FarHorizon

Assume for a moment that Bill Gates just realized that he'd been using your patent illegally for the past few decades and that Bill has given you a few billion $$$ to make you go away...

You can now buy any touring bike you'd ever dreamed of - any builder - any material - any geometry. Since you're going to be doing credit card touring only (with a gear wagon behind you with spares and refreshments), what choices do you make?

I'd opt for really relaxed geometry - long wheelbase, long chainstays, lots of fork rake. I'd opt for (possibly) a titanium main frame with carbon fork and stays - maybe even some space-age vibration absorbing materials in there to soak up the jolts! I might get REALLY comfortable and go recumbent (a titanium and carbon recumbent?)!

So what would youse gals & guys choose and (more importantly) why? I ask to see what features are considered "most preferable" by consensus of experienced tourers.

chipcom 

I already have it in my Fuji World, so my money would be spent on some upgrades, gear and clothing, while my time would be spent on the bike, touring. With that much money, I'd have to fight the temptation to hire my own personal 24x7, 1 hour response time, fully stocked, SAG team.

roadfix

With that kind of money I'd get one of these for starters....

Rogerinchrist

Yeah, with a door in the back for my own private bike shop! The mechanic would have his own vehicle of course.

NoReg

I feel that a credit card bike isn't really a touring bike. Not because there is anything wrong about that kind of trip, but because it is just like any other bike, determined by terrain. If your trip is over desert it looks like a mountain bike, if it's hilly, then it would be climbing specific. But without the need to carry gear, your bike looks like everyone else's you meet along the way, just nicer cause you have billions.

I did a little work on a bicycle RV, almost started building it once. I'm not sure it's necesarry, but if I had a big enough budget and I didn't have to do the sanding, I would persue that. I figure that a trailer weighing not much more than the kind you carry two kids in, could be configured to be a streamlined mobile home, carry your gear, and something you could shelter in, or sleep in anywhere there was flat space. You decide to take a siesta in a city park, nobody rousts you cause your indoors. Same with the Walmart parking lot.

The guys at attomic Zombie have a drawing for a 2 seater recumbent, with a really significant trailer. The photo is no longer up, but it is apparently still under development, and they may bring out plans.

My approach was more modest, but also possibly more capable. I started with a partial hardshell trailer just long enough to lie down on, sorta a glorified bivy. It can work because the trailer doubles for a lot of other things, paniers, tent, etc... It could also be like the kid trailer, but rather than 2 wide, 2 long. As you know, the fabric kid trailers fold flat, which is good for aero. The thing would then be like a porta ledge, but configured for the road. I think I mentioned this here before, and someone posted something like it, though it was really just a tent carrying system, not an RV.

My wife had a mega idea that I think is really marketable, for someone of ambition, of course. That kinda rules me out, but if I ever prototype it, or just drop the whole idea. I'll pass it on.

fks

Here it is, Reynolds 853 , lugged, 1 1/8 in threadless headset,24 Speed, Brooks Team Pro saddle,559 wheels, Conti Top Touring tyres

MichaelW

My main upgrade for credit card touring on unlimitted budget would be more five star hotels. I would still use hostels and tourist farms etc but occasionally its nice to hand your bike to the doorman, check into your suite and after a superb dinner and leisurely breakfast of croissants, pick up your freshly laundered bike kit and cleaned up bike.

Blackberry

Credit card touring with a gear wagon? Well, I probably wouldn't go for a touring-specific bike. Maybe a custom-built Serotta with more comfortable geometry than their typical road bikes. For my more granola-like moods a custom made Rivendell or maybe a Mercian.

shaharidan

no matter how much money i had i'd probably still do self supported touring, i just like it, it's not really a financial thing.

that being said i'd probably with a tourer built by vanilla. but most likely i'd keep my current tourer which i like a lot ( built by a local guy ) and go with a really tricked out vanilla for my road bike .

tom cotter

I've already got one of these. Fantastic way to travel. It's a great bicycle transport machine. The bikes ride in the basement storage bays. Only problem is, still got the job to pay for the darn thing. I can't just get in, turn the key, and follow the sun. That day is coming.

cyccommute 

I think I'd go for a Lightness of Being by Obscurities made of Unobtainium 327 of course. For geometry, I'd have to go with their proprietary "I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you" patented touring fit system. Color would have to be either UV Radiant or Gamma Ray, although they have so many parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that it would be hard to choose. Maybe I'd go with Nearer to You infrared 'cause it's a bit warmer.

Of course the components would have to come from Elemental and be made of their best Hydrogen 1 alloys because those are, after all, the lightest components available until they finish developing their Electron Minus line.

Revtor

A couple billion to spend on a touring bike??

Id enlist Bruce Gordon to build me 5 of his best, all custom spec'd for my best friends. Basic steel, I want STI shifters on mine. And I want it all painted red like on his site. Then after the year that the builds would take, I'd force my friends to give up their jobs,(wouldnt be too hard) and we'd ride to LosCabos and surf for another year. Then we'd start our ride back north and end up in BC where we'd go heliboarding for an entire season. Then, perhaps ride down to yosemite and climb for a year. Or go to SanFran and be skate bums (super luxurious bums) like we always wanted to. Or go to Laguna Seca and do a week long racing school.. and then sell the bikes and do it all over on KTM dual sport (motor) bikes.

allright Ill stop now.

~Steve

oknups

I will wait till this hits the street reynolds 953. The look of ti without it.

dbg

On my constant 5-star credit-card tour (all over the world) I'd use a new bike every day. In fact I'd have 7 agents constantly picking out new bikes and delivering them to me where ever I happen to be. I'd try a new one from each agent every day. The first time I found one I liked so much I wanted to ride it a second day, that agent would receive all the old ones to keep. After a day or two on that favorite ride, I'd go back to a new one every day. And so on..

And every night? ..well, that's a different forum.

FarHorizon

If your mini trailer isn't air conditioned, it is actually a "mini-roaster." Won't fly anywhere in my part of the world!

FarHorizon

HUMOR - Stuart, I applaud you! Wish **I** could be funny...

thomson

It isn't really about the money for me. It is more being self sufficient and practical. I have a 1994 Trek 520 7-speed. I have upgraded the rims and put a B17 on it and it suits me perfectly. I do my own mechanics on it and always have. I honestly hope I never have to replace it.

KrisPistofferson

I'd probably get a Vanilla frame, Phil Wood BB and front hub, Rohloff Speedhub, Nitto moustache bars,with a really fancy Brooks saddle. I would then ride it on Mars.

acantor

I don't know about this. I have heard from reliable sources that hydrogen alloys tend to be either chemically unstable or highly combustible. I had a friend whose hydrogen alloy frame burst into flames while careening down a mountain pass road. The pathologist who conducted the autopsy believed it was air friction that sparked the conflagration. By the way, this is the only authenticated case of spontaneous bicycle combustion ever recorded!

Last winter, a couple of friends, who live in northern Ontario, constructed a slick frame and fork out of solid dihydrogen monoxide which they had mined from a nearby river. Unfortunately, the material proved to be extremely brittle, and they had a hell of time trying to attach braze-ons using standard heating techniques. To compensate for the inherent brittleness of the material, they were forced to make the frame and fork extra thick, which meant the bike was quite heavy. The really sad thing is that somebody actually stole this impressive hydrogen alloy prototype! My friends left the completed bike in an outdoor shed last February. When they returned in May to take the bike for a spin, it was obvious that some ruffian had been there. The thief made off with the frame and fork, and left the components in a heap. It must have been an amateur who did not know much about bicycles, as the components were all top-of-the-line Shimano and Campy.

Hydrogen is not really a suitable material for bicycles. My dream bicycle would be made of Helium alloys. Helium is fractionally heavier than hydrogen, but won't burst into flames or evaporate into the night!

late

I'd get a custom Litespeed Tuscany with lite touring geometry.

MichaelW

Dihydrogen monoxide works better when used as a matrix for carbon fibres from the cotton plant. It can be surprisingly strong when pre-stressed: tension the fibres before solidyfying the matrix.

Flaneur

Not sure my tastes are radically altered by acquiring wealth. A custom Longstaff, Steel, or Mercian frame is hard to beat at any price. Wood hubs, Mavic rims..........you don't need to be a millionaire, that's part of the fun- and you still need to turn the pedals.

chipcom 

You had my dream - kinda... Reynolds 853, double-butted, 1 1/8" threadless headset, 27 speed, Brooks Champion Special, Alex X-2100 wheels, Conti TT2000s

Ink

Hmmm, that looks much like the hoped-for end result of my winter project.

What racks are those?

J

NoReg

"If your mini trailer isn't air conditioned, it is actually a "mini-roaster." Won't fly anywhere in my part of the world!"

Not a problem around here FH. The breeze from the beating of a million small wings keeps us cool all summer long, in Ontario.