Originally Posted by
Rowan
If you have the lightest and "fastest" road bike in the world, it's of no use to you on tours if you can't sit on it comfortably after 20 miles. And that means you might have to make compromises in weight when selecting the bike that will suit you.
Then work out where you want to tour. The gung-ho lightweight advocates are all very good at suggesting road bikes with doubles (compact or not) and road cassettes, but think carefully about whether you are flat-land touring (which obviously is fastest) or whether there will be a significant component of climbing in mountains, in which case you will at least have to consider adding in on a road set-up an MTB rear derailleur and a cassette with a 32T big cog, or maybe even a 34T.
100% agreed about fit and comfort, very good advice.
I did mountain passes through NC, VA and WV using a heavier setup with this same bike. I've gone up pretty steep grades with it, but when you're packing under 20lbs of gear that second chain ring gets you surprisingly far! I've done the same route on a Trek 4300 with a triple, and the Ridley was so much faster and easier on those hills.
Originally Posted by
rex615
Were you in Gastonia, NC passing through on tour or are you local?
I live in the state, I ride out to Crowders once a month or so.