Curiouswill

I currently have a financial goal and fitness goal in place this fall semester and I intend to use the time till spring semester to do my research for my reward.

the plan is to pay off all of my college balance by the end of the semester and I've already set up an agreed-upon payment plan so by the end of the fall semester I will be able to get everything in control and be finally able to get a decent bike. However, I've also decided to try and see if I could also include a fitness goal since I had to pick a couple elective class to get to the 12 credit hours requirement as set by my scholarship and it's weight training and pilate. I intend to also runs and bike for exercise and the goal is to get to 190 lbs. I'm currently around 220 lbs. I probably would have to adjust the fitness goal since I intend to develops my leg and core and that may make my muscle weight a bit higher.

here is the thing, I need help to research for a bike that would suit my uses well while still be very tour-friendly since I still have the dream of touring across US. here is a general list of stuffs I'm looking for...

1) road bike
2) be able to accomodate both front and rear rack and also the B.O.B. trailer
3) strong enough to be able to carry a lot of weight (i like to bring a lot of stuffs around and even with cutting down on these things for tours, it might still be a bit heavy)

it have been almost a year since I've last ridden my road bike so I've kinda forgotten some of the feel of it and so may not be able to figure out what else I may want.

I will also include a list of items that I will be purchasing alongside with the bike so maybe there could be a better idea off which to give me more suited advices.

1) B.O.B. Ibex Trailer
2) front and rear rack (I already have a rear rack on my current bike but I may want to get a stronger one anyway)
3) panniers (dunno what size and types to get though, I only had 1 proper pannier in the past and it was just big enough to hold 2 jug of milk and 2 loaf of bread on top)
4) strong light (I need to look into dynamo powered one or something like that simply because I'm deaf and so tends to be more cautious about being visible than most cyclist i think)
5) good bike computer (no GPS though, I'm looking for a new phone and I intend to get one with GPS)
6) general cycling clothings
7) tent and basic camping stuffs (will only do short weekend tours until summer semester off)

it might seems a little obvious but i know that it's not solidified at all and it may change a lot over the next few months. the primary need though is to simply find out how to figure out the right road bike that I can use for everyday commuting while still being fully capable for tourings.

I'm hoping to use this thread as a little bit of a progress report thread to check with the community here so I can make sure to not to make some mistakes and find out good related advices. I hope to start actively learn more about touring and related stuffs again so i can improve on this basic lists. hopefully i can start partipicating in the forums here more often.

Thanks.

John Nelson

I suggest you buy a touring bike. A touring bike is a form of road bike suitable for commuting and touring and carrying heavy loads. There is a sticky thread at the top of this forum that contains a link to a downloadable Excel spreadsheet of touring bikes. Start there.

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/558172-update-8-8-09-2009-list-touring-bikes-excel-sheet.html

Curiouswill

i've just looked up the google doc version and can't really understand it lol. Unfortunately I can't exactly go too high for my budget. I don't have an exact budget yet but I would estimate around $1000 for the bike itself and maybe $500 or a little more for extras. Don't these touring bike tends to be much more expensive anyway? wouldn't it be better for my budget to get a road bike and upgrade a few components like a stronger rear wheel and disc brake?

neilfein

Dedicated road bikes generally don't have the braze-ons for racks or the frame strength to handle big loads. Steel hardtail mountain bikes often do, however.

Touring bikes don't need to be that expensive. REI sells the Novara Randonee for $1049. I have the 2008 model, and I love it.

staehpj1

It isn't unusual to find touring bikes for under $1000. REI often has sales on the Randoneer. The LHT complete is reasonable. The Fuji Touring and the Jamis Aurora can be found cheaply. The Windsor Touring can be had for $599 and served me well for a coast to coast tour and other tours.

Bottom line... Lots of touring bike possibilities for under $1000.

That said I really prefer a road bike for sportier riding, so using one bike for everything doesn't keep me happy.

neil

The spreadsheet is quite complicated, particularly if your personal preferences are different from the author's (it's adjustable for that, but that just adds to the complication).

Anyway. I too would go with the touring bike, given your note about carrying load. Touring bikes actually aren't absurdly expensive, particularly if you do some planning and shop in the offseason. I picked up an '08 Jamis Aurora for $700 (CAD) last winter, and I'm in love with it. So far, I've dropped about $150 on accessories, and plan to get a good set of panniers and pedals for it over the next year or so (my current pannier setup is just a rear set, and the attachment hardware on them is a bit cheap...works for short weekend trips, but I'd like something better for the longer trip I'm planning on doing in 2011.)

My only personal experience with touring bikes is the Aurora, though I did test a Trek and a Marinoni as well. The Marinoni was lovely, but substantially more costly, Trek was so-so. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Aurora to friends - indeed it was some friends that turned me on to it,there's now 3 in my immediate social circle - as it's decent value, even at retail, and provides a wonderful ride out of the box. The only accessories I've added so far are full-wrap fenders, rear rack, lights and bell.

Don't bother with disc brakes. For the most part, they're a gimmick. In normal conditions, they actually provide less braking power, and are only useful if you plan on doing a lot of riding in muck where your rims will get dirty. In which case any kind of road bike, touring or otherwise, isn't what you want.

Cyclebum

Schwinn has a new tourer for about $700 and has had some good reviews. I can't recall what they call it. Comes with a rear rack and reasonable gearing. Maybe somebody else can point you to it. Edit: They can't, as it's a Raleigh and cost $1000.

I'm sure the Windsor noted above would be fine also.

Most ppl find themselves modifying whatever stock tourer they buy to fit their particular needs. Often this involves the gear ratios, handlebars, saddle, pedals, etc. The bikes mentioned above leave you some $$$'s to do some tinkering.

Fit is always first. Make sure you have a good handle on that.

Then there are panniers, tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, clothing, route. It goes on and on. All you need to know is on here and/or over at www.crazyguyonabike.com.

It'll all work out. Somehow.

staehpj1

I only addressed the bike in my first post to this thread, but should have mentioned that pretty much all of the needed gear can be had in a low priced model that is still quite serviceable.

I have updated some of my gear mostly to shed a few pounds, but some of my stuff I actually prefer inexpensive items. I crossed the country in comfort with a $70 Slumberjack sleeping bag, a $90 Eureka tent (big enough for the three of us), inexpensive Nashbar Waterproof panniers, and other low priced but serviceable stuff. The cheap panniers I would use even if money were no object because they are adequately durable, light weight, and waterproof.

John Nelson

The spreadsheet lists five touring bikes for $1000 or less, and five others whose MSRP is close enough to $1000 that they can probably be had for $1000 or less.

The differences between touring bikes and other road bikes are mostly not in things that can be upgraded later.