Originally Posted by August Spies
My questions are:
- How much additional bike will I get for the money, compared to something in the $1200 range?
- Is there a better bike out there for touring? How would this hold up on a LONG ride (like...several thousand km)?
- (I know this'll start a fight...but...) I like the Shimano shifters for the simplicity and the ease of use from drops or hoods, but would Campagnola shifters, with their ability to clear most of the gear range in one sweep, but more of reach for the thumb, be better?
- Niether of these are standard, but should I go for froggleg break levers (I'm quite used to the old ten-speed double levers which cover the whole bars) or aero-bars?
What type of touring are you planning on doing? Credit-card touring and/or supported tours (where a van is carrying all your stuff) require very different setups then self-supported tours (where you load everything into panniers / trailer and haul it all yourself).
I've done a fair amount of the week-long supported tour variety, that generally cover 400 -- 500 miles over five or six days. Any decent-quality road bike can handle those. I've seen people do it on hybrids, although I sure wouldn't recommend it! The comfort level of your bike will be determined by fit far more then anything else.
I've never used Campy components, just: because I've never had a bike that came with Campy. My take on touring parts is twofold
a) Your chances of the local bike shop in the middle of nowhere (which is where things seem to break) carrying Shimano components is probably higher then them carrying the necessary Campy components. I've always done organized tours that have a mechanic along, but even they are somewhat limited in what they have in terms of parts. -- again, biased somewhat towards Shimano, simply because it's more popular. They have to play the odds!
b) In all the tours I've done, I've never heard anybody say that they needed higher gears. I've heard a lot of people wish for lower ones. Shimano has the benefit of their MTB componentry working (to some degree) on road bikes, which gives you the option for some really low gears if you're doing a mountainous tour.
Don't put frog-leg brake levers on a road bike! They just look awful. I've never had them, and I've never wished I've had them. I've heard they compromise the stopping power of the "regular" brake levers, but I couldn't explain why.
Aerobars? I've always ridden in seriously hilly / mountainous terrain, where aerobars become weighty hood ornaments. They might be useful for the extra hand positions they offer, but if you're touring -- half the fun is looking around anyway.