Hey guys. I'm excited to conquer the Ohio and Erie trail on my 1980 Jack Taylor. I ran this bike through its paces today to see how it handles the load. I was a little surprised that I couldn't feel the weight on the rear panniers~ I'll be doing video updates every day and probably going to do a video on the ride itself.
This thing is HEAVY! I think the bicycle is 35lbs on its own. I think im 70lbs loaded. Unless you count my fat behind...LOL
If you live on near the trail and wish to join me, I'm going to post a YouTube short of where I'll be the NEXT day. Come along for the ride. Feel free to email me also if you're up for a few miles. I'm leaving the Cinci area Saturday AM and heading north!

John Haboush
Geneva IL USA

Some of my friends have been talking about doing this trail. I look forward to logistical details.

Great to see BFer's doing some cycle touring on C&V bikes and inviting others! Hope you grab a gaggle of harbor pilots for your tour, and looking forward to your daily videos.

Far and away the most interesting shifter placement I have ever seen.

Enjoy the ride!

Please help me wrap my head around this dual rear brake sorcery!

Do you know your daily itinerary or are you playing it by ear?

Have a fun , safe ride John. I look forward to seeing updates. Those early Phil hubs are sweet! I was going to post a pic of a set I put on my Raleigh Professional but they haven’t fixed the problem on this forum . It gets to 50% and dumps , too annoying to mess with.

Have a great trip!

Stopping that much weight can be a challenge for old canti's.

If you find the front brake lacking due the flexing of the hanger, know this expensive solution exists:

https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop...-cable-hanger/

Looking forward to the updates.
Very interesting features on that frame!

Yeah there are...I even missed the double canti setup pointed out above. That’s gotta be crazy to adjust to get both padsets hitting concurrently.

I live in the wrong part of the state to be much help as a local guide. I see the trail passes by the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, so you can hop on the train if you want to take a break from pedaling. A lot of people will bike out and take the train back to their car, or ride the train out and bike back. Also, you might want to stop in at the Bicycle Museum of America in New Bremen, Ohio after your trip, before heading back to Illinois.

Glad you remembered to pack the kitchen sink!

Wait 'til the first time you stand up to honk on the pedals with loaded panniers. Trust me, you'll feel it.

I wish you luck, and a safe journey, and have fun.

Bernie

I’m impressed with your touring with that much weight on such a tall-geared bike! I would probably have found a way to have a dinner-plate sized low gear on it! 😂

I hope you have a blast and I look forward to the updates.

So how was the first day?

The dual rear brakes are pretty crazy! I learned that they are unnecessary. I learned after this ride I need some modern anatomical hoods and I will go to one rear brake. I will hook up the other rear brake to a single shift lever and use it as a parking brake.

John

Hi,
I finished the ride. I did have plans all the way north to Millersburg.. That is 3 days in.Then I couldn't find any place to stay while going north!! I looked as well as my wife looked. I didn't know what to do so I turned around and went back south west and ended up in Mt Vernon to end the trip!

John

P.S. I'll do a video on the process I took and how the ride went!

Hey Fender,
I shortened the front transverse cable and that added plenty of power. Plus there were not many hills on this journey!

john

YES! Lesson learned. There were not a lot of hills. My 27 inch low gear was sufficient. HOWEVER! A couple of my Air B&Bs were on the top of some nasty local hills. I had to walk the bike. Wasn't easy. Yes! I should of least had a 32 in the back. not a 28!

John

Hey guys,
Thanks for the comments. The tour went well. I had a great time. I learned a lot. It was my first time riding loaded. Very flat route so it was pretty easy. I think next time I do something loaded like this I'll limit my average to 50 miles a day. 70 miles a day hurt!!
The bike was amazing! With all the weight it was steady and easy to handle. I did alot of U-turns on the trail and very slow speeds and the bike was stable as could be. Down some grades on the trail, I hit some respectable speeds, and it handled it better than anyone would predict.

I have a lot to learn!

John

You have discovered the secret of bikes purpose-built for loaded touring. Unladen, the ride can be anywhere from meh to pretty nice. But they come into their own under a properly-mounted load. It is amazing how it can feel like you aren't carrying a load at all (except for when you are starting up, or going uphill, or trying lean the bike against something, or getting on or off). But at speed on flat or gently rolling terrain, or on a descent, it feels great.

BTW, I'd be careful about setting up the second rear brake with a shift lever. On tandems. it was common practice to have an additional rear brake (almost always an Arai drum brake) at the back running off a shift lever so you could set it as a drag brake to keep your speed under control on long and/or steep descents. Having captained a tandem that weighed about 500lbs all in (250lb captain, 200+lb stoker, 45+lb tandem and some additional gear), I was always glad to have that drag brake. It didn't so much slow us down as make us accelerate less quickly. Without it, when you let off the brakes on a significant descent, that thing leapt forward like it was shot out of a gun. I'd be leery of doing the same thing with a caliper brake because of heat build-up on the rear rim. Having that kind of heat build-up on the rim does not guarantee blow-outs happening, but it certainly increases the chances. With the drum brake or, more likely nowadays, disc brake, the heat is far, far away from rims and tires, so no potential heat build-up issues.

Someone will no doubt chime in to say if tubes and tires are properly mounted you shouldn't have an issue, and maybe that's so. But what happens if the tube/tire isn't mounted perfectly and you don't notice it? Color me conservative, or wussy, or whatever adjective you wish, but however small the risk, it is easily avoidable and I'd rather not take it.