kipibenkipod

Hehe,
I had 2 STI levers in my touring/commuting/everything bike ;-)
We had a 4 month tour with no problems.
When we returned I tried to make adjustments to the front dérailleur, and broke the front STI lever.
I had 2 barcons from my wife's bike, so I mounted one on my bars at the left for shifting the front dérailleur.
This was a quick fix.
So now I can tell you about the difference ;-)
I really find the STI far better then the barcons. It's easy, it's up there, and I don't even use the STI brakes as I use the cross levers.
So to do some shifting I need to move my hands to the shifters. I find the STI much more stable and easy. The barcons did cause me some wobbles when shifting.
If I would ride most of my rides with my hands on the bottom of the bars near the barcons, then I think it will be easy to operate.
I do prefer STI, as I like to ride on the top and on the hoods.

Regards,
Kfir

safariofthemind

Adding a good link at crazyguy for newbies starting out touring. Excellent tips and recommendations. I am not the original poster but I think it is well written. Enjoy.

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?...c_id=4255&v=CQ

rawly old

What sort of equip one gets for touring can depend largely on how much
one has to spend. Working from extreme poverty as I have requires a bit
of ingenuity.
I have 2 bikes, an '89 raleigh ovation mtb, and an '88 5 spd. raleigh mixte.
For the mtb I've fashioned a single whl. off road trailer using 2 alum. 26"
rims cut at the weld and bolted together into an oblong hoop. (note:
aircraft grade aluminum is fairly brittle. you'll need to heat it to about 300
F. before bending in a vise. ) Now to the hoop i screwed a deck of epoxy
painted 3/8 plywd. using other scrounged bits of alum., I mounted the
the fork from a kid's 16" bike. The vertical swing arm that attaches to
my chainstay is a old pugeot fork which hinges horizotally using eyebolts
and aluminum tubing from an old golf caddy reiforced inside by green
hazelwood dowel. To the deck I have screwed a big HD plastic, lidded
tub from walmart. The lid is secured with window cam locks; the tub is
reinforced by alum. strips from a screen window and totally water-
proof with room for bag, tent, clothing, & misc.
I'm lucky to have access to a ' bike salvage yard', total for bike &
trailer including new tires and tubes: $125
If your broke, but want to tour I suggest scouring thrift shops and
recycle centers.
Setting up the road bike was even cheaper.( just finished today by
the way) I found the '88 raleigh mixte covered with dust & cobwebs
in a thrift store. When i cleaned it up, to my delight, I discovered it
had never been ridden, no rust, no mechanical wear, not so much as
a single pit in the paint inside the fenders. i had a new bike for $25.
It had a large frame for a mixte, but being 6'4" i made a few modif-
cations. I got rid of the granny bars & stem, spent $6 on an extend-
alu gooseneck stem and some semi-straight bars from the 'yard'. I
made a longer seat post by cutting the end off a dumbell bar and
ground it to fit. For 2$ I got a large front basket at thrift; didn't
fit there,but remanufactured to go the long way, it became a combi
rear basket & pannier rack. At walmart i got another eastport daypack.
(had one already gotten from the goodwill, 4$) With harness thread
and some old denim I rigged the daypacks to attach as panniers yet
still function as packs. grips 8$. Total + tires, tubes, misc. : $95
Be patient, frugal, keep your eyes open, and your mind agile. Do
this and you can accomplish anything.

garethzbarker

Hi I have a couple of simple questions but i've heard different answers for them:

When positioning rear panniers should I put them as low and aft as possible or as close to my heels as possible? It's an MTB riding 26inch wheels if that matters.

Does it change the optimal position for my rear panniers if I'm also using front panniers?



Thanks

Smokinapankake

Rear pannier placement should be far enough aft to eliminate any interference with your feet. This is commonly known as "heel strike". What determines whether you'll suffer heel strike or not depends, largely, on chainstay length and size and shape of your panniers. I have some Overland Equipment Panniers that are really really nice, but they are rectangular in shape, and so they hit my feet even though the chainstays on my 85 Peugeot Canyon Express MTB are 18-1/2" long. My Lone Peak panniers, OTOH, are shaped with a diagonal section to make clearance for my heels, and therefore heel strike is not a problem. These are smaller than my Overlands, however, so a greater percentage of the load ends up in my Overland panniers on my front wheel. This works OK for me though, as most MTBs are designed with somewhere in the range of 55/45 rear/front weight distribution.
With the added weight of the (loaded) larger panniers over the front, my weight distribution ends up closer to 50/50 F/R.

I wouldn't think rear pannier position would change much if you're using them in conjunction with fronts. Remember, they can only go so far forward due to heel strike, and they can only go so far aft due to rack/pannier/chainstay design limitations.
Are you using lowriders on the front or is it a platform type rack over the top of the front wheel? I have a platform type (Blackburn, actually) on the front and the weight distribution doesn't seem to slow down steering too much or otherwise adversely affect my handling....
And said handling will be more affected by rake/trail and load distribution side to side than anything else.....
Just my .02 and I'm sure someone with more knowledge than me will chime in.

garethzbarker

thanks for the help. I'm using a Tubus Cosmos rack in the rear and Tubus suspension rack in the front (so the front panniers are sitting high up compared to most set ups. I can put my Super Cs way forward before heel strike. That's why I'm wondering if I should move them back, I have room to adjust I just don't know what's best for handling. Is there some rule for rear load like 'behind the wheel axle' or should I put them as far back as I can? That is what I'm confused about the most if you get me. Let me know if that doesn't make sense.

Smokinapankake

Seems like the best practice would be to keep the total load (rider, panniers, water, etc...) between the axles. Kind of like a truss, rather than cantilevered over the axles. If you can adjust for this and keep your bags far enough away to avoid any interference, that'd be the ideal I would shoot for.
Again, this is just my opinion and every one has one of those, so take what I say with a grain of salt, as it were...

rawly old

As far as the pannier vs. trailer thing goes, I'd say the choice depends largely on
the sort of touring one has in mind. Panniers are great for road touring; placed fore
and aft, they make a stable load with a bit of a weight advantage over a trailer.
However, on wilderness trails I prefer a single wheel trailer. mine is homemade, but
looks essentially like the 'BOB' trailers except that I have added a thin sheet metal
brush guard to the curved forward section. As my main cargo container is a clear
reinforced plastic tub, it' easy to locate things and keep them dry. I don't worry
about snags or heel strikes from a shifting load; the durn thing even floats if the
stream crossing's deep enough, ( not a good thing in a strong current ). For my
purposes a trailer is simply more convenient.

Richard Scout

Does anybody know if these bike saddles are any good?
https://www.imaginegear.com/Cycling/c373210/

momule

All I have found on this thread about trailers and touring is about single wheel BOB trailers. I have a relatively new 2 wheel Burley Nomad that I use for grocery hauling and day long "picnic" trips and I really like how well made the trailer is and how it handles. Does anyone have any thoughts about using this for long distance touring other than it could easily let me take way more junk with me that I should really have?

NJgreyhead

Good stuff.
Thanks, Kfir.
-NJgh

alexaschwanden

i have a road hybrid bike with 700x25c tires, my question is how much weight can they hold safety with out to much stress to popping? the rider is 140, bike is 25, so what is the safe cargo weight limits? thanks

digger531

I can't imagine any seat worth that much money. Unless they are ultra light and you are lance's brother. I think (especially on a touring thread) that for any money Brooks is best.

thook

No one's posted here in a couple of months, so after reading a bunch of this thread, I figure I'd revive it a bit.....

Got a question for you pro's........

I have a Trek 614, '82 model, and a buddy of mine and I are seriously considering a romp down the Katy Trail sometime this year after the summer heat has passed. Well, I have my choice of using this ride or a mountain bike of double butted cro-mo/no suspension. It's around a '90 model/Giant "Boulder". Anyway, by far the Trek is more comfortable, but which one would be better able to handle a load on the front and rear and what would be a good weight limit? I weigh in at 180lb's currently, though that extra 20lb's or so is in the process of leaving. So, come time, I'll be lighter. I looked up the weight limits on vintage Trek's website, but not knowing much about these things, I wonder how accurate that estimation is or if it's conservative/what have you. I'd personally love it if the Trek's suitable. It's my favorite ride. I did experiment with a load of approx. 20lbs on the front rack and was surprised to know how stable the steering was, but I don't want to over stress the frame, you know?

Any input would be dandy. Thank you!

thook

Oh, and if you're wondering, the Trek frame is DB'd reynolds 531 (don't know the exact tube designation) and the fork is Ishiwata Magny 10.

momule

thook -
I do overnighters on the Katy on a regular basis (I live 10 min from it in the Marthasville, Mo area) and use a Burley Nomad trailer instead of panniers. The trailer is a bit expensive going in but it will carry an insane load very easily, is built to do exactly what you want, and you free up your bike from all that weight. With half a load in the trailer you will hardly even know it's back there. I've had mine now for over three years, it tracks beautifully with no maintenance issues, and I'll never put a pannier on a bike again for touring. If you get one spring for the optional top rack and upgrade to the 2" Schwalbe Big Apple tires.

thook

Hey there, neighbor! Thanks for the reply. I'll look into the trailer idea, for sure. I'd actually considered the idea of a trailer, but indeed it is expensive. I know three people in Fayetteville that haul trailers just for getting around town with groceries and/or work. They really like using'em, too. Hmmm.....just depends on what I can financially swing. We'll see........

Say, if everything goes well for my buddy and I (considering our respective lines of work), maybe we can call on you when we're in the area? We're considering starting somewhere on the west end of Katy ending up ending up close enough to St. Louis where his dad lives. That way we can get a ride back to our vehicle.

We're looking at a 4 day trip and however far we can get during that time. But, since neither of us have been down the Katy yet, we're wondering what kind of primitive camping can be done on or near enough to the trail. Sumpin' we're still looking in to. Any info you can give us???

thook

Oh, I see. Marthasville is right near St. Louis. Hmmmm........

thook

Okay, on a quick search, I found a review here on BF's........

https://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in...p/t-56285.html

Boy'o.....this sounds pretty dang good. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled on the local CL and ebay. But, then maybe by Sept/Oct, one of us could spring for it new. This trailer means he and I could consolidate our load and then split the hauling. How nice that would be. Hell.....means we might even be able to bring some musical instruments.

Edit: Gaw.....I'm so cheap. Just on quick google image search, I see some really good close up images of the Nomad. This got's me ta' thinkin'. I have a welder! I have some aluminum tubing! I have a drill press! Why didn't I think of this before? I'm insane!

thook

I'd have to get my hands on the tongue and connection assembly, but I think I can do this pretty good. Maybe even try to make some improvements on what other see to be weak points of the design. I gotta a few months. This oughtta be interesting. Or, maddening.........one of the two.

momule

thook -

I'd love to see what you come up with as a homemade version of the Burley. PLEASE post pictures if you accomplish the task. I'm sure that if you don't need to worry about folding the trailer for storage you could make an even stronger unit and perhaps include a thin rigid floor of some kind without giving up too much weight as a trade off.

You mentioned the Katy Trail as a trip this summer and I would be pleased to help you guys out with some transport issues on the east end. Give me plenty of advance notice so that I have the day free and send me an email at momule@charter.net. You asked about primitive camping and to be honest, I don't know how that would go out in the boonies. The trail only occupies the old roadbed of the RR and is surrounded over it's length by private property, some of the owners of which are not 100% in favor of strangers on their property. Make sure you take a dog repellant too since every farm has at least one inquistive dog. You might send an email to the owners of The Bike Center in St Louis. This is a father/daughter bike shop owner team that has been in business for many many years and who do the full length of the Katy every year. Jim and Becky are great people and would be a good and reliable source of more info for you: https://bikecenterstl.com/

I am sick and tired of rain !!!!
Pat

timmyhiggy

Hi all,
I was considering getting a new tourer. I'm not exactly well off and my current bike wouldn't fetch much if I were to sell it (I bought it for £20) but it is bad proportions for me, something I only really noticed now I have started doing longer rides.
I was wondering which low-end tourers are worth keeping an eye out for? So far my list consists of:
Claud Butler Regent
Raleigh Royal
Edinburgh revolution Country traveller
dawes vantage

Anyone know of another relatively cheap one that I have neglected (has to be around in the UK)

kipibenkipod

Uhoo,
Worth to keep 1000 eyes on.
After you buy, start gradually to configure your bike as you want it.
I would keep an eye on double eyelets on the back. That shows it is a proper tourer that can accommodate fenders and rack. (Not a must, but shows seriousness of manufacturer).
Note, people are touring with all sorts of bikes. You can't go totally wrong with it, if it's a tourer by definition.

About the UK. hehe, you have the most amazing tourers for really cheap prices. We bought our bikes in London. My wife's tourer is an old Dawes Galaxy 48cm for 50 pounds. I was amazed that I could find such a size. I have upgraded it but the base is there and did 4 month trip with it.

Take care and show us what you bought.

Kfir

Medic Zero

I'm quite curious as to what derailleur you found. I've been struggling with the same issue. The one I found a while back seems to be handling my 53-42-32 but everyone talking about needing lower gears makes me think that if I could go lower I should.

thook

Well, now you can be sick and tired of the heat....lol! I know what you mean, though. My little rural neighborhood actually got FEMA to come out and assess our roads and what it would take to fix them. Now, most of us have checks from them to be able to do it. Man....the roads are so bad right now. No way an emergency vehicle could get to my house if there was one.

Anyway, I gotta get a good bender for making the frame for a trailer and get some skills at welding aluminum. But, then a little at a time, I'll work on this thing. IF fall doesn't happen like this past Spring where we're all living under water, we'll hit the Katy. For sure I'd give you plenty of advance. My friend's actually thinking of making of couple of one day runs up there to get a feel for what it's like. Neither of us have any idea. We're pretty excited, though. So, thanks for all the tips. I'll keep the emails you supplied on file for when we're more ready.

Okay....later!!