Can road bikes handle a 2.000+ km trip?
 

Road bike for touring, basically. I will have a repair kit with me if need be. I plan on buying the Felt Z95 for the trip, if this helps.

How much gear re you planning to take, and how do you plan on hauling it?

The logistics of your trip are a lot diffrent if you're planning on carrying a change of clothes and a credit card, versus fully loaded with camping gear.

I typically get well over 2k km between tune ups, but like all riding it is going to be dependent on individual loading and terrain and also the condition of individual components. Wheels & tires and brakes are where touring bikes and road bikes generally have the biggest component differences. Are they up to the task?

Also, will you be comfortable enough? And will you be able to pack enough gear without the mounts found on touring bikes?

I was thinking of attaching a rack to the seat and putting a backpack on it that won't weigh more than 6 kg fully loaded.

Well, there are good reasons touring cycles are built and loaded the way they are.

I would post this question in the touring forum. At the very least you may get some good tips on how to best set up a road bike for touring.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=353561http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=353559You can do that.http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=353558

Buy a bike that takes a rear rack.

Planning 1100 mile tour in march.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=353562

A backpack can be pure misery after a short while.
Total load will define your requirements, there is indeed a good reason why touring rigs have the fittings for racks & doo-dads.

That being said, "back when" the bikes for serious club riders were light and responsive but would take mudguards and a rack for weekend touring or Brevets. Seems like much of today's production would require a follow car for trips that were self supported not long ago.

Here's a pic of a modern club rider's design fitted for a bit of carrying capacity and a classic randonneur as well.
Adding a handlebar bag & a rear rack takes minutes on/off but not a CF wunder-bike.

-Bandera

I took my Roubaix for an 11 day, 1100 mile (~1770 km) ride down the coast a couple of years ago. We only carried water, our wallets and basic tools. But we had a chase vehicle that we met up with every 20 miles or so for fresh water, food, supplies, etc. So if you have that luxury, I'd say no problem at all. If you don't have a chase car, just make sure you have enough supplies for the route you're taking. Needing something and having no means to acquire it is not a good situation.

You may want to consider a trailer to get the load off of the bike. There are several, both two and single wheeled, that are regularly used by long distanc tourers.

Sure, but you'll be happier if you can put the weight lower on the bike using a rack and have fenders to keep rain off.

What keeps the rack from rotating around the seat post? Just a good hard clamp?

Also, 6kg is very close to the limit for a typical seat-post rack. With 1kg for a bag, basically you're looking at basic repair kit plus change of a clothes. Any more than that and you'll need a real touring rack solution.

The Felt Z95 is a less than ideal choice. Its an aluminum frame but lacks braze-ons, which many Al frames have. In your situation, I would look at an alternative bike, unless you're getting a killer deal. The Trek 1 series is very similar but has integrated rack mounts.

I used a Topeak Mountain bike rack with a quick release for about 30,000 miles. It Clamps on real tight.

you'll get your money's worth out of this:
http://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Cycl.../dp/1905864256

Carried a tent on the down tube.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...r/IMG_3074.jpg

Where are you going?

I'm sure it can be done, but as it has been pointed out, the Felt lacks the mounts for a rack and fenders. Good bike otherwise. You can always make a rack or fenders fit, it is simply a matter of how clever you are.

The OP wrote he plans on attaching a rack and puttng a backpack on "it," i.e., on the rack, not his back.

OP: Make sure yoy have sufficient low gearing. Even 13 lbs. will feel like something, especially on hills. A trailer would not be my first choice with so little weight. For example, the B.O.B. with dry bag is 18 lbs. alone. If you go with racks and panniers, make sure you have enough heel clearence. Shorter chainstays combined with big feet increase the potential.

nope itll asplode

I will definitely not get a trailer. I'm gonna stick to my initial plan for now - attach a rack to the seat. The Felt Z95 might not even be the bike I'll buy in the end so I still have time to find a ~650€ bike that allows the addition of a rear rack. I'll get my hands on real money only in April and that's when I'll buy everything I would need to start my life as a cyclist ^.^ (-including a device with navigation, probably Touring Edge).

Lol.

I'm not a fan of the seatpost-mounted racks, especially when loaded that heavily on a long tour. Seems like a long cantilever that puts quite a bit of extra load on the post so make sure the post is strong enough. I've also seen a number of these racks swing sideways. There are racks that attach to the quick release axle at the bottom and to either the brake bridge hole or to p-clamps around the seat stays at the top (Old Man Mountain is one maker of these). I'd recommend using one of these instead of a seatpost rack.

It's doable, but it's probably not the best tool for the job.

"Start"? Yikes. IMHO you'll want to bank a couple thousand miles minimum (in 20-100 mile chunks) on a bike before setting out on a big tour like that. You'll have numerous fit issues to sort out and likely some body issues too.

My bad for the misunderstanding. I will be doing the tour after I practice with smaller ones. The 2.000 km trip is pretty much a straight shot from Romania to England (after I tour every country on the way, one per trip). I'm just hoping that I get the hang of riding a road bike quickly because I would very much enjoy visiting the vast majority of European countries in the span of 6 months.

I own several road bikes and considered seriously about using one on my recent cross country trip. I finally decided to purchase a touring bike and used a rear rack. I am really glad I made that decision due to the comfortable ride it garnered. Other advantages include slighter wider tires (28mm), relaxed geometry for those 6 to 8 hours days, MTB cogset for climbing mountains (Appalachians, Rockies, etc. while carrying a load and road bike brakes/shifters, and comfort and durability over bumpy roads. I went with a steel frame which helped ease the harshness of the ride. On the down side, the bike slowed me down about 3 MPH on the flats. 4200 miles of riding pleasure without any mechanical issues. Changed brake pads once, and tires once.