alan s 

More expensive than what?

DropBarFan

Was looking for a comfy disc-capable touring bike that could have S&S couplers installed, Surly Disc Trucker fit the bill. Had thought about more exotic bikes but there's diminishing returns & I wouldn't be comfortable leaving it locked up outside. Also, one never knows when the more advanced tech might filter down to the affordable level. If Shimano produces a reasonably-priced Rohloff-type IGH that could be a game changer.

LHT/DT's allow fat tires, it's amazing how many fancy drop-bar touring bikes don't give that option. Now riding 50 mm Marathon Supremes & if they hold up OK I'm never going back to narrower tires. Super-comfy & just as fast as some narrower tires.

LeeG

Oh baby, I bought this bright red Lippy touring frame made with Reynolds 531 in 1979. It had braze ons everywhere. Custom front rack. Built up 27" Champion 58 rims w straight 15 gauge spokes in the front and 14g in the rear on Campy Tipo hubs. Hand made Italian cotton 1 1/8" front tire and heavy 1 1/4" Schwinn Super Tour rear tire. Rode from Ogden Utah to Boulder Colorado with about 20lbs. No one had as fancy a bike as I had the whole way. Unfortunately the bike had a heinous shimmy at speeds above 30mph that required me to clamp the top tube with my knees.

The money you spend is just that, money spent.

irwin7638

I had an LHT which I bought because it is a reliable comfy bike for touring. That's about it. I really lusted for a Rivendell but the Atlantis didn't do it for me. It just so happened that they introduced the Hunqapillar (all terrain big boys bike) when I had enough money to buy the frame. I stripped the components from the LHT, sold the frame on Craigslist, and used the parts to build up the Hunq. What I love now about the Hunq (beyond the fancy lugs and paint job) is that it is more comfortable than the LHT and handles more like a mountain bike than a tourer. I always felt like I was steering the LHT, but the Hunq just responds to leaning through the turns and is a lot more fun to ride.



Marc

DropBarFan

Heh, a bit more than "Goodenough", glad you're liking the bike. Interesting that Rivendell strongly suggests at least 40 mm tire for road & 50 mm off-road. Surly DT doesn't handle esp crisply on descents but I've sort of gotten used to it. I got new 50 mm tires for smoother ride but am realizing they're safer esp for descending on bumpy roads.

irwin7638

I've found there is a lot to be said for wider tires when touring. I've been using 50mm Schwalbe Big Ben on the Hunq and think they are wonderful. Not only big enough for gravel, dirt and trails, they roll a lot faster on pavement than the smaller Marathons, Duremes or Conti Contacts I used in the past.

Marc

PDKL45

Wider tires for road bikes are undergoing a real renaissance at the moment, due in part to the influence of people like Jan Heine from Compass Cycles/Bike Quarterly Magazine. His blog has a lot of interesting content about tires, including reports of his tire tests.

https://janheine.wordpress.com/categ.../tires/page/2/

dbg

When a newbie asks me about light touring bikes I tell them (1) Trek 520, (2) Novarra Randonee, (3) Windsor Tourist (bikesdirect.com). Personally I build exactly what I want --and a favorite source frame has been older LeMond 853 roadies which I lately am converting to 650B and more comfortable tires.

escii_35

1. In-between the yen rise and the dawn of the LHT, major brand selection varied for low to almost non-exiestant. Trek 520 and c-dale t-series were about it. Bruce Gordon, Davidson and Rodriguez were floating around the PNW but cost $$$$.

2. I needed a travel bike, preferably one which works well on double track. I ride larger bikes and the small wheeled ones are single size. It's the top tube length which kills them for me.

robert schlatte

I bought a Soma Saga frame and built my own bike. Over time i have upgraded just about every component. To me the bike is the frame you choose. Everything else can be changed/ upgraded. I could have purchased a higher end frame or a custom frame but i was not convinced that the extra money would make that big a difference. At the end of the day, I wanted a bike that would carry a load long distances, reasonably comfortably, that I would not have to worry about, and that I could make easy field repairs to. So far, after several longish trips, the my Soma Saga fits the bill well.

cyclist2000

I started touring around 1980, then I used a road bike, put a rack on it and took off.
In 2009, I got a touring bike, wasn't everyone else's ideal bike but its the bike that I wanted and I got a good price.
Being a non-conformist, I didn't want the bike everyone else had, or even the same brand.
Now, I am thinking about a new touring bike but I haven't decided on a frame yet, a few people have suggested a Soma Saga.

L134 

Got my Lippy touring frame in 78 and still tour with it. I bought it for the braze ons, custom front and rear racks, friend had one and loved it (now two, and we toured together in October on our Lippy's), and at the time I thought it fun to get something premium/unique for relatively little cost. I thought I might never be able to do something like that later. No regrets. In December I scored a Lippy tandem frame off Ebay, built it up and love it. Beautiful bikes.

I also had some shimmy but once I discovered it is the rider not the bike, no more shimmy. Relax your grip, almost no weight on the bars, no weight on the seat, no shimmy. If I forget and some starts, relax, lift off the saddle and shimmy stops instantly. Has worked on any bike I've been on.

redbagsrambler

I bought my first touring specific bike about 1990. I wanted a Trek 520, but I lived in a rural area of the country with few bike shops and those that existed were selling almost exclusively mountain bikes. Any other bikes were special orders with money down, without an opportunity to see or test ride in advance.

I went bike shopping in a larger city and the problem continued. No shops had 520's and the only touring bike I could find in stock was a Bianchi Volpe. It fit, I gave it a test ride, and I loved it and took it home. Used it for years on many tours before I eventually did get a 520 which is now my primary tourer. But that isn't quite the end of the story.

I liked the Volpe so much that I bought a second one just a few years ago. That was an impulse buy based on nostalgia as I still prefer touring on the 520. I have hardly ridden the new Volpe so I think I may sell it. It's pretty, but its rarely been out of the garage.

Doug64

I have just the opposite situation. I have had a Volpe for about 10 years, and it is now my go-to bike. I also have a LHT and a Cannondale T2 that hardly ever get ridden. I like the Volpe because of the fit and great handling.

Bianchi Volpe- The only original parts from my 2007 Volpe are the bars, stem, and seat post. All other components, including the frame and fork have been changed. The component selection has evolved over several years of touring and riding several different bikes. I chose the Volpe because it is relatively light, handles very well, and will carry a reasonable touring load. It is not a stock Volpe!


LHT- I got a killer deal on a new frame and fork in a color I really wanted, and built the bike up using identical components as the Volpe, except for the hubs. It is a rugged dependable bike and will handle just about anything. I got it because I wanted to try a LHT. It is a god bike, but the fit is not as good as the Volpe because ot the LHT's long top tube.


Cannondale T2- I bought this bike because I had a T800 for a short while and always regretted getting rid of it. I found this pristine, literally like-new, bike when I was looking for a touring bike for one of our daughters. It is the last of the beautiful American made Cannondale touring bikes, a 2010 model. It was in exceptional condition at a cost less than 1/3 the original cost. IMO it is one of a few stock touring bikes that is ready to go right out of the box. I did change the chainrings, brakes, and fork (uncut steerer tube for fit), but I have kept the original parts in case I want to put it back into stock condition. It is a beautifully made bike, it is light (aluminum frame), and has good components. It is sturdy dependable bike that has proven itself over the years.

fietsbob

I got a Good deal on my Used Koga WTR, bought from someone in N,C., shipped.
Someone else Imported it , they are not sold in the USA, but are around the world.

It had a seal Leak in the Rohloff Hub, (03 , nylon seals) but a shipping of the Hub to R'off US Service

in SF east Bay fixed that .. https://www.cyclofiend.com/working/20...clark1008.html


Since then I got another deal From Bike Friday , another Rohloff , Not My BTO, someone else's ,

They did not like the final Color, so refused it, & it resold for Less.





./.

staehpj1

Sensible choices, but are they really for light touring? I have a Windsor that I used and found suitable for medium to heavy touring. Since I got into lighter touring the Windsor has been hanging in the garage.

GamblerGORD53

I spent more than anybody here, by far. It isn't even pretty. It does anything I feel like though.

My ideal of a REAL bike is based on my Dad's antique SS Rudge, handed down from his uncle ....
-- 46 inch or so wheel base, 7 " head tube, 28" wheels, huge TT.
-- Will carry ALL the stuff in my suitcase, plus tools, plus 6 bottles of drink.
-- Whole bike Will work in ANY weather or road muck.
-- Will cross the country with a bit of lube and NO fuss. Cogs do wear of course.
-- Only IGH ROHLOFF14 is capable, 46/16T for me. NOT needing drivetrain tinkering or derailler frailities.
-- Dyad rims with even tension, No possibility of broken spokes. at 2.3g/2.0g. NO LAME eyelets.
-- SA Dyno drum brake in the front that will do a World Lap and may only need an $8 bearing change, while the lights are ALWAYS on, 100% FUNCTION, no new pads, NO adjustment. NO rim erosion. No TOY blinkies here.
-- Will go any speed, corners like a bird.
-- Threaded stem is my DIY 1 1/8" with a two 8 mm bolt face plate. A loose 1/4" ball Shimano headset. Swept back steel bars, from my 1974 Raleigh, for max comfort. Now has special tandem fork.
-- Chain case for max chain life.
-- Tires that go 9.000 miles with NO flats ... Schwalbe Marathon Plus, 36 mm
-- Plastic storage bins in the back with pullout liners that make unloading at hotels easy.
-- Steel unbending unbreakable rack that will survive a crash.
-- Entire bike that will survive any baggage handler on planes, trains, buses.
-- Has CF reinforcement and accessory containers
-- Phil tapered BB with replaceable bearings and is easily adjusted left/right for chainline.
-- Horizontal track drop out that also accommodates my SA 5w.
-- U kickstand around the rear end, doubles as a bumper. Necessary in crowded bike places.
-- V-Sixty platform pedals not hard to relube and actually spin 6 times when flicked.
-- Mirror from a e-bike using an old bracket, very solid with an 8 mm nut.
-- 40? year old fenders of solid Stainless steel far thicker than modern tin foil stuff.
-- Mud flaps made from my used thick rubber boots. ha

Yah, NO weight weenie could ride it around the block and it needs more tools.
NO production or quasi custom like Co-Motion will offer hardly any of the above at even $7000, not that anybody else would ask.
My peace of mind is Priceless.

tclune

There were two local bike shops that carried touring bikes when I decided to look for one. One shop carried Trek and the other Raleigh. I started at the Trek shop. They had the 520, 720, and 920 in stock. I guess I'm just a "steel is real" type, because I fell in love at first sight with the 520 and the test ride sealed the deal. I got it without ever testing the Raleigh.

reppans

Been a while since I've bicycle toured, but I recently finished setting up this new minimalist camping rig to restart. I no longer have the desire to ride 100 miles a day, or slog through all-day traffic/rain, or camp every night, so I figure I'd have a go with a Brompton folder. Versatility to take any type of public transport to cut out the crappy sections of a ride, and no problem wheeling inside hotel rooms and most restaurants when a little luxury is warranted and for peace of mind from theft.

My core camping gear, and Brompton bag, at <10lbs/15L takes up less than half of the 22lbs/30L single-bag capacity - CLICKY. I'm really trying to keep within a standard traveler's two item "carry-on."

chandltp

I bought a more expensive bicycle because I wanted a recumbent. Even the "bargain" recumbents are expensive. And the "bargain" ones aren't much of a bargain so I bought a good one.

Why? For comfort. Shoulder problems kept me off a traditional touring bike and a more upright bike wasn't great for long days in the saddle.

Yan 

My touring bike is a custom by a local frame builder, Hugh Black of True North Cycles in southern Ontario. I bought it because my previous bike got run over by a car and the driver's insurance company paid me a wad of cash. I put in a bit more of my own money and bought an upgrade.

Yan 

I had a Novara Randonee and that was definitely not a light tourer. At one point it went across the Taklamakan Desert carrying 20L of water in the front panniers in addition to a full camping setup in the rear. Probably one of the heaviest loads ever put on a touring bike anywhere. The Randonee is a no frills expedition tourer I'd be comfortable with taking anywhere on the planet.

Light touring would be a mid range cyclocross bike with a carbon fork. There are lots of high end cross bikes which are full carbon but unfortunately none of these come with the required fender and rack eyelets.

DropBarFan

True North page shows some cool bikes, I'd like to see a photo of your bike. I like how they have options for ti, S&S & Rohloff etc. T

Yan 

Here you go, taken last month in Burma.

fietsbob

Now, I have a Bike Friday Pocket Llama, Disc, Rohloff , Schmidt dynohub, it was a good deal

someone else didn't like the Final color, so refused their BTO when it was finished..

I like the step thru function..