bartholomew mic

what does anyone think of touring on a hybrid.Its a giant crs 3.0 i will only do short distances 20 to 40 miles.

wahoonc

20-40 miles can be done on about anything. As long as the bike is comfortable for you at those distances. I routinely ride metric centuries (62 miles/100 kilometres) on my upright Raleigh 3speed

Aaron

slowjoe66

You will be able to do short tours. However, you will almost certainly have to get a more beefy rear wheel or you will be on the side of the road with broken spokes once you put a load on. Take it to the bike shop and tell them your plans and have them outfit you with a better wheel (double wall, eyelets, 32 spoke minimum), a second hand position by the use of aero bars or barends, and a mirror.

skookum

Looks fine to me.

I would probably want another hand position and put bar-ends on the handlebars.

Better to go on the bike you have, than never go because you don't have the perfect bike.

Neil_B

I've used a Trek Navigator on short tours, so your bike should work as well.

xilios

My wifes been using the trek 7.2 fx (details on our page below) for several long(ish) tours around Europe without a problem. You might want to change the gearing though, seems a bit high for touring.

Catweazle

I'm building up my skills on a 'comfort' hybrid with a view to doing light touring later in the year - rides of several days around the region where I live, carrying overnight gear rather than camping gear.

It's a bit hard to determine from the photos I've been able to find, but if that Giant hybrid has comfort grips I'd suggest you wait a bit before adding extenders, to see if you really need them. I added extenders to my hybrid, but found I rarely use them at all, because the comfort grips allow me to relieve hand discomfort with very subtle adjustments to hand position.

MichaelW

Plenty of people tour on hybrid bikes like the CRS 3.0.
The comments about your wheel assume that you will be carrying a heavy camping load and a few days supply of food (like US coast-to-coast expedioners). If you are doing a lighter style such as youth hostelling/motel touring or lightweight camping then it will be fine. You may want to have the bike checked out by a good bike shop, esp the spoke tension.
The gearing has a 28:28 smallest ratio (or 27 gear inches). This is Ok for rolling terrain but a bit high for steep or mountainous terrain. You can swap for a wider range cogset or a smaller small chainwheel.

Takara

Your bike is fine. "Hybrid" is just a category recently made up to sell more bikes, and it doesn't suggest that you can only use it for . . . what, hybridizing? A picture of your bike reveals that it's a normal modern bike that's perfectly appropriate for touring as long as it is sized and adjusted to fit your body, and geared low enough let you go up hills comfortably.

Also: people tour across the United States with 32-spoke wheels all the time -- if you're not some combination of overweight, carrying way too much stuff, and/or touring across boulder fields, then you'll be fine. These wheels are probably way stronger than most of the ones people used touring thirty years ago.

You sound way more interested in having fun touring than constructing the Platonic ideal of touring bike. If that's accurate, you're probably all set to go already!

n4zou

I've got thousands of miles on an old Specialized CrossRoads hybrid. I added racks and put on a Trekking bar. Here is a photo.

Everyone is shocked when I tell them it was a hybrid and not a dedicated touring bike.

Catweazle

I did a bit of googling for info about that CRS 3.0 bike (Giant's website wasn't too detailed) and whilst more knowledgeable folk might be able to correct me I'd be surprised if the "LM aluminium" rims listed for it aren't in fact dual wall alloy rims. Treated with respect (but not ridden like a wuss) they shouyld be able to handle reasonable light touring, I'd imagine.


20 to 40 miles per day isn't really all that far, by the way. I reckon you'll soon find yourself doing that easy!

bartholomew mic

thanks everyone sorry adout delay, yes i will tour ,bike is brand new i will not be carrying lots of gear.20 to 40 miles max.Thanks catweasle for your google search and everone else for your time and advicecan`t wait for good weather

bartholomew mic

Takera spot on ,got me down to a tee.

Chris L

I've ridden centuries and doubles on my hybrid. I've also toured New Zealand and Scotland too. You'll be fine. Just get your riding position sorted out so you're comfortable, and think about adding bar ends if you've got flat bars on the front.

becnal

+1. Only mine is a Raleigh.

becnal

+100!

bartholomew mic

Chris L good points i think i should just get on with it