gsa103

Most carbon bikes don't work with anything other than a seatpost rack. So if you're only planning on doing lightweight touring, get a nice carbon road bike.
If you ever want to do more loaded touring you'll likely need a steel or aluminum frame for a proper rear rack.

Decide which category you want the come back and ask for a recommendation.

WhyFi

This gets my vote.

Team Sarcasm

I feel like anything with rack mounts will be good. Maybe check out a cross bike? or one of the "entry" level road frames that come with better components. (entry is being used lightly, just because most entry level bikes come with rack mounts, or so I have seen).

If you are not using a rack I would look into one of the endurance-race geo bikes. I use to have a synapse and could ride it all day.

What brands do you have around you?

djb

this persons latest contribution to the touring forum, which certainly shows heshe enjoys stirring zee pot:

[h=2]Prejudice against touring cyclists[/h]

choumichou

I am here to learn and fight prejudice whether is it about carbon bikes or touring, i am not ashamed about any of my posts nor about my kind of humor. My interest is in something between racing and touring, which for me and people around me are 2 extremes

WhyFi

Ah, is that why you've been immediately shooting down suggestions without first investigating their merit? Cool.

Elvo

There are only like 2 people here against carbon bikes and/or touring and they didn't post in this thread.

dtrain

Below is your earlier attempt at fighting prejudice. Either your humor falls flat or this is a total fail.

StephenH

Asking what bike to use is a reasonable question. Asking what bike to use when you already have prejudices that rule out 75% of all the possibilities is not a reasonable question. Asking what bike to use without really saying what you're doing is not a real reasonable question.

Let's see. 6 hours of fast riding in the mountains. That's a 100 miles with those guys out in California, so that works out to "any bike they ride in California". 8 lbs is a Camelbak of water plus a U-lock, so that can all go in a backpack.

choumichou

That was my reaction to some who recommended well known brands which we tried all so many times...with more disappointment on value for money every year..In the original post i mentioned i was looking for a bike with special endurance properties..

My best discovery on this thread was volagi brand

bikemig 

+ 1. You're being kind.

WhyFi

You mean like carbon fiber bikes? Yeah, you're probably right to look in to them.

dtrain

Value on a special endurance bike? I mentioned Fuji Gran Fondo/Sportif.
Focused on steel? Bikesdirect -> Motobecane Gran Premio

Sheik24

Pity on you. How ridiculous your struggling with the hill. Get a car and go far away from my land.

Alias530

FWIW I'm 240lbs on an emonda

staehpj1

FWIW, It is entirely possible to carry enough gear for camping and cooking and still hold it to 8 pounds by using ultralight backpacking techniques. . That would assume not counting water or food (which is bought daily and preferably close to where it is consumed) in the weight.

I typically take a few luxuries so I am more often carrying 11-15 pounds, but 8 is doable even without buying a lot of expensive cuben fiber do-dads. Even going coast to coast during cool weather (trip low of 18 F, lots of nights with frost) I found 14 pounds of stuff adequate.

superslomo

This all makes my head hurt. 8 pounds, as others have said, can go essentially anywhere, and unless you are a mountain of a man beating the weight limit on the bike already, it won't really make any major difference. Carradice I think makes a seat roll pack, don't need a rack to make that work, and it's negligible to carry that kind of amount unless it's in the form of really bulky sleeping bags etc. If you're planning with a sleeping bag, though, I can't really picture how you'd make this all happen with just 8 pounds... seems hard to conceive of.

To my mind, racing is racing, i.e. you and other people are endeavoring to beat each other to a given finish line.

Touring is going for several days while carrying kit and kaboodle with you.

A single overnight as part of a two day trip is less touring, really, as you can live without almost anything for just one night... bring a pair of shorts, a cotton t-shirt, some flip flops and you're all set... are you sleeping at a motel or hostel or similar? What's IN these 8 pounds you're talking about? An 8 cubic foot styrofoam block is different than an 8 pound lead ingot in packaging and packing, so it's not really that straightforward... Don't discount the older cannondale alu touring bikes, they are pretty well sorted, and have a lot of endurance/comfort/road bike features.

choumichou

Here is how we do : we know in advance destinations where we are going to spend the night...they are generally 60 miles distance from each other with hills ... and we have to reach destination before 15pm...

staehpj1

Sorry if this is a little off topic here, but since you asked...

Here is a packing list that meets that criteria. I have not used this exact list, but have used all of the choices in it on long tours, I have used of these most items on a coast to coast trip. It comes in right about 8 pounds, but doesn't include any food or fuel. It is not the lightest possible list, but you start to have to either throw a lot of money at the problem or do without things that I consider worth carrying.

Truth be told I am more likely to be in the 11-14 pound range on most tours these days, but even at 8 pounds there are still plenty of places to trim. For example you could skip the pillow, the cooking gear, and the first aid stuff. As mentioned there are much lighter options than the panniers and I have successfully used some of them on long trips. Also the shelter and clothing on this list was fine for a trip with an overall low of 18 F and a bunch of nights with frost. For a summer trip in temperate and low altitude more could be trimmed there. I have no doubt that camping and cooking with 5 pounds is possible. The thing is that once I get into the 11-14 pounds of gear range I get less excited about cutting every ounce. There just isn't that much advantage to go less than 10 pounds, but it is certainly possible.

Toiletries - 5.8 oz

Shelter - 2 lb. 6.6 oz.LuggageKitchen 6.5 oz.Clothes (not counting what I wear all the time on bike) - 1 lb. 13.8 ozMisc. 10.2 oz.First aid stuff 2 oz.

bikemig 

Do you just use a pair of rear panniers? Getting your shelter down to under 3 lbs is pretty cool. But you need to tie it up somewhere right? Isn't that a problem in the midwest or the plains more generally. I still like the idea of a free standing tent but that will add some not insignificant weight compared to your set up.

By poncho, do you mean a bike rain cape? Those are pretty effective but I haven't used one in a long time. Or do you use an actual poncho for riding in the rain?

Acquaspin

Assuming it is 8 pounds worth of basic tools, food&hydration, and some clothing (regular 60 mile ride), it is not a substantial weight that would require specific carrying gear or a bike design.

I think you are more likely to suffer from the fact of taking a brand new bike (that you've barely ridden before) on such a quest. If I were going for long, endurance and reliability, I'd take a bike I have ridden for a while already, a bike I know its qualities and its shortcomings. Basically I would eliminate unknown variables so there are fewer things to worry about and more free mind to try and enjoy the trip.

If you either do not have a bike you deem suitable for the task, or are aching to get a brand new bike for the next adventure, I'd strongly suggest to get as many miles on the new bike as possible before the actual event, get your butt comfortably acquainted with the saddle and make fit adjustments as required.

Good luck

superslomo

Dude, that list is seriously impressive. I don't think I have the discipline to get anywhere near that... I also don't sleep well on my back, so I always bring a heavier therm-a-rest with me backpacking etc., so I would plan on more weight just to guarantee a good night's sleep. Nicely done, though... much respect.

Still, not sure about anything you're trying to accomplish here... camping? Hostels? Bringing food? Eating in restaurants? Staying in hotels? Cold? Mild? Any of this would probably help come up with a meaningful plan. I think at least some endurance geometry bikes allow for rack mounting with some kind of panniers... worth asking your LBS and checking spec sheets for rack eyelets, as a carradice or similar will work but a set of lightweight panniers are still easier all around if you really have to bring gear with you.

staehpj1

In that case they were small front panniers mounted on the rear. But in my recent tours I have often just strapped on very light dry bags. I have also traveled with panniers on the front only and it worked out well.

I can pitch the tarp using the bike as a support, but if the weather is decent I don't bother. If it starts raining during the night I sometimes just pull the tarp over the bug bivy. Also if I know that it will be cool the whole trip I take a waterproof bivy and skip the tarp.

Also in the midwest and the plains I most often camp in small town parks under a picnic pavilion roof. That seems to work well in places like Kansas and I have never been run off from the shelter.

I may take a tent on some trips, but it has been a while since I have. If I expected a lot of wet weather I'd probably take my 2 lb. 9 oz. tent, but I usually try to travel when and where the rain is fairly infrequent.

No I just wear the wind shirt on the bike sometimes with the wind pants. The poncho is for rainy times in camp. I don't mind riding when wet, but I like to be dry and comfy in camp. Depending on the trip I don't always carry the poncho.

staehpj1

YMMV, but at only 12 oz, I actually find the Thermarest Neoair XLite to be the most comfortable sleeping pad I have owned and that includes a huge Thermarest self inflating 5 pound base camp style pad that I tried a long time ago. If you haven't tried a NeoAir you might have a look at them somewhere that you can try it out in the store. Be aware that getting the inflation just right is the key.

Carbonfiberboy 

I've been riding with the same people for 17 years, I think. This is how we've been touring for many years. We have two sag cars to transport luggage, water, and food. We have a half-way picnic out of the sags. The 1500 arrival is not mandatory, but no one wants to miss the beer and chips celebration at the end of each day's ride. And these folks I ride with mostly don't know the meaning of non-competitive riding. It's always fun. 8 lbs. is about right for what we carry on our tandem counting water. Most folks carry less. So this sounds like a very sensible plan to me.

It obviously could be done without the sags, but they are an important safety factor on a fast tour. Sometimes riders fall apart, sometimes things break, and we frequently tour in areas without many amenities, since our chosen route will not depend on them.

My group rides the bike they've been using, mostly Ti or carbon, a few steel. No aluminum that I recall. The newer bikes are all carbon.