Randolfo

It took me a while to find a touring bike. That issue was taken care of by my family, more or less. However, when driving around in my area I visited multiple shops looking for that touring bike with my name on it. When I was asked what kind of riding did I want to do, I would always tell them I would like to do some touring, and I would really like to try some brevets. The knowledgeable person (usually very friendly) helping me would then get this glassy eyed look and hand me a very pretty road bike with an aluminum frame, and a carbon fork. I would then say, this does not have the attachment points I would like, nor is it steel. He would then walk me over to the counter, where a catalog was sitting and go through it looking for something close to what I wanted. In some places I could get one, in some I could not. (Surley was never a problem, just have to wait (x) amount of time.)

Now that I got a touring bike, and am looking to add a couple of things here and there. I get a similiar response, i.e. "Fenders? Yea, I think someone still makes them. Let me check this out on the computer."

I know it is a road bike/mountain bike world, but I am always surprised that I, the complete noob, has to spell things out to some of these amiable people. It is literally the blind leading the blind.

Oh, and let me tell you the looks I get when I mention Brooks saddles. I would say it is a mixture of horror and confusion.

OldZephyr

We have a few good bike shops in the area, they carry racks and fenders, and know about touring bikes. But the bikes in stock are hybrids, road, and mountain bikes. Nobody stocks touring bikes -- the closest would be something like a Bianchi Volpe in stock. We ordered a Surly LHT through one shop, and they did a fine job setting it up.

I've found that even experienced riders might have little knowledge of Brooks saddles. And because of the road bike orientation of a lot of bike store employees (who are often young and fit and who often race), they don't see the need for lower gears for loaded touring.

fietsbob

You Obviously live someplace Unlike Me.. But here is a Touring Destination .

the LBS really stocks stuff for the Locals ,
because the touring folks already have all their Gear, and we see them if the need small stuff .
spokes break Tires need replacement, a few broken wheels etc.

One thing about being a touring oriented cyclist Is that you dont have the folks touring in the summer ,
working in the Bike shop in the same Summer months , which is the Busy Season selling and repairs.

Racing one weekend staff schedules can be shuffled for 1 guy,
To take a Bike tour you have to probably quit , or have another Job, not in a bike shop.

So that skews who works in shops.

valygrl

Touring is a weird and tiny subset of cycling. Your experience is normal and doesn't reflect inadequacy on the part of the shop or their employees. Face it, if you tour, you're a kook.

The look of horror and confusions w/r/t brooks is correct, however, those things make me want to hurl.

Randolfo

It seems they like cyclocross and road bikes around here. The triathalon actually passes nearby my house, and you see plenty of road bikers training on the same road. You might have a point.

Nope. I am in the Northern Kentucky area.

I will say, the folks I talk to seem interested and will do their best to help. One of the shops gave me a good deal on a Terry Liberator Y saddle. I figured for the price they gave it to me, I can try it out. I was just kinda curious to see if everyone else gets the same reaction to inquiries.

Mr.Wizard

I get the same reaction from the "seasoned touring cyclists'..

"What, that guy just rode 60 miles in jeans!"

P.S. Still use a Brooks saddle I bought in 1973...

fietsbob

Bike Touring is a more common thing in places that have Holidays .
and as a result more touring service businesses, catering to them .

Many EU Countries its 4 to 6 weeks .. Paid holidays .



Here , we have a Trek dealer, their 520 is a fine touring choice, just has to be ordered ,
one in 1 size is in the inventory..

robow

Yea, mostly get those same reactions but every once in a while someone in a shop will surprise me. Believe me, you'll find more information on touring at this website (as confusing as it can be at times) than just about any bike shop anywhere. Not sure exactly where in northern KY you are from but I've spent a lot of time touring in western KY and as lovely as it it is, you better be well prepared to fix anything on your own because a decent bike shop is often more than a day's ride away.

cyccommute 

It's not any different now then it was 30 years ago. Touring bikes are hard to find no matter where you live. I live in a bike crazy metro area of about a million people and I couldn't tell you where to find a new ready to ride touring bike just sitting on a showroom floor. There's just not that much demand for them. I'm lucky to have an REI near me as well as The Touring Store just up the road but not too many shops even have touring friendly equipment here.

On the other hand, we have a number of shops that sell Brooks.

jamawani 

I actually had a youngster at a shop say. "Touring is so lame."
And the bike shop owner was out of town.
He was supposed to do a few tweaks and then ship.
(Rear cassette, new tires with Mr. Tuffies left in, couple of other things)
He didn't even bother to do what I asked.
The young guy disagreed with my requested gear ratio and though Mr. Tuffies were useless.
He ended up using the cassette he thought was best (too high) and left out the Mr. Tuffies.
I discovered this by the second day out on the road - tough climbing and flats.
Needless to say, I wasn't pleased. The bike shop owner never apologized.

So, yes, touring cyclists are often seen as bastard step-children. Just a fact.

Cyclebum

The LBS is in business to make money. They can't make it off touring bikes or gear.

What they can do, usually, is tweek your touring bike to YOUR specs and help keep it tuned up. I have a very good relationship with my guys along those lines. My shop also had my Tour Easy bent in stock, miracle of miracles, let me take it out for trial as long as I wanted, and sold it at a reasonable price.

OTOH, a buddy had a bad experience there and won't go back. Ordered his bike from Nashbar.

The LBS's are taking a beating from internet sales.

Rowan

The stupid part about this conundrum is that a tourer bike is one of the most versatile bikes around.

Take an example with my old Fuji. It was used for heavy-duty and light touring, a lot of commuting, short errands, randonnees, training rides, fun time trials, towing a trailer, riding dirt and gravel, even a bit of single track, and on a trainer indoors. It was, for quite a long time, the only bike I had access to. It travelled across the globe and back again on several occasions.

It is a steel frame; it broke at the right rear drop-out, and I fixed it with a gas-braze welder.

The Tiargra triple x 9sp shifters still work (admittedly with a degree of slop), but yesterday, I rode around town with a trailer without any problems.

I've had thin racing rims on it with 23C tyres, and wide touring tyres up to 32C. It's had fenders, and no fenders; it's had a front rack and no front rack; it's had a dyno-hub and a sidewall dynamo, and a 6 volt SLA battery in a bottle cage.

The front fork was an issue for most of the time, but now I've replaced it with a Surly one of different angles, the handling and feel has been transformed.

Heavy? Yeah. Versatile? Absolutely. Reliable? You bet. The Fuji is a part of my family that I won't willingly let go.

I bought a new touring bike because we were heading off around the world, and the Fuji has been relegated to a commuter/errands role.

The new bike, a Thorn, is proving to be as versatile.

Rowan

One of the most successful bike shops I know of doesn't deal in bikes, but has identified a healthy niche in commuting and touring, and most importantly, bike servicing.

Their retail section is a touring cyclist's paradise. Location at a busy outer CBD railway stations has helped its success, no doubt, but it has now gone from one shop to two. The guys who run it are mature and knowledgeable. The prices are a bit higher than on the net, but I enjoy browsing there so much I usually buy something anyway.

Their expansion has come at a time when internet buying is in full swing. Service, knowledge and the right stock seems to be keys to a successful bike shop. And I repeat, they don't sell new bikes (and a very limited number of used ones). Neither do they sell items that tie up a lot of space and money such as shoes and helmets.

Another shop in the same city runs all the stuff that would be considered off-the-wall in conventional shops -- quality stuff that we talk about a lot here.

Big Lew

Agree; I ruined a tire while riding over the Astoria Bridge many years ago, and was surprised to find a bicycle shop in Astoria that was so completely stocked to handle anyone.

Steve B.

REI carries touring bikes.

There's one not far from me, they have house - Novara brand as well as Surleys.

They sort of get it.

They are the ONLY bike shop on Long Island, AFAIK that carries touring bike IN STOCK. You have to go to NYC to find any other LBS.

fietsbob

certain amount of winging it , like selling a disc wheel off a bike on the floor, and then replacing it later .

Since Touring route is south , we have a friendship with another shop in Newport ..

people that want Campag 10 speed stuff . not carried.. they

occasionally have to limp down the coast another day or 2 and by then, with advance warning ,
the other shop will get it orderd for installation on their arrival..

Every thing.. in-stock takes access to a millon + bucks and a big warehouse sized place
with fork lift shelves to stock it all .

Those are describing Distributors .. not retailers..

Rowan

There's yet another shop we frequent that runs a small retail space out front, and a big warehouse out the back. They have been able to combine bricks and mortar retail with internet and eBay shop selling.

They are of Asian descent and know their bikes, and they are creative in their solutions. Prices are competitive. Some touring stuff is available there, too. It's not on the beaten track, but that's how they keep their overheads down.

fietsbob

Exodus from Hong Kong to Vancouver C at the time of the turnover from Brits to the PRC had a lot of money flowing out, too,

Randolfo

This is where I have learned most of the information on my goals for biking, including my goal to try some brevets.

Randolfo

This is why I ordered my bike online as well. Most of the places I went to tried to talk me out of touring bikes altogether. Only one offered anything close and that was a cyclocross bike that he was standing next to.

donalson

it sounds like touring riders are in a similar world as many Clyd riders... you don't fit their small minded thoughts of what cycling is and therefore don't merit respect.


that being said... I've been considering a disc trucker frameset to build up for mostly around town use but would like to do a bit of touring at some point... I went into a small local shop and was a bit shocked at the guys response... he's the owner and a big guy, raced BMX as a kid and now mostly a MTBer in a roadies world (south-east houston)... when I asked about the disc trucker he was a bit excited and said something to the extent of "ah, kewl that's a neat bike"

Tourist in MSN

I started looking for a touring bike before Surly made the LHT. One local store had a Trek 520, wrong size. One store had paperwork on the Fuji touring bike. One store told me that they would order something for me, I am not sure but I think they wanted to order a Karate Monkey for me. One store suggested the Volpe.

Soon after I started looking, Surly started selling the LHT frame and fork. I ordered one and built up the bike myself. Fortunately I had worked in a bike shop years ago, I knew how to build my own wheels, etc. I did have to spend some quality time on the internet (dialup speed) piecing together a package of components that made sense, but it was the only practical way.

Now, you can buy a LHT complete at several different local stores, I think a few stores have the Fuji touring bikes, there are some newer contenders for touring available now too like the REI Randonee too. Overall, it is pretty easy to find a touring bike in the stores here.

There is a large campus here and a lot of commuters on bikes, so fenders are pretty easy to find, as are racks and panniers.

But, knowledgeable sales people are still hard to find.

cyccommute 

Well, REI sells a bike that they call a touring bike. It's geometry is more like a cyclocross bike which isn't all that tour friendly, especially if you have big feet. Some people can make it work but others can't.

LeeG

I could imagine having that experience. But it's not much different than the one I had in 1971 looking for a ten speed for touring. I picked the lowest cost Nishiki with aluminum wheels and rode like the wind.
Brooks? They make suits.

Steve B.

As well as selling the Surly Long Haul Trucker, which pretty much defines a touring bike, they also sell the Novara Randonee. The wheel base on a 56 ETT LHT is 105 inches, with a chainstay length of 18.1/45cm. That would typically be a decent amount of chainstay in that size (My Miyata City Liner tourer, ETT @ 54, is 44cm. I have an 11.5 shoe and never hit the panniers). The Novara in a medium frame (ETT @ 54, has the same wheel base as the LHT, so I'd guess a similar chainstay length. The Randonee has a 70.5 head tube angle.

The Randonee is described as: "Classic touring frame accommodates fore and aft racks and fenders".

So how does this bike not fit the function of a tourer ?