Road bike for touring
 

I currently have a Kona Jake Cyclo Cross bike that i like but not in love with. Its slightly too big for me (60cm) and heavy as hell. The big fat tires that are on it dont help maintaining road speed either.

Ive been doing more road biking and looking for something a little more streamlined. HOWEVER...Girlfriend and I are planning a 4 month ride next year through Europe and also a Portland trip at some point. I dont have cash or storage for 2 bikes so im looking for a bike that will give me good everyday riding abilities but also hold up with rack/paniers/sleeping bag etc on it couple of times a year.

I know road bikes arent ideal for touring but as i said earlier...dont have the cash for both and ive not done that that many long tours.

Here is what im looking at so far. Im still researching.

Trek 1.5 Triple - This years model come with provisions for front and rear racks. Aluminum frame, Carbon seat post and fork. Tiagra shifters and Derailleur. Has a weight limit of 275lbs (im 200lbs).

http://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes/road/1_series/15/

Masi Speciale-cx - Chromoly steel, Tiagra Shifters, 105 Derailleur (10 speed). At this price i can afford new wheels and rubber so i would have a touring set and a road set. Add front and rear rack, fenders when touring and remove when not.

http://www.masibikes.com/steel/speciale-cx/

Specialized Allez - 105 Shifters and Derailleur. Rear rack only. Carbon sear post and fork. Crappy colour scheme.

http://www.specialized.com/ca/en/bc/...enuItemId=9465

Any input you may have would be appreciated.

Honestly, I would look at the Secteur Specialized Elite Triple instead.
- 5 years warranty on a premium aluminum frame
- Carbon fork
- Shimano 105 all over
- Gearing 50/39/30 & 12/27
- 700x25c

http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/.../9005-63_d.jpg

Honestly if you plan to tour with racks and panniers for 4 months you are going in the wrong direction. They bike you have would work better than all those bikes you listed. You are not going to get something lighter and faster than the Jake that is also better for touring.

If you're serious about the tour get something like the Surly LHT. It will probably weigh about what your Jake weighs, but it will handle way better with a load. If you want something that is zippier than a touring bike but can still handle some weight look at the Surly Cross Check, Bianchi Volpe, Salsa Vaya, and other sport touring bikes.

That Masi would maybe work ok if it was geared differently. For touring most people prefer lower gears. A popular setup is a 46/36/26 road triple like the Sugino xd, with an 11-34 cassette in the rear.

I don't get it either. You have a bike that is acceptable for touring but you want a road bike for the next years worth of road riding for the reasons stated and then you want to use a less appropriate bike for loaded touring. Unless your existing bike is grossly oversized, or oversized for road riding, and you simply need a better sized bike you can put a different stem on to get you in a more aerodynamic position and lighter tires for more zip. When the tour starts you put on fatter tires and load it up.
If you simply need a better sized bike I'd suggest looking at the same category of bike as the Jake or an even heavier bike like a Cross-Check.

Don't compromise a tour of that significance with a less than ideal bike. Your budget apparently will allow you to buy a properly fitted dedicated touring bike. When you are through touring, sell it and get yourself "something a little more streamlined." A touring bike with a widely respected reputation will sell quickly, probably for as much as 3/4 of what you paid for it if still in good condition.

Thanks for the input everyone.

The Kona Jake cant take a front rack. Quickly realising reading these forums that im prob going to need more gear than can fit on the back rack.

The more i think about it, i think the Masi is the closest to what i want. Can be loaded up with front and rear racks and has a solid frame but can be stripped down and with slimmer tires will be fine for speed.

I do take on board the point about gearing. Im going to be testing a few bikes today again as i have someone interested in buy my jake.

Keep in mind that a bike handles very differently when loaded for touring. It's the difficult thing about test riding touring bikes, shops almost never have them set up for test rides how you will be using it on tour, with 4 panniers and a lot of weight. The gearing that seems adequate for riding around the block unloaded will be a different story when your grinding up a mountain pass with 30lbs of gear. If you get the masi see how much the shop will charge to swap out the crankset for something like this:

http://www.velo-orange.com/suoldlotr.html

You can road ride on a tour bike, but touring on a road bike is going to pose some challenges (some already mentioned) - rack mounting, tire size, low gearing, and most of all handling under load. I'd get a real tour bike (Surly LHT, Trek 520, Novarra Randonee, Windsor TOurist, Cannondale T2), and get a road bike later.

Trek 520 - Kona Sutra - Surly LHT. I tour with a Trek 520 loaded front & back with 40 lbs. of gear and it`s the Sh**ts when your on a bike that is not designed to carry that. I did it once on a Cannondale Synapse Sport on never again. When you start descending down a long hill, i.e the Oregon Coast hills, that`s the real test as to weather your bike can handle the wieght or not and it`s scary when it can`t. I would buy a real touring bike and sell it after the trip if I had to. Just my opinion. Good luck.

I would question whether the Jake can or cannot take a front rack, since it has a non-carbon fork. Tubus sells adapters to fit most of its front racks to forks without mid-eyelets. I believe also that both the Surly Nice rack and the Jandd Extreme can be mounted without mid-eyelets, as well.

Thanks for all your input everyone.

Here is what i think i have decided.

Im going to buy a Masi 105 now (http://www.masibikes.com/steel/speciale/) which is the bike i WANT!

Ive worked out with the shop that they will discount me a Brodie Elan which i will pay in instalments and pick up later in the year thus solving my storage issue.

If i need to sell one after the trip then so be it.

Ahh, the "more is more" school of touring. Seriously you don't need 4x panniers and a handlebar bag to tour in comfort. Do a search on "ultralight" or "lightweight" and apply the ideas and gear choices that appeal to you.

http://wheelsofchance.org/2010/02/02/ultralight-setup/

now you're making sense. Getting bikes that fit you, one road bike now and one touring bike later. Sounds like you do have the cash.
$1700 for Speciale + $900 for Elan(?)=2600
I'd be surprised you could sell the Speciale for more than wholesale so lets say you sell it for $1100 so that's $1500 out of pocket.
If you got the Speciale cx you're $1200 out of pocket with the potential to set aside savings for the trip. $600-$1200(money you would have set aside for Elan) sure would be nice to have on the trip.

The plan of buying two bikes commits you to a big chunk of change over a year and the hope and anxiety of selling it for a good price. Buying one bike now gurantees you start the trip with a chunk of money and a bike to do it with.