fin86

I am looking to buy a really good quality road bike for long distance day cycling and also to use on extended cycling trips with and without Panniers. I don't want a touring bike as they are a bit heavy for some of the day cycling Anyone got recommendations?

AlexCyclistRoch

First of all, "road bikes" as a rule can not accept racks and panniers. You need a "touring bike", or even a "radonneur" or "light touring" bike (often a mix between a road and a touring bike). What is your budget?

JohnDThompson 

Unless you're planning on riding competitively, I wouldn't worry about the weight of a touring bike.

dim

Surly Long Haul Trucker or Surly Disk Trucker .... it's not heavy

Maelochs

You can find a bunch of bikes which accept racks and are considered "road bikes" ... If I were you I would go to the websites of all the major manufacturers and look for bikes with rack mounts

10 Wheels

I used a Topeak Seatpost rack.
The Quick release is easy to use.

It worked fine.

Maelochs

Also check Nashbar and Performance Bike and BikesDirect----Also, as Ten Wheels proves, one needn't carry everything in traditional panniers.

10 Wheels

Bought this bike for $200. It came with the rack.

Maelochs

Is that an alloy Allez triple ... ah, 2003. Tiagra/105? Pretty bike. With the triple that is a perfect sport/touring bike. I just saw a 2014 on Craigslist for $600.

10 Wheels

Only had 600 miles on it. 7 Speed.

fietsbob

Here People figure out how to fit racks on their favorite Bike whether they have Mounts on them Or Not..
A evidence by the many seen touring the Oregon Coast.


I recommend you walk into a Bike Shop and narrow down the possibilities to Brands and Models
to those You Can actually Test Ride..

T Stew

The difference in weight isn't a big deal really. If you're using panniers I assume you could be hauling an extra 20+ lbs of gear, whats a couple more pounds on the bike? Besides possibly a bit more comfortable geometry the touring bike is going to give you better mounts for racks, as well as provide a longer wheelbase so when you have a loaded pannier on the back rack you're not bumping your heels into it with each stroke. Sometimes a couple inches makes a big difference. That being said I wouldn't hesitate to take a lightweight road bike on a long trip with gear, so long as it was comfortable and can carry what you need. I've cruised around on all day long rides a couple times on my touring bike, my '88 Voyageur, with a 26 lb empty weight, a few pounds more with my racks and stuff on it. I thought it was a nice ride.

canklecat

If I'm remembering correctly the Trek 1.1 and other 1 Series aluminum frame road bikes are set up for adding racks and touring gear. They weigh under 25 lbs stock. Nice bike, tried one last week and liked it.

But for touring I'd consider different gearing. The stock 50/34 and 11-28 wouldn't be quite right for me with a loaded bike. I know from lugging groceries on my 35 lb hybrid up hills I'd want a 28, 30 or 32 front and 30 or 32 rear if it's feasible for that bike. Usually I don't need the granny gear but occasionally do at the end of a long hot day or when I'm just feeling puny. Nice to have that option rather than getting off and walking it up.

Retro Grouch 

Panniers are the determining factor. They have to be located far enough back so you won't strike your heel. If the weight of the loaded panniers is behind your rear axle, it will upset your bike's front-to-rear balance.

Maelochs

And trust me, pushing (and balancing) a loaded bike while pushing it is Not easy ... even on the flat. The bike wants to fall over with every tiny bump or shake; you will use half your energy just holding it upright.

I like a 48-38-28 triple for loaded touring ... or lower.

indyfabz

Uh...As the owner of an LHT, I can say definitively that you are 100%, without a doubt, incorrect. Any idea what even a 42cm (the smallest size made) LHT weighs? Try about 28 lbs. Never weighted my 60cm version, but it is extremely heavy.

indyfabz

Surly Cross Check might be a good compromise.

Maelochs

Go to BikesDirect and pick any one of half-a-dozen bikes below $800 with either ten-speed triples or 11-speed doubles---and rack mounts.

canklecat

Good point.

My hybrid has a 48-38-28 triple and 12-34 rear. Feels right for my riding, which includes occasionally hauling up to 40 lbs or so on the rear rack and rear panniers. There's some inefficiency between the suspension fork and plastic platform pedals, so I might be able to manage a rigid fork road bike with metal pedals and 11-28 in the rear. Planning to try some road bikes the next week or two in anticipation of some camping trips this fall.

SkyDog75

There are a TON of bikes that'll work for you. It's a matter of picking the one that best fits the specific tradeoffs you want to make between weight, carrying capacity, geometry, gearing, price, etc.

A Bianchi Volpe, at 24 pounds, is lighter than most full-on tourers, but it still has front & rear rack mounts and reasonably long chainstays that'll help you keep from kicking your panniers with your heels. It also has a triple crankset, which may help if you're going to be hauling loaded panniers uphill.

Jamis makes a couple of bikes that seem like they could be a good fit, too. Their Quest series bikes are steel-framed and come with either double or triple cranksets. They have a slightly shorter wheelbase than the Volpe, which could give you slightly sportier handling at the expense of heel clearance and stability when carrying a load. Depending on which Quest model you chose (and how much you were willing to spend), you could get down close to 20 pounds. The Jamis Ventura series is an aluminum-framed sport/endurance road bike with rear rack eyelets.

As mentioned above, the Trek 1-series bikes have eyelets for rear racks. They have a bit of a sportier geometry, more akin to racing bikes than touring bikes.

A bunch of cyclocross-style or "gravel bikes" could work. They can typically take wider tires, too, which might be a benefit if you ride unpaved trails. I use a 2011 Diamondback Steilacoom CCX for long rides on pavement and crushed gravel, carrying rear panniers.

If you're shopping used bikes, there are a LOT of old "sport touring" models out there that would fit the bill.

ramzilla

Trek 520 is a good value touring rig.

bikemig 

If you want a good compromise between a touring bike and a road racing bike, get what used to be called sports touring bike, a bike that takes long reach brakes (so you can fit a 28c tire) and has eyelets for a rack and/or fenders. Here is a thread on "vintage" sports touring bikes:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...g-bicycle.html

Soma and surly both make "modern" sports touring bikes:

Pacer | Bikes | Surly Bikes

ES (Complete Bicycle) | SOMA Fabrications

These are very versatile machines.

PaulRivers

You can't find as many that have rack mounts, but you can find plenty of racks designed to go onto a full carbon bike without rack mounts.

The Axiom Streamliner Disc is cheaper at $40:
https://www.amazon.com/Axiom-Streaml...disc+bike+rack

The Bontrager Backrack Lighweight is more expensive but lighter:
Bontrager BackRack Lightweight | Trek Bikes

Pics of it on a full carbon trek domane:
**********-ITEM-?Y's Road ???

However, a lot of this depends on how much weight you want to put in the pannier. If you carry a lot of heavy stuff it would be better to get a full touring bike.

prathmann

If the OP's primary use will be for relatively fast day rides then I'd recommend that he choose the best bike for that application that fits both his body and his budget. I have yet to see a road bike that I wouldn't be able to put a rear rack and panniers on for a reasonable touring load. E.g. the bike I use most often for touring is a Cannondale 'crit geometry' road bike with quite short chain stays (26mm tires would hit the front der. mount). Works fine with a rear rack and rather large panniers and has been on many self-supported bicycle camping trips without any issues.

dim

here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...they-fact.html

they are not heavy .... what makes it heavy are the accesories that people add .... add these same accesories such as fenders, racks etc to any other road bike and they too will be heavy

I have a 50cm LHT and without fenders or racks, it's pretty light ....