Originally Posted by
DropBarFan
Wow, Haanjo 5C Carbon rated for 300 lbs, same as Surly Trucker! Today I did a grocery run on 5C--almost 30 lbs stuff in front panniers on Tubus Tara rack, surprisingly little flex & no shimmy at 28 mph.
IMHO both traditional touring bikes & "adventure" bikes limit tire width too much. Wide tires give a huge increase in comfort for a minor speed penalty. My avg speed on Haanjo 5C with 54mm tires is the same as Surly Disc Trucker with 50mm tires & gives a much softer ride, I rarely have to slow down for bumpy stretches.
That's precisely why I started adapting rigid frame/fork MTBs to drop-bar touring set ups. I can put 26" x 2.125 knobby tires on any of those without problem and still have room for full fenders. On the dirt logging/mining roads I tour on those 26" x 2.125 knobby tires come in real handy.
One thing I notice with rear pannier racks and panniers is that if the weight is behind the axle (further away from the seat-tube) that shimmy can happen fairly quickly. I had shimmy occur once on a shakedown ride with a loaded MTB. I got off the bike, loosened the straps holding the rack to the seatstays, slid the rack forward about 1/4" or 1/2" (it wasn't much) and the shimmy was immediately gone.
I think that eventually there will be carbon fiber touring bicycles and/or frames offered. In my opinion the reason they're not yet is that manufacturers are more interested in other areas where they can sell more bicycles/frames rather than in a niche market such as touring.
Cheers