First Touring Bike

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05-17-21 | 03:53 AM

#26

Tony Marley

Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2011

Posts: 549

Likes: 44

From: Houston area

Bikes: Catrike 700; Bike Friday Llama single; Bike Friday Tandem Tuesday; Easy Racers Ti-Rush recumbent; Catrike Expedition; Rans Seavo tandem

I did a coast-to-coast tour with a Novara Randenee with similar gearing. It worked, but I did change the cassette afterwards to get even lower gearing.

05-17-21 | 10:16 AM

#27

carsonmc724

Thread Starter

Junior Member

Joined: Mar 2021

Posts: 9

Likes: 1

From: Nashville, TN

Bikes: 1997 Trek 1220

Thank you all SO much for great feedback and input and education for this beginner tourer. I ended up purchasing the Novara Randonee, especially since the price was great and the guy had barely used it. He had also upgraded the saddle to a Selle Royal, the tires to Schwalbe Marathons, and included the fenders and rear rack! A big deciding factor too was that my Trek is just so light I already wobble/swerve on it if I shift my own weight unexpectedly, so I feared it wouldn't handle rear baggage well, and could only handle frame/handlebar bags.
I'm excited to start my touring journey with this Novara.

05-19-21 | 09:12 AM

#28

thumpism

Bikes are okay, I guess.

Joined: Jan 2015

Posts: 8,007

Likes: 3,779

From: Richmond, Virginia

Bikes: Waterford Paramount Touring, Raleigh Sports 3-speeds in M23 & L23, Schwinn Cimarron oddball build, Marin Palisades Trail dropbar conversion, Nishiki Cresta GT, Jeunet mixte

Congrats! Enjoy your tour and many more after.