El Gato27

I have always liked riding; ~15-20 mile rides twice a week, sometimes a little further. This summer my 19 year old son went out on a few rides with me and liked riding. We’ve done a lot of camping in the past so now I’m thinking of combining the two and doing some touring. I have several bikes but I don’t think any of them are suitable for touring…an mid-80’s Nishiki Hybrid, a mid-80’s Road Peugeot, a SS bike and a two year old Scattante Road 650 bike from Performance. Assuming the daily mileage would be longer. Have no idea where we would go at this point, would have to research that.

I was wondering what would be a recommended entry level Touring bike(two)? Not really sure what features to look for in a touring bike. Entry level because I don’t know if this is something I/we will continue to do. I could always upgrade down the road. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

andrewclaus

How do you plan on carrying camping equipment and food? Some people use their road bikes and a backpack successfully. Some use a seat post rack and light rear panniers only. You can use any bike that will carry you and whatever you like to carry. The more stuff you carry, the more you'll gravitate toward a "real" touring bike, but many don't carry very much and a road bike or city bike works just fine. My first "touring" bike was an old Schwinn Varsity with my sleeping bag, tent and clothes rolled up on top of a book rack and a gym duffel bag tied between the brake hoods.

Another consideration is the weather you'll be riding in. If you expect rain, fenders may be a real consideration and not all bikes can accept fenders.

If you do use a rear rack and large panniers on a road bike, you may need to watch out for your heel hitting the pack. And if you do install fenders on a road bike, your toes may strike the fender on turns. Touring bikes have longer wheelbases to prevent that.

Some good entry level bikes can be found at Bike Nashbar and Windsor, I hear.

indyfabz

See the menu on the right:

How To Department | Resources | Adventure Cycling Association

fietsbob

Touring , activity.. verb , rather than a Noun.. if you carry your stuff and go someplace riding your bike, its a bike tour.


bike trailer is easy to hook up and pack stuff into and no bike mods are needed..

use the bikes you already have ..

people start in Canada on road bikes and ride the Pacific coast all the time..

shopping? how about a triple crank Hybrid . with bar-ends like Ergon with the integrated comfort grips..

El Gato27

Sorry to confuse you, will try to use gooder grammer from now on.

Hybrid is triple crank, has the Ergon grips--love them. Just a bit heavy.

fietsbob

Weight weenie issues? get over it or stay home.

In Short, touring is a thing you can do on any bicycle .

I am at the intersection of 2 popular touring routes

All sorts of Bikes are used to Get across the Continent, or pass through town north to south

less often south to north.. 1 fellow rode AK to the Mexican Border and was Riding Home,
Round trip , home was in AK.

nfmisso

Late '80's, Early '90's Cro-Mo MTB or Hybrid with a RIGID (not suspension) fork. For example: Trek 850, 930, 950, 990, 720, 750, 790; Specialized Rockhopper, Hardrock; Schwinn Cimarron, High Sierra, 50/70/90 Series PDG; and MANY MANY others.

mstateglfr 

What are the details on that Nishiki Hybrid you already have? You mention it already has a triple crank.

Basically, you just need a comfortable bike that can carry gear. There is no reason at all to go buy a new bike(unless you want to, then go for it!) just to try out touring. A hybrid will often times be an excellent entry bike and more than capable for bike camping.

Comfortable riding, sturdy wheels, way to attach gear.
These are the 3 things you should concern yourself with, whether you use your hybrid or get a new bike. As for your hybrid-
- Hybrids typically have geometry that is pretty comfortable. If you want something with a lot of hand positions so you can change back angle and wrist angles while riding, look into a Nashbar Trekking bar. Its $20 and you can probably slide all your current hybrid's components over since the bar diameter will most likely be the same.
- An 80s bike, especially a hybrid(its a late 80s im guessing?...hybrids really weren't seen until the decade change) will most likely have 36spoke wheels. More spokes = more strength which is needed when touring due to gear weight.
- There will almost for sure be attach points on the rear dropout near the wheel for a rack. If there is nothing to attach it to on the seat stays(near the rear brake) you can buy 'p-clamps' from the hardware store along with a bold and nut to securely attach the rack to the frame.




If you want a new bike and don't want to spend a ton to see if you like the activity, the following 3 are all under $900 and are currently available in typical sizes.
BikesDirect Save Up to 60% Off Touring Bikes | Commuting | Commuter Bikes | Windsor Bikes - Tourist $700
Fuji Touring Fuji Touring Road Bike - 2015___ $700
Nashbar Touring Nashbar TR1 Touring Bike___ $850

pdlamb

There are at least two generic answers possible. The first is to try what you have. I suspect you might be able to make either the Peugeot or the Nishiki work with a reasonable load. The second is that you're going to spend so much bringing either up to the level you want that you might as well buy one of the lower-end production touring models.

Either way, some of the things you'll probably* want to look for on a bike include:
- Capability to mount tires at least 28-32 mm wide (or 1-1/4")
- Capability to mount racks
- Comfortable riding position for long days in the saddle
- Chain stays long enough to avoid heel strike with panniers
- Beefy enough frame to avoid shimmy

If you're looking for current production touring bikes, you may have to wait until next March, since they're typically made in small batches and sell out by June. Less expensive models include Windsor Tourist, Fuji Touring, REI/Novara Randonee, Surly Long Haul Trucker, and Trek 520.

*Some people will offer alternative suggestions, such as ultra-light packing on road bikes. My experience is with more conventional road touring with 25-60 pound loads in panniers.

fietsbob

1976 they rode what was sold then.. and did the .. transcontinental .. bikecentennial ..

mstateglfr 

My parents didn't have seat belts in the backseats when they were kids.
Point is- things change and can be an improvement.

Rambo

I have a friend in the same boat as you. he's seriously considering pulling the trigger on a giant escape. I checked it out for him and I don't see any reason why he shouldn't buy it for what he's going to use it for. you might want to check them out too.

El Gato27

Great info, lots of details I hadn't thought about. Also stopped by REI last night and fondled the tour bikes. Will start out by putting some racks on my Nishiki, load it up and try that out. Also saw some bikes on CL that would work.

Was under the impression tour bikes were supposed to be lighter, but I was wrong.
Thanks again.

timdow

+1 on these three bikes. The Nashbar is more like $1000 though, and that's when it's on sale. And if I were going to go $1000, I would seriously consider ponying up a few hundred more for the LHT.

If your budget does not allow for that much, and you have some time you might think about finding a couple of 80's rigid fork steel (chromoly) mountain bikes. they are rugged and the gearing is well suited for touring. Prep is minimal... just change to touring tires/tubes, add bar-ends or trekking bars, and add a rack and bags.

bikemig 

The fuji touring is hard to beat unless you go with an older bike that you fix up (like a vintage mtb).

The REI novara randonnee is pretty nice as well but more expensive. I like the tires and wheels on it a lot (mavic a319 rims and schwalbe marathon tires) and it has a good parts mix as well.

mstateglfr 

[QUOTE=timdow;18137591]+1 on these three bikes. The Nashbar is more like $1000 though, and that's when it's on sale. And if I were going to go $1000, I would seriously consider ponying up a few hundred more for the LHT.[QUOTE]


The Nashbar bike is listed for $839 right now. And 20% will be taken off once its in the basket, so its really $675 right now.
Something ive noticed about the Nashbar touring bike is the fork is hiten steel. Odd, since Nashbar's stand alone fork is cromo. I get that cost needs to be considered when spec'ing bikes, but I would figure buying 1 type of fork would be cheaper overall due to volume. Obviously that isn't the case though.

bikemig 

[QUOTE=mstateglfr;18137620][QUOTE=timdow;18137591]+1 on these three bikes. The Nashbar is more like $1000 though, and that's when it's on sale. And if I were going to go $1000, I would seriously consider ponying up a few hundred more for the LHT.It is a steel fork. I don't think that's such a big deal. I'm not in love with the crank (50-39-30 rings looks like a 130/74 bcd which is not my favorite for touring).

The REI novara randonee has a shimano deore triple which is better I think.

The fuji touring has a shimano deore as well.

The bikes direct windsor also has a 130/74 bcd triple.

The shimano deore is 104/64 bcd. That, to my mind, makes the fuji touring a better choice than either the nashbar touring or BD windsor touring. Not a huge difference perhaps but I think you can get better gear ratios and the deore trekking goes down to 22 teeth. The 130/74 bcd can only go to 24 teeth. It's pretty hard to find a steel 74 bcd steel chainring (not impossible but they are not widely available) which is quite a bit better, I think, than a 24 aluminum chainring. But the drop from 39 to 24 is pretty big and it wouldn't surprise me if it would create shifting problems.

So my vote goes to a touring bike with the deore trekking crankset.

timdow

[QUOTE=mstateglfr;18137620][QUOTE=timdow;18137591]+1 on these three bikes. The Nashbar is more like $1000 though, and that's when it's on sale. And if I were going to go $1000, I would seriously consider ponying up a few hundred more for the LHT.That's a great deal! I go to rei.com, and it shows $1199.00. You have a link to the sale bike? OOps... forget what I said I was thinking of the Novara... I meant the Novara was better than the other two. Sorry... dyslexia strikes again!

mstateglfr 

Oh yes, the Randonee seems like a really great bike for the price. When REI opens out here, ill for sure stare at it longingly for a few minutes each time I am at the store.

pdlamb

Yes, a great bike, affectionately named "Pig" after I loaded it up with too much stuff. It carried me across the country: https://pdlamb.wordpress.com/lamb-trans-am/

ironwood

If the Peugeot has eyelets on the dropouts, you can mount racks on the bike. If it can take wider tires put them on. A lot of cycletourists have made long trips on ordinary bikes. Just ride.

JamesRL

Many of the mid 80s Peugeots would have the braze ons for racks and fenders, that is as good a place as any to start. I toured without fenders, I regretted it one day when I had to ride through a road under construction after a rain. But if you pack your stuff in plastic bags before stuffing them in your panniers, you will at least have dry clothes at the end of the day.

Much depends on where you see yourself going. If you are climbing mountains, you will want a triple crank and big cogs out back. If you are mostly flat, you might get a away with a double, especially a compact double crank, and a 14-28. I did a moderately long tour with a double and a 12-28, some hills, one mountain. Never walked but I did struggle on occasion. Shorter distances a flat bar would be fine, some of us prefer drop bars for longer treks.

El Gato27

My Nishiki has both bottom and top braze ons for a rack. The Peugeot only has the bottom, would need an adaptor at the brake bolt or seat tube. Thinking of going with the Nishiki, seems sturdier.

There are two state parks, each about 37-38 miles from the house. I think that will be a good starter trip. Ride out one day, camp out overnight and ride back the next day. Simple, close to home if I need to bail out. Need to train and plan a bit, but that's the initial plan for now. I have most of the camping gear so that's a start.

ironwood

Some racks attach at the brake bolt; while others attach at the seat stays. If you don't have braze-ons on the stays, you can use p-clamps.

hybridbkrdr

Since you said entry level, I don't know if you have Miele in the U.S., but the Andiamo CC could be used as a touring bike.