Ready to tour
 

Hey. I'm new to this site and i'm new to touring. Although i do already cycle i have never toured in the actual sense. I mean i have never done more than 120mile in one cycle, but it is something i've always been attracted to and i even knew that i would eventually try. Well i'm ready and i would just like to ask what bikes some of you guys would recommend. I have a road bike at the moment which i use for everything. It's my means of transport, i use it for my evening cycle and i use it for my weekend long distance cycle. My long distance could be 60mile before stopping and eating, getting coffee and just relaxing and enjoying being wherever i am. Everything i need for this 120 i can carry in a bag on my back.

This summer and for the first time i want to be able to load a bike with the required equipment to live on the road and tour. I just wouldn't trust my road bike for touring. It's vey light and it's very easy to break presta valves. Especially if you're hot, flustered, hungry, dehydrated and it's dark. I will be able to spend £500 an a bike but if you guys feel as much as £600 would make the difference, then please name the bike. I want a bike i can rely on for it's durability both on tour and in the long run. I want a bike that if i were to look after it and have it regularly serviced it would give me enough years so that i will be sad to see it go. I'm not worried about it's appearance or it's name. I want it for it's reliability. I befriend a bike and not using the bike i have at the moment as much i have been will be saddening. So, name a bike you feel you could befriend, a bike you would be sad to see go and not a bike that you think is good but you know you couldn't love.

Many thanks!

You can save yourself the £600 by spending a few extra shillings on quality Presta tubes with replaceable valve cores. Lots of folks, including yours truly, have toured on road bikes. Keep the load light and get some low gearing.

Presta valves shouldn't be an issue, most people I know that tour use them. Either there's something wrong with your pump, your rim, or your technique. Get some 25 or 28c tires on your road bike and hit the road! :)

People are out touring on almost any rig imaginable. It's possible to do a tour on a performance road bike. It's possible to tour with a mountain bike. It's even possible to use a cheap department store bike (although I wouldn't recommend that option.) There's a lot of flexibility in bike touring.

If you've got a road bike you like, keep using it.

If you can't add a conventional rear rack, there are some racks which attach to the seat post. If you go this route, you need to keep your gear load relatively light, but it's still much better than carrying the load on your back.

If your bike cannot accommodate any racks or if you don't think it could handle the extra weight load, go with a small trailer. Burley makes some great trailers and BOB has a solid reputation too. A trailer will be a lot cheaper than getting another bike. However, before you go this route, do some research and see if you can test what you want to use.

I usually carry a couple of spare inner tubes. I have broken a Presta but its a rare event.
Try and use the bike you have to start with. See the ultralight touring site for ideas.

In the UK market, you have trad touring bikes from Dawes, Ridgeback, Edinburgh Cycles, and lots of smaller names such as Hewitt. There is a lively market in used ones, which include the premium names such as Mercian, Bob Jackson.
A modern alternative is the cyclo-cross bike, esp disc-brake equipped and the Euro-style trekking bike with trekking/butterfly handlebars. Plenty of people tour on standard "hybrid" style models.

In Ireland you have a good network of hostels so I found I could tour without camping. You may want to invest in a lightweight solo tent, sleeping bag and some cooking gear.

Use a pump with a hose like the Topeak Roadmorph. Much less chance of busting the valve stem.

Long as you can do the distance, with minimal discomfort, no need for a 'real' touring bike. Fit, comfort, gear ratios are the important issues for covering miles day after day.

As for which 'real' touring bike to chose, do the research and pick the lightest one within your budget. Just a frame with a bunch of replaceable components. Bunch of hair splitting between brands.

Most of the time, bikes within a price range will be close in terms of quality and components. But there is a difference in the specific fit of each one. One may feel a lot better than another, but a different cyclist would not necessarily enjoy the same bike.

The 'hair splitting' is where fit and comfort come in. Actually, most of that is saddle and bar related, both of which are easily customized to meet the riders particular needs.