Touring with a 'disposable' bike
#26
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The next trip we do to North America will probably be along the same lines as your last couple of paragraphs -- fly into LA, hire a drive to Eugene, Oregon, pick up a couple of Bike Friday NWTs, do our touring, and fly back to Australia with them BFs. We would be coming over anyway, and we would save on the freight and dealer loading if we purchased the bikes in Australia.
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I once heard tale of this womyn who had gone on an adventure trip, not sag, and had used some junk department store bike. When she got to Florida she just gave it to the hostile she had stayed at. To think, no hassle at the airport or anything. On another thought, touring across country as a homebum would be a pretty interesting sociology experiment.
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I once heard tale of this womyn who had gone on an adventure trip, not sag, and had used some junk department store bike. When she got to Florida she just gave it to the hostile she had stayed at. To think, no hassle at the airport or anything. On another thought, touring across country as a homebum would be a pretty interesting sociology experiment.
And hostile? From my experience, most hostels are anything but.
Sorry, I can't tell if those were on purpose or were just typos.
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#29
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I have met folks who bought cheap bikes at the start of a long tour and discarded them in some manner at the end. It seemed to work OK for them. They had mostly walmart grade gear too and seemed to be OK with that as well. The one guy flew in from Japan with just about nothing and bought what must have been about $500 worth of stuff or a bit more at the start. He seemed to be having a great time.
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Some day, I will fly to India and buy a brand new bike there for under $100 and tour with it. These Indian bikes have only 1 speed, rod brakes, steel rims and cottered cranks but are made in the 100s of thousands and parts will be available all over India.
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As long as you are not on the tall side or med+ and lanky go for it.
Be prepared to have rear wheel issues. On the bright side, 26in wheels running 7speed freewheel hubs are crazy common.
For example: I guy I rode with on this trip broke his axle and wandered into the general store in the small town of Cochrane Chile. He found/bought a hub, broke it apart and repurposed the axle. In the next tourist town the one bike shop had a 135 spaced freewheel wheel built up an ready to go. Why? Walk into the discount department stores of Chile and Argentina and what type of bikes are on the floor? China's finest low-end 21 speed bikes.
Be prepared to have rear wheel issues. On the bright side, 26in wheels running 7speed freewheel hubs are crazy common.
For example: I guy I rode with on this trip broke his axle and wandered into the general store in the small town of Cochrane Chile. He found/bought a hub, broke it apart and repurposed the axle. In the next tourist town the one bike shop had a 135 spaced freewheel wheel built up an ready to go. Why? Walk into the discount department stores of Chile and Argentina and what type of bikes are on the floor? China's finest low-end 21 speed bikes.
#32
we be rollin'
I can imagine someone can always bring some parts like a whole groupset then put it on a cheaper bicycle once in a foreign country. If you scroll down you can see a Shimano Deore M590 trekking group. https://www.bike24.com/manufacturers/Shimano.html
or a more direct link... https://www.bike24.com/p211929.html
I wish I was rich and I could leave expensive touring bicycles all over the place.
or a more direct link... https://www.bike24.com/p211929.html
I wish I was rich and I could leave expensive touring bicycles all over the place.
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Hmmmmmm .... that would work! or maybe flying there, borrowing a bike from relatives, taking it on tour ...... and bringing it back afterwards? OK OK If you really like them and they don't actually have a suitabe bike - maybe you could buy one and leave it there for next time!
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It has been an idea for us to leave a set of bicycles here in Canada (we're visiting for Christmas), while the rest of our bicycles would be in Australia. That could make travel between Australia and Canada somewhat easier.
We haven't done that yet, but it is a thought.
We haven't done that yet, but it is a thought.
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
#38
Walmart bike rider
Rode a Walmart built Schwinn Sidewinder from South Carolina to Abilene, Texas in 2005. The only mechanical problems I had was some flat tires (thorns in Texas), one screw that got loose on my rear rack, and a brake adjustment (something all bikes require). Donated the bike to Salvation Army in Abilene, TX.
You can tour on anything. You don't need a "touring" bike. And like I have said, this forum is 90+ percent gear talk, which has nothing to actually to do with a successful tour. Touring is mental first, mental second, and keeping yourself warm and dry at the end of the day 3rd.
You can tour on anything. You don't need a "touring" bike. And like I have said, this forum is 90+ percent gear talk, which has nothing to actually to do with a successful tour. Touring is mental first, mental second, and keeping yourself warm and dry at the end of the day 3rd.
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Dear Burton:
I took a trip in Canada with a disposable bike. I had to take Amtrak to Montreal and they do not allow bikes on the train. So when I got into town I checked out Craigslist and used bike shops. I ended up buying an old Canadian mountain bike that was perfect for touring. The bike fit me great and it was a wonderful conversation starter. People came up to me and exclaimed "That was my first mountain bike". It had moose handlebars and lots of lugs for fenders and panniers. I was sort of sad when I had to sell the bike at the end of the trip (for $ 15 less than I paid). So it worked out that it was the cheapest bike rental I could have hoped for. John
I took a trip in Canada with a disposable bike. I had to take Amtrak to Montreal and they do not allow bikes on the train. So when I got into town I checked out Craigslist and used bike shops. I ended up buying an old Canadian mountain bike that was perfect for touring. The bike fit me great and it was a wonderful conversation starter. People came up to me and exclaimed "That was my first mountain bike". It had moose handlebars and lots of lugs for fenders and panniers. I was sort of sad when I had to sell the bike at the end of the trip (for $ 15 less than I paid). So it worked out that it was the cheapest bike rental I could have hoped for. John
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#41
bicycle tourist
I've done variations of this. I currently have a mountain bike in India and also had a bike in Russia for four years before a friend brought it back after using it on cycle tour through Kyrgyzstan/China. If you have good place to store/lend and expect to be back occasionally, then saves on hassle/expense of bringing them back and forth.
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I've built up, used and disposed of 2 bikes in such a manor in random countries. I'm a pretty easy fit overall (5'8"), rather creative with making things work and don't travel that heavy anyway, so building up a bike is pretty easy. But I've decided that building up these bikes, while fun and really no more money than just bringing my regular touring bike along and fits me a lot better
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Thanks for all the posts! More than I expected and some of the comments have been both fun and enlightening!