boicsac

I'm pretty new to the road bike scene, I used to race mountain bikes. I am looking to bike from portland or, to portland, me this summer. I'm looking to buy a cheap touring bike. the trek 520 looks good and my budget is LOW. but i want something to get me there. suggestions?

Little Darwin

Do a search?

Try the Touring forum?

As I recall the 520 is seen as a favorable entry level touring bike, as are others like the Cannondale T800... There are frequent requests for info and ensuing reviews on touring bikes in the touring forum.

boicsac

could someone just give general information about preferred geomatry, general things about road bike i should know(tire widths, gears, frame structure for load bearing) etc

Little Darwin

Most of the following info is derived from reading the touring forum for a couple of weeks.

The things that set a touring bike apart from other road bikes are the longer chain stays (to carry the load, allow for a softer ride and reduce heel strike on rear panniers) a stem that is close to the height of the seat (for a slightly more upright riding posture than on racing bikes) and braze ons for fenders and racks (parentheses here just for consistency, the purpose for the brazze-ons is obvious).

The Trek 520 meets the requirements in these areas for many people.

Almost everything else is strictly rider preference... (or perhaps durability in some cases)

brifters vs barcons vs down-tube shifters (many prefer non-brifters so that they can revert to friction mode if needeed due to slightly bent derailleurs etc on the road)

Drop bars vs flat bars vs trekking bars....

Saddles (an area of personal preference regardless of bikes)

700c versus 26"... usually settled by whichever bike you get.

Wheels... Tendency among tourers to ride 32+ spokes (usually 36+), with 3X lacing pattern.

Gearing... the general feeling is gearing should be from 20 inches to 90+ inches. Traditionally touring bikes use a lower gearing than most road bikes, and typically use a triple with a 24-30 tooth granny for the inner ring.

Tire width.... usually wider than typical road bikes due to load, but there are those that like tires of various widths. In general, I think due to a variety of road conmditions, long days in the saddle and loads a width of 30 mm or higher is a good choice.

There can be different advice depending on whether you will be self-supported (camping) or credit-card touring (motels and restaurants). If credit card touring, a sports tourer can sometimes be appropriate and somewhat more efficient.

Shifty

Go to REI, they have a nice touring bike, and they are all on sale now. They might not have one in stock in Eugene, but can tell you about them and bring one down from Portland for you to ride.
Also check with the bike shop on Blair, Revolution Cycles, he has new and used bike at great prices.

marqueemoon

Bianchi Volpe or Fuji are two cheap/decent ones to check out.

Little Darwin

Also, in the Touring forum is a thread on the Windsor, and some write it off as cheap, but it seems to be seen as OK by those who have actually bought one.

Available on eBay for about $600 delivered to your door, and it is reported to be comparable to the Fuji component-wise.

MichaelW

Tourers are like road bikes except for the frame, the wheels, the transmission and the accessories.
The benchmark for a full-loaded touring bike is probably the Bruce Gordon BLT. It is setup the way most experienced tourists like and is useful guide.
Many production tourers need significant upgrades for load carrying (better racks and wheels, lower gearing, MTB cranks). Cost these up and compare it to the BLT.
Integrated gear shifting is found on most tourers but a friction option gives you some repair options when things go wrong, hence the popularity of bar-end shifters.
For affordable tourers, see Trek, canondale, jamis, bianchi, fuji , REI

big john

You can tour on a mountain bike frame, or anything you can build for durability. I'm 210# and I did 3000 miles on Nishiki frame I bought for 50 bucks with no problems. I scrounged parts from everywhere I could but bought good wheels. I think good racks are important,too. I put blue Loctite on a lot of the bolts. I saw people touring on all sorts of bikes, even some with trailers. I highly recommend loading up and doing a practice run, too. Go as light as you can with your load, unless you're an ox. You'll never forget it!

jemoryl

There were some shops around here that had some Trek 520s from prevous years that they were clearing out at attractive prices. Don't think they will be cheap, but some of the Burley tourers look nice and they are made in your neck of the woods.