Sam Tully

I am in the middle of purchasing a new touring bike for my around the world trip which will start in January next year and hopefully will se me gone for about three years.
The problem Im facing is that I am 6ft4" and all touring bikes that I know of that are ready complete without having to get a custom frame built all come with 30inch ryms. I have tried and tested many bikes over the years and have come to like the surly long haul trucker but the only problem is it wont have 26inch ryms.
Has anyone out there had experience with these larger ryms as I am willing to convert my old man attitude and admit my tallness is a disease.

:Ive heard they cant cope with the weight?
irt roads will be slippery?
:All terrain wide tyres dont exist?

These are just some of my concerns, so I would apprieciate any feed back positive or negative, Large or small that I can get my head around it all.

Thankyou

Cheers, Sam T.

Hot Rod Lincoln

I ride a Surly CrossCheck in 700c and have not had a problem at all. I am only 5'11" but I weigh 260lbs so if there were any weaknesses with wheels, I would have found them. Get the one that fits you and ride. You shouldn't have any problems

nancy sv

I have the same problem - I'm 6 feet tall, but I'm all legs so need a big bike. When I was looking for a new bike for t his trip, I really wanted 26" wheels. I came to the conclusion - like you - that I just couldn't get what I wanted in the USA.

For me, it was a toss-up between the REI Randonee and the LHT - I ended up going with the Randonee because it was cheaper. I really do like the bike and it's been great so far - nearly 7000 miles into our tour. We've ridden quite a few miles on dirt roads (Dalton Highway) and these wheels were fine - not a problem at all.

However - I've been told I will not be able to find replacement rims/tires here in Latin America. We'll try to plan ahead and have some sent to us ahead of time when we anticipate we'll need them, but that won't help if the wheels fall apart unexpectedly. I guess we'll deal that if/when it happens.

I think that the next time I happen to be in Europe (whenever that may be!) I'll try to buy a Thorn - with 26" wheels and built for touring. That won't help me now though...

Sam Tully

I was thinking about doing the same about the thorn but as you said "it wont help me until im in europe"
Thanks for the feed back, its good to here your bike has served you well and as for your concerns about parts in remote places, I think your current attitude and experience should apply "worry about it when it happens". They say that some of your worst experiences at times in travel leed to the best times when looked back on and telling the exciting story.
Cheers

Sam Tully

Good to here of another happy Surly user, I way around 90kg so its starting to sound good.
Cheers

LeeG

what weight? what did you hear? If the heavy wheels on the LHT can't take a heavy weight I doubt similar weight 26" wheels could. If there was a concern about extreme weight on a loaded bike it would be crashing and tacoing the dished rear wheel. A heavier and wider 26" rim on a 145mm dropout width would be tougher from tacoing but at this point you've probably broken a few other things on the bike and your body.

wet roads are slippery too

Do you mean you want tires bigger than 2" or are 700x40 tires wide enough?

If you absolutely have to have a 26" wheeled touring bike you've got enough time to find one.

Supertick

I too am looking for a touring bike with 26" wheels. My LHT is a 62 cm and it is a great bike for paved roads and some gravel but why can't anyone make a large frame touring bike for tall riders. I am not interested in a 29 er.

Beelzebutt

they made some pretty tall specialized rockhoppers and Hardrocks back in the early 80's that ran 26". they are pretty easy to find to this day and i hear they make excellent touring conversions due to the wide wheel base and relaxed geometry.. its a steel bike with most of the rack and fender mounts you would need.. im 6 foot 4 aswell and i have one that fits me pretty good. havnt toured on it but i have a good friend who tours on one exclusively. he swears by it.

Camel

When I go on another extended tour, I will go on a bike with 26" wheels.

Doese anyone else have too? certainly not!

I'll call 700c wheels more of an inconvenience for a round the world/extended or 2nd/3rd world tour.

My 700c wheels held up fine, and are still in excellent condition 18months after my year tour. I never had to have them touched up nor re-trued or tensioned or anything. I had my wheels built up by Peter White out of New Hampshire. They are tandem wheels built up for a single bike. 48 spokes, phil hubs, velocity dyad rims. An awesome wheelset. The problems I dealt with were finding replacement tires, but I did get them and continued my trip, again an inconvenience, but certainly not a trip stopper. Same problem would have occurred if I trashed the wheels, I would have had to wait for replacements to be shipped in. Again, not a trip stopper, just an inconvenience.

To the OP, talk with some bike shops, and find out who the best master wheel builder is in your area. Talk with him or her, and have a set built up. Enjoy your trip, and perhaps have a plan in place should you have a need for parts-like Nancy, perhaps have some stuff ready to be shipped to you from friends/family. Or stock up on spares before you go through any vast regions where spares may be difficult to come by.

BengeBoy 

There are a number of touring bikes available with 26-inch wheels.

Bruce Gordon, Rodriguez, Co-Motion.

Plenty of threads on this here and at Crazy Guy.

Meek

Thorn Sherpa also.