hey bikers,

I'm looking to get into more serious, long distance riding, although by serious I hopefully mean more fun. I needed some help finding a versatile bike that fit all of my criteria/needs for a bike.

First, I wanted a sturdy bike that I could start to use as my primary mode of transportation around town. I'm thinking steel is the way to go, and since I don't see myself getting into racing, I don't really care about a few ounces of weight. I just want the bike to last a long time. Also, I wanted a frame with attachment points on the chainstays so that I could add some panniers and have the ability to carry groceries, etc.

Second, I wanted to get a road bike so that I can go for longer rides than I could do on my mountain bike. I'd like to be able to ride my first 100-miler by the end of the year (New Orleans is nicely 100 miles down the mississippi river road from Baton Rouge and I figure that's a good goal).

And lastly, and most pertinent to this forum group, I could really see myself touring around the states by next summer, and I'd be pretty bummed if I ended up buying a bike that couldn't handle the trip or carry a full load.

I've found a few bikes online that already seem to fit these bullet points, like the surly crosscheck, bianchi volce, or jamis aurora. Are there any other recommendations out there I should check out?

I just wanted to know what other people rode that go touring every once in a while, but also use their bike for other purposes. Any suggestions or advice that you could give me would be great! Thanks a lot.

If you are looking at Surlys, look at the LHT. Trek 520 fits the bill. Rivendill and Waterford also make good touring bikes. Check the stickies at the top of this forum . . . there is a bikes for newbies section that includes some pretty good info

love my lht, made for touring but also a fast ride unloaded

I wound up going with a Surly Cross-Check instead of the LHT for most of these purposes.

Two quick caveats: 1) I haven't done a full tour on it yet (long story). And 2), I should have made a bunch of gearing & other mods from the start, but waited a bit, so it cost a little more than it should have. (Tho' I do have some spare parts now that I hope to use on other bikes.)

I was hoping to use it for everything, but so far have found it isn't really fast enough for some of my club rides.

The LHT "Complete" is very good if you don't want to mod much, or plan to spend 6 months touring in 3rd world nations where 700c tires are rare. Right off the bat it's got low gearing, easy to get in an upright position, very stable, very comfy. However, it's not a speed demon.

If speed is of the essence, you may be a little happier with a cross or "sport touring" bike. Chances are you will need to lower the gearing though. It won't be quite as fast as a standard road bike, but it's not that far off either.

One good thing about the Cross-Check (and the Volpe and Aurora -- they're all basically cross bikes) is that it's versatile. You can easily change the crank from a standard double to either a compact double or a triple; the frame is good for pavement as well as gravel or dirt trails; it's very comfortable & rugged.

I think you'd be fine either way; CC, Volpe, Aurora if you care about speed; LHT if speed is irrelevant and/or you don't want to bother changing anything about the bike to make it tour-worthy.

The main thing is to get both a bike and the time to ride it. If you're not independently wealthy, this means don't blow a lot of money on a nice bike. I toured for years on a Univega Viva Sport, by simply adding a triple crank (A "T.A." found in the parts bin at the local store) and putting on the biggest tires that would fit. It would wobble and flex with more than thirty pounds of gear, so I took less. Eventually, I found another bike at a swap meet, a fancy pant Bruce Gordon Rock n Road for $450. I'd no idea what a Bruce Gordon was, but I did recognize the ride of a nice steed, so I bought it. (1993, it was).

Anyways: your hometown is pretty big - Baton Rouge, right? - so you should be able to find a pretty good used bike for 200 to 300 bucks. Overhaul it yourself - new cables, pads, tires - then hit the road. If you time it right you can get one of those hurricanes to fling you towards Arizona. It's just like your state, except with different people, history, landscape, and climate.....

Good luck.

I have had many bikes over the years... I wouldn't trade my Rivendell Atlantis for any other bike. It has already handled much and I'm sure it could handle anything... and it's really pretty :0)

I like to do weekend rides, centuries, trips to the market, and every summer I take a long, fully-loaded tour. I think a dedicated touring bike is the way to go, since it also does those other things well. I think it's a better choice than buying a non-tourer for those other chores, and taking it on tour. When I'm out in the middle of nowhere with a full load, I want a bike that's made for that sort of thing.

I say if you're really going to tour, buy a tourer.

I have a Surly LHT and I love it. There are plenty of other good choices.