So I have an idea for a touring bike but I'm just getting stuck on the frame and a few details. I want to build a touring bike (maybe 2-3 day tours) with a hybrid frame, pursuit bullhorn bars w/bar end shifters. 700x35+ tires are prefered.Im looking for suggestions on frames that will be somewhat relaxed (as my neck has issues). Also, needs to be able to mount pannier racks well.any suggestions are welcome.

Any good touring frame would work. Surly Disc Trucker would be an excellent choice for something frame up. We have a couple who have been coming into the shop working on their Truckers and they are awesome bikes. One of them uses Jones Loop bars and the other uses another bar and I cannot remember. You could also look at a CrossCheck or Straggler if you wanted something less totally touring bike.

I wouldn't really want to use bar end shifters on bullhorn bar personally and would rather have a good set of levers there and maybe have shifters mounted to Paul Thumbies closer to the stem. However if I was looking for more comfort orientation I would probably skip bullhorns and go with a trekking/butterfly bar or maybe a Jones loop. However if you went with Di2 then you could do a bullhorn bar with integrated shifters and brake levers which would be pretty neat and give you excellent shifting.

I do not know where you are located, but craigslist in your area may have hybrids for sale. Assuming that you want to try full loaded touring be sure that you do not buy a bike so big that you can not easily mount by putting your foot over the top tube, (A common mistake), as apposed to swinging your foot over the rear wheel, which becomes significantly more difficult if you pile stuff on the rear rack. I suggest that you have 9.5" seat/ post sticking out of the frame. Most hybrids have the necessary mounts for racks, well 'cept for mid fork for front low rider, but a threaded u bolt works in a pinch. ( If you go that far.) I am against the notion of buying some unwielding, gigantic frame for touring , because the head tube is taller. There are plenty of tall stems on the market.

There are lots of "Hybrids" that will work too. And many of them are dirt cheap. At least before you start adding parts

Here is my recent build. Drop bars with bar end shifters, but you can imagine different bars.





The basic bike was an older Jamis Coda that I picked up at a Thrift Store for $50. Double Butted Reynolds 520 steel frame. Rigid fork.

It has had quite a few updates, and has a few more updates planned. It does have rack mounts for a front rack, but they didn't match my rack Hopefully I'll get one set up later. I haven't been very heavy yet, but so far it feels quite stable with moderate rear loads.

A friend of mine uses bullhorn bars and bar ends, that is on his Habenaro Titanium frame. I believe the frame that he has is a cyclocross frame. I am not sure where he found the carbon fork that has fittings for mounting panniers, but he got the fork separate from the frame.

He built up that bike for our 2014 Pacific Coast tour, still using it, the photo I posted is from our 2017 Southern Florida tour.

Since your reach on that type of bar will be much further forward than with conventional upright bars, that suggests that you want a frame with a shorter top tube. Thus you might have trouble finding a hybrid frame that will fit you well with that type of bar.

Guess the above is what the OP wanted..



What US people call a Hybrid is the more common favorite touring bike type in Europe, Trekking Figure 8 bend Bars were developed there
to increase the hand position options , for those using their bikes, touring.






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If you aren't planning on camping then something like a Specialized Sirrus which I've used for much longer non-camping tours.

Thanks for the frame suggestions. I have looked at the butterfly bars and Jones loop but felt they were overly complicated and a bit ugly.
I did think about putting the shifters on/near the tops but liked the look of the bar end.

Thanks, that is close to what I'm looking for but definitely need it a bit more relaxed/upright. How do the bars with that setup work for him?

Thanks again for the help. I currently ride a windsor bristol and commute about 16 miles a day on it. Comfort is fine all over but my neck seems to have issues, even on my commute. That's why I'm looking for more relaxed feel with a hybrid. I'm mostly concerned with heel clearance with panniers and bags with the non touring frames.also, most of the touring frames still look a bit aggressive and I have a feeling my neck would still have an issue.

If you were to correct the issue with what it would take to have your neck more comfortable, you could try touring with the Windsor. Assuming that your Windsor has the short reach side pull brakes, your tire choices are somewhat limited. If you used a pannier specific rear rack, as apposed to a regular rear rack, that would set the rear panniers back enough to eliminate heel strike issues.

I have had no heel issues with my Hybrid and panniers, and I don't think with my trailer either.

However, my other bike is a vintage racing road bike with short stays, and I have to be very careful with pannier positioning, and also typically choose triangular bottom panniers, rather than the rectangular bottom panniers that are becoming more common now. Perhaps my new rack also sits a bit further back on the bike than the vintage rack.

I'm not sure about aggressive vs relaxed fit of the hybrid. Some will depend on the actual frame chosen, as well as the ultimate build design including the stem and seat types and positioning. My "vintage hybrid" frame may well tend more towards the road bike styling, other than the sloping top tube.

I just got an axiom streamline rack put on it and it's nice but with the vittoria randonneur 2s I have. Its a real tight fit

[IMG][/IMG]

Specialized Sirrus

He built up that bike almost four years ago, still using it so it clearly works for him. He volunteers time at a bike charity, but otherwise he is retired. He has built up on average at least one new bike every two years, so if he was unhappy he would have sold off the frame and built up something else.

You are quite welcome, happy to help and feel free to PM me with any questions.

They aren't any more complicated than any other bar really. Good bullhorns can look really nice but I don't know that they are what I would want for touring at least regarding shifter placement. If I was doing Di2, as I think I mentioned, it would be cool because things would be better integrated however I could see going with the VO Crazy Bars and having bar end shifters on the sweep back and then TT style levers on the horns.

Ergon GR5 are a Comfortable broad surface grip, + bar ends integrated with a relatively seamless transition..

I like them better than round grips or round, taped, handlebars.




the shifting and brake controls stay in place.. reach to bars unchanged..





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I searched for a while before finding an older hybrid with low rider mounts on the fork. Not many had them. I finally picked up an early 90's Univega Via Carisma with the mounts and it will handle 700 x 38 tires with fenders. A nice option for touring when you may get off road on gravel trails.

I have moved to a road touring bike and rigid mountain bike for my needs and don't really use the hybrid much anymore so I will probably be selling it.