I am not currently interested in long, solo tours where I have to take everything with me - at least not yet. I am interested in tours like the one that I completed of the C&O Canal towpath last week. I was really concerned about how I would like touring, and I had a blast. One of the things that I quickly determined though is that my current bike (Fuji Cross 4.0) is not the best bike for the kind of riding that I want to do. About two hours into each day, my shoulders and neck would start to hurt, and without taking advantage of the massage services that the tour's organizers provided, I do not know that I would have been able to go on the next day. Okay - that's not true, but I would have been much less comfortable than I was from the first minute as opposed to it taking a couple of hours for the discomfort to start.

My bike budget is < $2000, and I really want a bike that has a more relaxed geometry while maintaining drop bars. My LBS is heavily road oriented and when you mention relaxed geometry he pushes towards buying a hybrid, which I do not want. I want a bike that I can ride on the road with some of the people that I met on tour, but most of my riding will be on Rail Trails and Greenways. I would like for it to be able to handle trails like the C&O Canal Towpath on a regular basis. I do not want a carbon bike because I am a Clyde (220).

The bikes that I am considering include:

Specialized Diverge DSW
Cannondale Synapse Disk 105
Giant Revolt 1
Grade Alloy 105

What are your thoughts here? Are there any other bikes that I should be considering?

nashbar touring bike $849 and 25% off today

What I did also a Clyde was look at touring bikes. More spokes, stronger frames, better geometry to start with, etc. I didn’t worry about the initial setup as I planned on correcting some things to suit me, but I went back in time (old school) with the frame fit and went with what we used to call a French fit. Larger frame than what would get selected normally. The larger frame lets you drop the seat closer to the top tube and has the effect of bringing the bars up and to you a little. The saddle lower means you need to take it back some to get the crank location correct for a more relaxed prolonged ride position. You will mostly be riding in the saddle. I then went with an adjustable stem as I wanted to use that to find my perfect location, little higher and shorter than stock. What I found is the adjustable stem is what I wanted all the time as I could adjust it for how I was feeling on any given day and the type of riding I was doing. So I never replaced it. I changed out my front gears from road gears to just what I wanted and also changed out the rear cassette to suit my needs. I changed the saddle to something I liked better. My bars I redid with a padding under the tape and changed the angle and moved the brakes/ shifters up just a spec so I was at my perfect position on the hoods. A change to the tops or the drops allows the back to change position and it works to help with that riding in the same position too long problem. Drops slightly below saddle hoods slightly above. You need to fit yourself or find someone willing to set you up for long distance and not most aero position. The worst thing you can do is get into moving the saddle forward to get more upright. When you do that your feet move back and weight is transferred to the arms. When you do that the arms get tired and transfer the weight to the lower back and core. Your weight needs to be balanced out with your legs. The forward position is great for sprinters and powerful riders that are putting much more into the crank on any given stroke than the casual tour rider.

I have a Windsor Tourist from Bike Direct that I started with and after all the changes I still don’t have much over a grand in the bike and it is a pleasure to ride on a long day.

Hope this information helps you plan what you want.

none sold here .. Trek 520/720 is good , light touring , you leave more stuff at Home .

period

Fuji Touring? Only mention it because you already have a Fuji so you are aware of their process/components and like them.

Of the bikes you mention, I would probably go for the GT and that would mostly be because I constantly lean towards the lesser known brand when presented with a bunch of options. And because the triple triangle has always been a cool look to me. That, or the Giant.

My wife has a Cannondale Synapse Sora and loves it. It has 25mm tires on it though. Its basically an endurance road bike.
Someone I ride with has a Cannondale Synapse Tiagra disc and it is the biggest POS I have ever been around. I am not kidding, it breaks weekly(ridden 3x/week). In just over 1000miles, 4 spokes have broken, the bottom bracket has clicked for 800mi(the shop 'fixed' it for 2 weeks only for it to return), the pedal broke, and the disc brakes have been adjusted probably 10 times.

So take all that with a grain of salt. I think the Synapse is probably a great bike and the guy's is a lemon that was poorly assembled and the LBS is just not doing a good job(any?) of making it right.

I dont like Specialized, but thats an issue with me and how I cant stand the company's approach. Admittedly, they have had a lot of advancements in fit and comfort for their bikes over the last handful of years. Its just all not my style.



Whatever bike you get, I would suggest you consider tire size after fit as the second most important determiner for which to buy. Components for the bikes are basically the same level of quality. Tiagra or 105...meh, really not functionally different. As for cranksets...FSA Omega, or Gossamer, or Shimano R460...all of em are mid-range in the grand scheme of crankset quality(which is a large spectrum).
The ability to fit a 38mm tire could be great for comfort. Wider tires(35, 37, 40) can roll just as well as 28s, if they are a quality tire and the comfort is WAY better. This will also help stability a lot if you do crushed stone paths.

The 3rd consideration after fit and ability to fit larger tires, would be the quality of the stock wheels. The Giant has 32h hubs(vs 28 or less on the other bikes you mention) and also has butted spokes which is a touch of quality. The rims on the Giant are unknown and basically the wheelsets on the other 3 bikes are...unknown. Could be solid, could be iffy. Probably internet review them as much as possible.
I shoot for more spokes any time I can. 32 butted spokes got my attention since I am around your weight.


Oh, the Giant's gearing is really nice too. 48-34 crank? I like the move away from 50T large ring. And it has a 34T large cog on the cassette. Great range, better than the other offerings.

I don't know how you could have missed most of these (MSRP $1259-1599):

Surly Long Haul Trucker

Surly Disc Trucker

Trek 520

Trek 520 Disc

Soma DC

Salsa Vaya, Fargo & Marrakesh

Novara Randonee

Get a Fancy One . Import a Mercian, While the Pound is weak..

https://www.merciancycles.co.uk/

Ill just add that the Randonee, per REI's site, has a max weight of 250#. Thats rider AND gear. Its probably a conservative estimate...actually its almost guaranteed a conservative estimate...but the fact that its listed would concern me.

It actually did steer me away from the Novara Mazama as I am 230# and if I were to toss a rack and some bags on it for a 2-3 day ride, I would be exceeding the bike's weight limit.

Just mentioning this since the OP mentioned his weight.

My recommendation is a steel bike with forgiving geometry and clearance for wider tires. Pay attention to the wheels, considering your weight, you are looking for 32 or more spokes per wheel, ideally butted spokes.

I have a Salsa Vaya and I think that it makes an awesome light touring all-rounder. I rode a Specialized AWOL before that, and I think that it is would be too much of a tank for light touring. My riding friend has a Fargo and also loves it, rides it with 29-er tires and can really float over sandy patches on unpaved roads, where my Vaya with 42mm tires sinks and stops.

When budgeting, don't forget that you'll spend a lot of money on accessories, such as new tires, handlebar bag or some such, perhaps a decent rack, lights, fenders, etc.

Or the 920 has more relaxed geometry than the 720. Has any mentioned the LHT yet.

Have you considered the CAADX? I played around with one recently and I'm considering getting the 105.

The bike you have is perfect for the kind of riding you want to do. Cross bikes are good all rounders and are fine for the light touring you describe. If you are hankering for another bike, go for it. But the problem you are having is a fit issue. Talk the shop that sold you the bike (or a good shop you trust) and get the bike fitted for you.

It should be noted that your statement about coming away with your recent tour with sore neck/ shoulders is a statement about you, not your bike. You likely have some weak muscles in that region. A lot of people tour on aggressive positioned road bikes without problems right? If you want to buy a new bike, hey it's your money, but you may find that without some sort of strengthening, without much much time, you may find that even more upright is not going to help. This is my opinion, I am entitled to, it so please all you nasty trolls go drop dead.

how heavy is your helmet?

You could probably fix your neck and shoulder pain issues by changing the fit of your existing bike, but a nice new touring specific bike can also help, especially if you buy a frame size that is large enough for you to get a decent more upright fit. Others have already posted some good choices, I ride a LHT, but you may also consider the Kona Sutra. KONA BIKES | ROAD | SUTRA | Sutra

There are a lot of good choices, you just have to find the one you like. You also need to find one that fits you. I have a 56cm LHT but could easily fit on a 54. I went with the 56 since it allows me to get the handlebars even, or above the seat easily without a huge stack of spacers. Right now my bars are an inch above my seat. I can ride all day without neck or shoulder pain, but, if I alter the fit a slight bit, seat position, stem change, or lower bars, I can introduce neck or shoulder pain, all those things work together to make you comfortable, change one and it can affect another. I can go with lower bars, But I might have to use a shorter stem than when they are higher. It is all about fit.

The recs here sound pretty good to me too. +1 on Surly (Disc Trucker), a very stable ride even when loaded unevenly.

I just got done with a long, frustrating, exhausting bike search. That might have been just due to my disposition and the nature of bike riding-and-buying culture in my country (certainly in part, at least!), but I would recommend not thinking too hard about the little details, or stressing about a choice between one model or other. I learned the hard way that if it fits and has the main specs you want (room for cargo, a certain type of brake or drive system), the rest will work out. Even expensive bikes can save one a lot of money over the course of a year or two, which means there will always be money for another bike later.

I know you're not necessarily doing Tour Divide, but there are some fun ideas and bikes to drool over, features to consider, on this page:

2016 Tour Divide Rigs - Bikepackers Magazine

There are things that I really like about my Fuji and things that I cannot stand. I hate the fact that the bike does not have the ability to attach either conventional fenders or racks. I have a rack, but it is attached via a longer skewer that makes everything with the rear wheel that much more complicated. I am not a huge fan of the cabling that runs across the top tube - no real reason, I just don't like it. I consistently run into issues where I am unable to shift from the big ring to the small ring for no apparent reason.

I have had the bike tuned up twice this year - once at the start of the year and once in June, a couple of weeks before the start of my tour, and after a couple of weeks of trouble free riding, the problem comes back.

I am in a position to buy a new bike so I am going to do so. I am interested in gathering some opinions of the wider cycling community. I really appreciate all of the suggestions; I hope to narrow my choices and then ride that limited number rather than trying to ride everything.

I have thought about a lot of the other bikes that have been mentioned, but I am leary of the bar end shifters. I really like having everything accessible from the hoods which essentially rules out the Trek 920 and the LHT/Disc Trucker. I do appreciate the thought that everyone is putting into their responses here.

The All City Space Horse seems to be exactly what you're looking for. The rim brake version has Tiagra components, but just yesterday All City introduced a disc version with 105 groupset: Blog | All-City

I found a shop near me that has both the Vaya and the Space Horse in my size, so I am going to test ride them on Saturday. Thanks for the suggestions.

Cool! Let us know how you like them.

For riding like C&O & trails perhaps one could fit a suspension fork to Fuji Cross 4 or similar alu bike? Also perhaps suspension seatpost. So you get a light fast bike that soaks up the bumps w/o fat tires.

It sounds like the problem you are having is not with the specific bike, or style/design of bike, but with the fit. If you can ride two hours before discomfort starts, there are likely some easy and small changes you can make to get it dialled in perfectly. Once you have the fit dialled, you can measure it and set up and subsequent bikes with an identical layout.

+1.


Others: It sounds like the OP is talking about supported tours since the one he was on was organized and provided a massage therapist.


OP: Perhaps you can offer some clarity on this point.

I see no reason not to buy a touring bike. They have a slack geometry and a long wheelbase that contributes to stability and the gearing they generally have should work well with a light load and unloaded. Trails like the C&O really don't need a very wide tire. I'd be comfortable with the 32 mm tires on my primary touring bike.

On the other hand, the FUji may only need to be fitted to you better. It's also common to have neck pain early in the season or when you're in the saddle longer than usual. You may only need to schedule a few five hour rides with nothing else involved.

Brad