping but looks like they are out of stock on the most popular sizes

Looks like the BD cost on the Windsor Tourist is still $599.00 and free shipping but looks like they are out of stock on the most popular sizes

BikesDirect hasn't had any Windsor Tourists in stock in popular sizes all year.

Actually, I was thinking of the $700 Motobecane GT in my earlier comments, which is essentially the same bike. Unlike the Windsor, it has been in stock all year. I prefer the Windsor paint job, and the Motobecane's components - especially the crankset with lower gearing.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/gran_turismo.htm

Why did the second part of the bikes name get bleeped but not the first?

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1r4vFZo&page_id=192480&v=Rf

Don't think that you'll need to wait that long. This is a brand new item, and they just put up the page to take orders before stock comes in.

Will be avail Sept 5.

Mike Spratt says more Windsor Tourists are coming in Sept. Nashbar says theirs is coming in Sept. Wonder what Fuji says....
Im thinking they are all coming from the same place.

I Have had a Windsor Tourist for a couple years and rode it a good amount loaded and unloaded (the bike). It looks to be set up quite similar and has the same nondescript wheels, hubs, spokes and the same tires.
I bought my Windsor used but in new condition so I had some room to work things out to suit me. the previous owner wasn’t happy with the gearing and didn’t want to figure out what to do to fix it. As mentioned above most people will find the gearing to tall. and at a minimum you will be swapping out the 30 for a 26 much more than that the drop from the 42 will be too great. Plan on adding a chain minder for safety also. I also changed out the cassette from a 11-32 to 12-36 and those two together will give you a great loaded touring low gear around 20 inch gear. Even going from the 11 to 12 the 52 will be too tall a gear at something like 112 inch gear. You end up limiting your top gears to about 4 of the 9 selections a few being too high and some not desirable do to cross chaining. The 42 middle is a nice range IMO if you are not a higher cadence spinner type rider but may be a little high if spinning. I personally don’t like bouncing around on the front between the middle gear and the granny during normal flattish rides. After making both those changes I'm actually thinking of changing out the whole crank now to a mtn bike crank. The Truvativ Touro has the (Power Spline) bottom bracket and I was thinking of the SRAM S600 with a 22-32-44 range. Just in case I ever want to ride up the Southwest face of El Capitan.

The nondescript wheels, hubs, spokes are another issue and on the Windsor the rims, hubs and tires IMO were fairly good quality but the spokes and machine assembly have been talked about quite a bit. I broke 4 spokes this year all on the cassette side of the rear wheel, having broke some last year also, I said enough. I had a wild idea for a few minutes of going all new with 48 spoke custom wheels until I saw the price and opted to have good quality spokes laced into my rims and hubs. At minimum if I had it to do again I would take the wheels to a builder and have them retightened very first thing. or replaced. The 36 spoke wheels with good spokes should carry a large rider and gear well, IMHO.

The Fuji and the Windsor as far as I can see are the same bike or very close, and this doesn’t look far off.

on edit:
I just noticed in the other view in the photos the bike is set up with cyclocross brake levers on top. I added an aux front brake leaver to mine that can be reached from the tops. That is a nice feature the Others don’t have. I don’t see it mentioned in the specs but the photo shows it. That front brake cable mount looks strange though.

What is a chain minder? So, I guess if you want to change from 30 to 26 you have to take out the crank arm? Could you get away with just taking off the chainrings and sliding them off with the crank still on (and pedal out)?

What is a chain minder? So, I guess if you want to change from 30 to 26 you have to take out the crank arm? Could you get away with just taking off the chainrings and sliding them off with the crank still on (and pedal out)?

There are a bunch of them on the market different names but they all work about the same. When you have too large a change in ring sizes when dropping there is a tendency for the chain to over shoot and miss the granny gear and get wedged in between the granny and the seat tube. the chain minder attaches to the seat tube and is a ramp that catches the chain and kicks it back over to the granny ring. Some say about 12 or 14 tooth difference is max without one.

Most triples you can get the two bigger rings off without pulling the crank but the granny will require pulling the crank. The puller tool you can get at most bike shops for around 10 to 15 bucks.

What is a chain minder?

I learned about a particular chain minder from this forum, and I don't know how other brands work, but the Jump Stop works well on my setup (22-32-44 chainrings) to prevent the chain from flying off when I shift to the granny chainring. Link is http://www.gvtc.com/~ngear/. The guy even lets you try it out for free to see if it works before you have to send $$$. I'm going to equip other bikes with them too.

I'm sure that other brands work as well.

What is a chain minder?
that one by name is a plastic finger and a small hose clamp to grip
adjusts to all seat tube sizes.
I have one or the other, on all triples ,
and put one on my single ring Bike Friday too..

jump stop, the clamp is sized , so you order the right one..

New Nashbar Steel Touring Bike:

As shipped!

Front derailleur Shimano 105 FD-5703
Rear derailleur Shimano 105 RD-5700-A
Shift/Brake Levers Shimano 105 ST-5703
Brake Levers Tektro RL-570
Crank FSA Vero 50-39-30 CK-602 Triple
Cassette SRAM 11-28 PG-1050 (10 Speed)
Chain KMC DX-10SC??
Brakes Tektro 992A
Tires Kenda 700x32 K197-011
Wheels ?????? 36 spoke
Color Gloss Black

$520.00 when they have the 20% Off including bikes!

Looks like a really nice Tourer for the money.

I'd say, "Jump On It!", if it were available!

I think the easiest option for changing the gearing would be to grab the deore LX crank that is 89$ at jenson right now and sell the road triple on CL to help ease the cost... otherwise it looks like a nice touring rig for under 800$

Looks like a really nice Tourer for the money.

I'd say, "Jump On It!", if it were available!

Is it not available? I clicked the link and ordered one and closed out before purchase???

They`ll be available on the 5th, someone posted that on the first page of this thread I think, or I read it somewhere else.

They are shipping now!

They also have the sizing chart listed now.

btw, the specs do state that it comes with a 11-28 cassette, not 11-32.

btw, the specs do state that it comes with a 11-28 cassette, not 11-32.

Sorry about that. Yes, it is an 11-28.
Nashbar updated their specs.

the idea to switch out the crank for a mtn crank 44/32/22 is a great one. I dont have the knowledge to know if the fd would be ok with it, youèd have to move the fd down on the tube.

Who knows how the headset and wheels are compared to other similarly priced bikes, again, Im not knowledgeable enough, same for the quality of the frame.

stock gearing is too high for true touring, but certainly would be an inexpensive tourer with changes. I guess it comes down to stuff like wheels etc to how the quality of stuff is.

Just got done with first tour, 650 miles, 12 days in the mountains of Colorado, 41,000 ft of climbing. Rode it on Windsor Tourist I bought for $599. Just changed front ring, 30, to 26. Rear came with 11/32. Had no problems but was challenging. Maybe could have used lower gearing but managed. You just have to get used to crawling up the mountain passes at 4-5 mph. No problems with the bike and couldn't beat the price. Even the rear rack that came with the bike held up well

I like the plain black no decals look of the nashbar bike.

I just ordered this bike. They had the 15% off sale including bikes this weekend and I needed to replace my commuter that got stolen. I built that from scratch with nashbar alloy touring frame and Carbon fiber cx fork with disc tabs. This bike is a great deal and I don't understand why all of you touring purists are ragging on it so much. First of all, do any of you know how much brand new 5700 series brifters retail for? $300. I'm not going to bother running them on this bike. I have a set of 2300 series 8speed brifters that will be going on immediately. I will easily sell those shifters here in NYC on Craigslist to someone that doesn't want to get socked for sales tax and shipping. Anyone could sell the shifters on ebay for $250 and pick up a set of bar ends for $75 and come out $175 ahead which will easily pay for a new crank.
Come february, surly is releasing the LHT with the disc tabs on the fork. I was going to buy another nashbar carbon cx fork with disc tabs for this bike, but I'll just hold out for the new surly frame because the surly frame has lots of other little add ons that this one doesnt. Basically, I think this is actually a very nice introductory touring bike or just a decent low end steel bike for someone.

I'm not going to be doing any major touring in the immediate future but i am going to switch the crank. I'm probably going to split the difference between mtb and road and go with a 48/36/26 which will be fine for me commuting around town with 25 - 30 lbs loaded on the bike but I may just go all the way with a full on MTB crank and just get used to riding on the big ring when I'm not loaded up with anything and then I'll just use a closer ratio 8speed casette.

I'll be sure to report back to everyone when it comes in.

motobecane69, you make some good points and I for one think you have a good plan and take one the bike. Looking forward to hearing how it all goes. I expect it will go very well and you will have a great commuting bike that will suffice for touring too if you choose to employ it for that purpose.

motobecane69, you make some good points and I for one think you have a good plan and take one the bike. Looking forward to hearing how it all goes. I expect it will go very well and you will have a great commuting bike that will suffice for touring too if you choose to employ it for that purpose.

Thank You, I'm very excited to get it. I'm curious as to what the wheels are that come stock, they are probably boat anchors but I'll find out. I know I can sell them in a snap of my fingers for $150 on my local craigslist. Between selling them and the 105 shifters, I'm hoping to finance building or purchase of a front dynamo hub wheel as well a custom rear wheel. I'm thinking either Mavic A719 which was on my old bike but I'm also curious about the Velocity Reflective rims. I love how reflective the sidewalls are on one set of tires i have but the tires themselves suck. it would be nice to have reflective rims with the tire of my choice.

Ah Container from China Arrived, at the warehouse..

the idea to switch out the crank for a mtn crank 44/32/22 is a great one. I dont have the knowledge to know if the fd would be ok with it, youèd have to move the fd down on the tube.

Who knows how the headset and wheels are compared to other similarly priced bikes, again, Im not knowledgeable enough, same for the quality of the frame.

stock gearing is too high for true touring, but certainly would be an inexpensive tourer with changes. I guess it comes down to stuff like wheels etc to how the quality of stuff is.

I just made the switch from a 50/39/30 to a 44/32/22 on my Fuji 2.0 Absolute. I didn't change the FD at all and it shifts just about perfect. I got a new Race Face mtn bike crank complete with new carbon bearings off e-bay and did the change in a day.

Mike

I just ordered a cheap square taper 44/32/22 crank that should be plug and play without needing to change the bottom bracket. If I get to the point of doing serious touring away from civilization, I will upgrade to a better quality crank. If you have the right tools and know how, a crank.swap can be done easily in under a half hour. An lbs would probably only charge about 30bucks to remove the old and install the new. I decided to go ahead a.d gear this really low as it will probably really just mean that I end up using the 32/11 a lot around town. I have a high cadence and sheldons calculator shows something lime 37mph at 120rpm in the 44/11 combo so that is plenty of firepower for when I'm not loaded up.

I just ordered a cheap square taper 44/32/22 crank that should be plug and play without needing to change the bottom bracket. If I get to the point of doing serious touring away from civilization, I will upgrade to a better quality crank. If you have the right tools and know how, a crank.swap can be done easily in under a half hour. An lbs would probably only charge about 30bucks to remove the old and install the new. I decided to go ahead a.d gear this really low as it will probably really just mean that I end up using the 32/11 a lot around town. I have a high cadence and sheldons calculator shows something lime 37mph at 120rpm in the 44/11 combo so that is plenty of firepower for when I'm not loaded up.

Im not familiar with external ball bearing BBs, but square tapers are very easy to work on (if you have the tool) and in my experience, reasonable quality ones will go a long long time. The one on my mtn bike commuter/whatever was making a creak this summer and I learned how to remove it, clean and regrease the threads inside the bb and reinstalled it, creak gone. This bike is from 98 and while Im not sure if its the original bb, I know its the same one from about 2001 since Ive had it, and while I dont put huge amount of mileage on it, it did get used fairly regularly and so for that many years it is quite long living.
There is also the argument that out in whatever country, square taper bbs will be found, while more modern external bearing ones might be harder to get.

As for your gearing, again my mtn bikecommuter has pretty much the same gearing, and it perfectly workeable for the speeds that we go at, plus the bonus of the 22 granny being quite flexible for weight on bke plus steep steep hills (even with the 11-28 cassette I have on it)
Yes, I use the 32/11 often, and while I shift up to the 42 regularly, I dont feel I am constantly going back and forth.

external ball bearing BB's are awesome. I'm thoroughly convinced that touring guys and C&V guys are just a bunch of grumpy old men that like to ***** about things. guys that race road bikes put way more stress on cranks than a guy on a touring rig does, yet touring guys are always worried about stuff breaking on them. in my opinon, crank changes are one of the easiest things to do on a bike, they just seem difficult because there aren't any standards. When you work on a car you pretty much know you either need a set of regular SAE wrenches or you need a set of metric tools. There aren't that many item specific tools. On bikes you can have 4 different cranks and 4 different ways/tools to remove them but as long as you have the proper tools, it's very easy to do. some people complain about cartridge unit square taper and bottom brackets and how their old cup and cone systems lasted 20 years while their cartridge units don't last nearly as long. A cartridge unit is a whopping $30 and takes 15 minutes to swap out! If I have to change it once a year I'm fine with it. In this day and age of smartphones, you can get any bike part you need in one day if you need it bad enough. Simply find an address to ship it to, go online and pay for it and have it overnighted if push comes to shove.

external ball bearing BB's are awesome. I'm thoroughly convinced that touring guys and C&V guys are just a bunch of grumpy old men that like to ***** about things. guys that race road bikes put way more stress on cranks than a guy on a touring rig does, yet touring guys are always worried about stuff breaking on them.

that made me chuckle.

None of the family bikes have externals yet, so I guess I'll learn when I get one, from what I understand all you need are allen keys--fine with me. Given how long my drivetrain stuff lasts anyway (Im not knee deep in mud and such as mtn bikers can be, plus I'm not a big beefy guy, plus I dont do a ton of mileage) I dont really care about what BB I have, as long as it isnt the cup and cone ones, and whatever works well, is easy to work on and is readily available, thats fine with me.

Bike is out for delivery! should have it built up and making its maiden voyage by sundown! ill report back and take some pics.