Finding a trekking/expidition frame
 

I'm looking for a trekking/expedition frame, but my internet search has come up with nothing. Neither has a forum search given me any results. My first question is, does anyone know where I could get an expedition frame from? A mountain bike with long enough chainstay would be fine also, but I'm not sure how long of a chainstay is considered "long"?

http://www.rivbike.com/products/list...product=50-038

http://www.rivbike.com/products/list...product=50-640

http://www.rivbike.com/products/list...product=50-990

Peter White Cycles sells Toute Terrain which are great expedition bikes.

Wow. Those are really expensive. I'm sure they are top notch quality though.

Salsa Fargo

Can the fargo run 26 inch wheels? I think it might be able to because it's running disc brakes.

It will be significantly lower, which IMO is not always a good thing on an expedition bike. Any particular reason for asking?

Because I have a really good set of hand built velocity psycho wheels that I would be running if I decided to get the frameset.

Rodriguez makes a 26-inch frame.
Thorn.
Co-Motion Pangea.

My thoughts exactly.

Yep, Thorns got my vote.

Bilenky makes the Midlands, which is a 26" expedition tourer:

http://www.bilenky.com/prod39.html

In the USA at least, for some reason, it's difficult to find a budget priced expedition tourer. Most of the options seem to be custom, which is always pricey (but you get a bike that is fitted to you, and one that will likely outlast you if you take care of it).

I don't see why the only options should be so expensive - after all, there's nothing all that special about what you want in such a bike - long wheelbase, low bottom bracket, 26" wheels, good tire clearance, all the brazeons for bottles etc, and a nice stiff frame for handling heavy loads. I guess it's just that there's not perceived to be a big market for these bikes, though in my opinion I think they would sell very well.

If you're lucky and happen to fit the Surly Long Haul Trucker in sizes 54cm and below, then those are 26" (56cm and up go to 700C, which I don't see as "expedition"). Everything else about the LHT would make for a good expedition bike - it's strong, simple, low BB, relatively long chainstays, etc. But you have to be lucky enough to fit the smaller sizes.

Neil

Very good question. I am thinking the Surly Pugsley is what you want. Chain stays are 44.8 cm compared to 46.0 cm for the Long Hall Trucker. 26" wheels with plenty of room for big tires and fenders. Looks like it has all of the braze-ons for racks and disk brakes. More of a MTB/ expedition bike then the LHT. Surly frames are some of the most reasonable. This with fork about $600. You can contact Surly and ask how good of a touring/expedition bike it would make. It looks like it is designed for it.

Here`s a bike trip of 2000km though the Australian outback- does that qualify as an expedition?
http://www.wildworks.co.nz/csr/route.php
He used a Pugsly with an Extrawheel. There`s a problem with using that kind of equipment though- Pugslys and other fat bikes use special components that are expensive and probably imposible to find if you don`t have time to order from the internet. In the case of hte guy in Australia, if something needed replacing, he was going to be SOL no matter what, so it didn`t much matter how obscure his bike was.

Yeah, I see the front fork is 135 mm wide the same as a MTB rear hub. For the OP's case probably could just change out the fork. Other then that it looks like it needs an extra wide BB, but not sure what that does with the front derailer if anything. I am pretty sure you can run normal 1.5" to 1.75" MTB tires but with the extra advantage of more room for fenders. The disk brakes should be a non issue. People may want to make an issue out of weight but looking at 5.66 lb compared to 5.15 lb for LHT. I obviously have not thought this through in great detail but looks like a lot of potential to custom build a Novara Safari/expedition type bike. May have to figure out some work arounds though.

Novara Safari. The thing is a pig...weighs way too much:rolleyes:...but it is cheap and will do the job.

http://media.rei.com/media/ii/034829...d29a3de243.jpg

Of course a hardtail mountain bike with a fork lockout and a trailer would do the job too, with perhaps a little more flexibility if you want to set up a base camp and explore from there.

I got my ultimate off-road touring bike this last Christmas

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...IMGP0708-1.jpg

But I doubt if you want to go that route. Even a 10 year old frame cost me $950. A new YBB costs north of $2800. Makes the stuff from Rivendell look cheap:innocent:

chas roberts roughstuff

Has the OP taken a look at the Thorn (Sherpa) yet? The frame, headset, and seat post were about $690 US including shipping and taxes. If I had $2500 to spend, I would still buy this over a Rodriguez or Co-Motion.

Here is the link and here is a photo of mine:

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/sherpa.html

Cant go past the Thorn Raven or Nomad - expensive but initial investment pays for itself over time -, those boys make a classic bike

Thanks to everyone. It's still a long way off, but a few things I didn't know have come out of this thread. First, that the LHT has a 26" version, which I didn't know. Also, that the Pugsly could possibly make a tourer at all. That never occurred to me.

It seems to me, if money wasn't an object, I'd get a thorn, but over 2k is pretty out there considering I have a wheelset, bars, shifters, saddle, etc. Maybe just the frame.

Long is 46 cm or longer. Don't settle for less.

Robert Beckman has well thought out designs. http://www.coinet.com/~beckman/bikeframes.html

They are not off the shelf, and you'll have to wait, so this may not work for you.

My vote is for the Salsa Fargo, that bike is freaking awesome for the price. You could run 26" wheels on it, since it has disc brakes, it just might handle a little funny and have a crazy amount of clearance.

thorn sherpa fantastic exp bike,

I bought all my Thorn bikes as a frame set and built them up. Thorn will refund you 17% VAT that is included in the price - that will more than cover your shipping costs.

The Pugsley could make a great expedition tourer.

I would not recommend putting 26" wheels on a 29er frame as the BB will be too low and you'll get pedal strike way too often.

expedition bike
 

I have a question, I am thinking about buying a Lht at some time or other and would be quite interested to know how you measure whether you are a suitable height for said bike.....Do you measure the distance from the bottom bracket to seat post or otherwise...your help is most appreciated...thankyou