Kertrek

I've done a few overnight tours on my hybrid but I plan on doing some long distance touring, so want a bike made for touring. But I also want it to be good as an unloaded city commuter. I've been looking at the Fuji touring bike, and have heard good things things about it. I've also heard the Novara Randonee is a little better, whatever that means. I've seen both bikes available locally. Which of the two would be best if I plan on doing commuting, as well as scenic loaded tours in the mountains?

timdow

They are very similar bikes. Either one would make a very good tourer/commuter. The Novara is spec'ed a bit better, especially where it counts - in the wheelset. And it is also 10 cogs vs 9 on the Fuji. Not sure it is $500 better, though. Given the price difference, if it were my dough I would go for the Fuji.

bikemig 

I have a 2009 fuji touring. Frankly the newer ones are spec'd a bit better but I'm not in love with the quality of the wheels and the frame is a bit heavy even for a touring bike. The randonnee is a nicer looking bike and better spec'd. I'd lean towards it over the Fuji. I'm not in love with the way Fuji cut corners to meet a price point in the 2009 model; cheap wheels, cheap tires, heavy frame set, cheap stem, cheap saddle, etc.

DropBarFan

Considered a Surly Disc Trucker? Comfier ride & more tire clearance AFAIK than Fuji or Novara. Randonee switched from canti brakes to v-brake, not sure why. Loaded mountain touring requires good brakes esp in damp & commuters need quick brakes to avoid errant motorists. Discs, esp nowadays, seem like a must for a nicer touring bike.

Kertrek

I'm a little nervous about spending $1,500, and I have an old rustbox classic car that's gonna cost $3,000 to fix. I've looked at both cable and disc brakes, and cable brakes are more standard which might make it cheaper and easier to fix. Looking at the frame size I'd need, the Disc Trucker's only available in 26" tires, and I like the road bike feel of 700c tires. I've looked at the Trek 520 disc version, and I might be able to get one ordered, but I might have to pay shipping and handling before even going on a test ride.

indyfabz

I commute and do loaded touring in the mountains on my LHT, but it sounds like it's not for you because of the wheel size issue.

Hermes1

You should try to ride the Randonee, Fuji & Surly and decide based on what feels best for you. Any of the three should do the job well for you, but likely one is going to fit and feel better than the others.

Lanovran

Different Trek dealers may do things differently, but I've never heard of a customer having to pay the shipping charges to bring in a bike to check out or test ride (unless they're ordering it online directly from Trek, but that's more a straight-up purchase). We bring in bikes at my shop all the time if folks are interested in a certain size or model that we don't have in stock, and they're not on the hook for any fees if they decide not to buy. If I were you, I'd tell your local Trek dealer that you're serious about investigating the 520 as a potential new bike, and that you want a chance to see it in person and test-ride before committing to a purchase. Ask them if they can bring it in for you, but tell them also that you're not comfortable being stuck with paying shipping charges, nor a restocking fee if you decide that it's not the bike for you (after all, they can't very well sell the bike without allowing a customer to see it and ride it). Chances are, they'll be willing to work with you on it (and if not, Trek corporate's customer service number is 1-800-585-8735 ).

P.S.: By the way, for what it's worth, I use my 520 for both regular commuting and loaded touring, and she handles them both beautifully!

Darth Lefty 

The shop did this for my wife when she wanted an obscure model in size XS, but I can see how a dealer that's not so prosperous as ours might not have the money to buy it or the space to put it.

DropBarFan

Touring bike tech changes slowly so what about a used bike? One can use a ~$100 pro fitting service that gives a fairly accurate prediction esp when switching to another style bike. Fitting could also pay off to in test-riding new bikes.

robow

I might approach it from a different angle and propose that it would be tough to find a bike designed for touring that would NOT make an excellent commuter. (Can we name any?) So assuming that, then you have all the usual candidates, cheaper would be Bikes Direct, Fuji, Nashbar, then REI, Surly LHT, then Trek 520 etc.

Rob_E

I commuted and did loaded touring on my 700c LHT for several years. It is a little sluggish as a commuter, but still very comfortable, and I'm none to fast on any bike, so I didn't mind. Now I'm commuting, and, hopefully, soon touring on my Surly Troll. It's a little more lively, and can even use the same wheels from my LHT even though it's made for 26" (but you have to use disc brakes if you're not using 26" wheels). It has the benefit of being comfortable off road as well, so I look forward to expanding my touring options on this thing.

But for on-road riding where light and fast isn't an issue, the LHT works great. I agree, too that rim brakes can generally be found cheaper than disc brakes, but now that I'm using disc brakes, I find that I really like them, and probably won't be switching back to rim brakes on any bike that has a disc option.

jrickards

For some of us, commuting is actually loaded commuting and for that reason, a touring bike is a good choice for both types of activities. The decision then becomes whether you want a more upright bike (MTB-style tourer) or a dropbar (road-style tourer) bike and what size of wheel, and some other considerations. It is true that any bike can be used for some form of touring and any bike can be used for commuting but it would be best for you to think about the type of touring you want to do and the type of conditions you'll encounter and base your bike on that because I think it is easier to adapt a touring bike to commuting than a commuting bike to touring (for example, a bike selected for commuting with a light load on asphalt roads might not be the best bike for offroad, heavily-loaded touring).

fietsbob

Touring is what you DO on your bike , you can tour on any bike you like and are comfortable on riding for a few days . .

main issue is how low a gear do YOU need .. Have people arriving on the Coast who crossed the continent
on a Compact-Double crank so 34t...

Others got a BoB trailer and ride their race style road bike.

edthesped

How much weight do you plan on carrying with you is the first question you need to ask yourself. I own a Randonee and AWOL and for light to medium loads the AWOL is great and is a relatively fun commuter. I don't know how well the AWOL will perform with heavier loads but the Randonee handles heavy just fine. To get my wife on the trail I carried all of her gear and mine from Pit to Cumberland and back last summer and the bike didn't even groan. I can't say for certain how well the AWOL would have handled 4 loaded panniers but I honestly don't think it would have been much worse. I lean toward the light side of touring and wouldn't hesitate to take the AWOL with 30# on the road. I find the Randonee to be a fine commuter but a bit on the sluggish side. Also as an aside, when looking at the Randonee I spent a day on a similarly equipped LHT, gotta love REI test rides, and liked the feel of the Randonee much better, again that's a subjective opinion.

Kertrek

What does that mean exactly? If it's a bit slow picking up speed, it's fine by me. I just don't want it to feel heavy and sluggish on the open highway, where it counts.

Miele Man

Can a good comparison of loaded touring bikes be made whilst riding a totally unencumbered bike? I'd think that different bikes would handle a load differently if geometry and/or components were different?

I know that my steel MTB drop bar tourer with 1.25 - 1.5" tires doesn't feel noticeably different than my steel sport touring bike with 32mm cyclocross tires when the bikes are loaded.

Cheers

GerryinHouston

I did a test ride on a Trek 520 (2014 but never sold, I rented it for a day) and it fit perfectly for me. Responsive, grippy brakes, so and so saddle, did 25 miles, liked the bike. I disagreed on the price offered ($100 off the 2016 MSRP). No deal...

Test rode (less than a mile) a Bianchi Volpe. Nice responsive bike, gorgeous looks, brifters (I like them) a bit more expensive. I might wait to see if I can catch it on sale.

Today I rode 3-4 blocks the Disc Trucker. I have no experience with disc brakes, I found them DISMAL! The dealer said they break in after a couple of days and they behave better. If I put this much force on the 520 V-brakes, I'd sail over the handlebar... It looked positively awkward with the 650 wheels, but I don't think they affected they feel/ride. I found it less responsive than the Trek 520/Bianchi Volpe/Lupo but definitely not a slug.

I also tried a Jamis Aurora. Nice bike, nice price, barcons, responsive bike, awful saddle. I'd have to fiddle with the fitting to make it fit me.

I am waiting for the February REI sale, most likely I'll buy a Novara Randonee. I think I can fit it to me, if I can't, I'll keep my Trek Verve 2 or try to trade it in for a 520. For me, the 520 was the superior fit.

robow

Though totally subjective as to what is "sluggish", most full blooded tourers will fall in that area since they tend to be long axle to axle and heavier in order to create a more stable ride when loaded down. Unfortunately what you're wishing for is what we would all appreciate, a nice stable ride when loaded and quick agile performance when not......tough to have both cake and eat it to.

seeker333

If you are one of those people who avoid riding in the rain then there's less reason to consider a bike with disc brakes. Disc can be a lifesaver in hard rain but otherwise they mostly add weight, cost, and complexity to the bike without improving braking much. Disc brake in the front only is a good compromise.

WRT to wheel size and speed, it makes no difference whatsoever for touring. My 26" bikes feel faster than my 700c bike, but numerous laps/timing on a fixed course says there's no significant difference. There are a few reasons that 26" wheels are actually better than 700c for touring. Many people recognize these benefits, which is why the Surly LHT and DT framesets and Complete bikes are offered in 26" wheel version even in larger frame sizes.

veganbikes

I would disagree about the braking. I notice better braking on my DT compared to rim brake set ups and my new tourer is also disc. I might also be building up a fixed gear cross bike that will be hydro disc sometime in the nearish future maybe.

They aren't very complex either, yes a hydro set up is not as easy to do if you don't know what you are doing but popping in new pads or replacing cables isn't terribly different. Plus if my wheel goes out of true or a spoke breaks I am generally going to be able to still brake which I think is nice. To each their own but I like 'em

martianone

Have been riding a Trek 520 for about ten years, it feels good both loaded and unloaded.

LeeG

You bring up a very good point. I doubt very many people get the chance to test new bikes with a touring load or different configurations.

mtnroads

I was going to suggest the Trek 520 myself - I found the two I owned to be great all rounders, if a bit heavy. But not sluggish when unloaded like the my Randonee felt to me. Of course both of my 520's were pre-2010 models before they changed the frame to a sloping top tube and the crank to mountain. They look more classic to me and the 105 road triple was awesome and easy to gear lower. If you can find a clean lightly used 520 from say 2000 - 2008 it would be a very nice bike. I'm always keeping an eye open for another one but they get snapped up quickly, because they're so versatile.

Also the 2010 and later Jamis Aurora Elite is a very nice all-rounder with a 631 Reynolds frame. A bit lighter weight than the heavy production bikes yet still suitable for loaded touring with one caveat - if you're not in steep terrain. I currently have a couple of Jamis steel bikes (Quest Elite and Dragon Pro MTB) and really like them - they're very nice riding and performing.

indyfabz

Yep. I wouldn't want by LHT to quick and agile when not loaded since to get it there would mean that it would not be suited for its primary purpose, which is to tour fully-loaded over all sorts of terrain, including unpaved mountain roads.