ShortStack00

Hello,

I am a very avid cyclist but have so far only owned mountain bikes. I am looking into purchasing a new bike in the 1700-2000 range to have in addition to my mountain bike and am curious for your opinions.

I will be using this bike predominantly on my neighborhood greenway which is a 30 mile there and back from my front door, however I also will be going on the occasional (once or twice a year) 400 mile trip where I'll be bringing a tent and a small amount of clothes, gear, etc with me. I like the idea of having a solid road bike that will also work as a touring bike, but will I be wishing I had a real touring bike when it comes time for that purpose?

Thanks for your advice.

jonathanb715

Short answer - if you're gong to bring that much stuff, you'll probably want a bike with rack mounts unless you intend to carry it all in a backpack. Topeak makes some cantilever racks that hang off of the seatpost, but I don't know how much weight they can handle.

JB

BengeBoy 

Well, you might want a "light touring" bike, or "cyclocross" bike -- a bike that is a bit lighter than an all-out touring bike, but still can handle a rack mount in the rear so you can load it up w/enough gear for occasional tour.

Some bikes well within your price range that might work...

- Salsa Casserroll
- Surly Crosscheck
- Specialized Tricross
- Masi Speciale Randonneur
- Soma Double Cross

You won't miss a full-blown "touring bike" if you pack carefully, and avoid bringing a bunch of stuff you won't need or use anyway.
-

BarracksSi

When it comes time to tour, you'll be glad you had the touring bike to carry your stuff. I've never seen a touring cyclist with a backpack. Check the Touring forum if you haven't already.

jdom

I have both a touring bike and a road bike,if I could only have one it would definately be the touring bike.

When you tour will you be cooking youre own meals? or will you eat out only?
If you plan on cooking and bringing youre own food you will probably need front and rear panniers.For this a touring bike is your best bet.Some steel framed cyclo cross bikes can work also if they have low enough gearing.Mounting front panniers to a cyclo cross bike can sometimes be difficult.Also if you have big feet you may have a problem with youre heels hitting your rear pannier.

I would not even consider trying to load a road bike for touring.

Some touring bikes to look at are the Surly LHT,Trek 520,Cannondale,Novara,Salsa and Soma.
More things to think about are the price of racks and panniers.
Posting this over in the touring section will get you alot of information about alot more than just wich bike should you get.

jonathanb715

*Sigh* Sarcasm never works well on the internet.

JB