Suitability as a Touring Bike
 

http://www.trademe.co.nz/sports/cycl...-658220255.htm


Hello,

I need your expert opinion.

How suitable is this bike for touring? The fit shouldn't be a problem.

Gorgeous bike, and good price for it too. I think that bike is more sport-touring, and best suited for credit card touring. I wouldn't recommend it for fully loaded touring.

Thanks for the reply.

Just out of interest, as im not very technically minded, what makes it more suitable for sports touring and could i make some adjustments to make it more suitable for fully loaded touring?

such short chainstays kicking panniers with your heels with every pedal stroke is an Issue.

Bike Trailer .. solves that .. dont bother with racks , add a handle bar bag to snack as you ride.

Likely, Need to put a triple crank on to lower the gear range too.

Fancy Campag ?, get the 'race triple' . I have a 50-40, and I changed the stock 30t for a 24t..

and the wheels are too light , you can resell them and put the money towards something more subtantial..

I used my my back panniers on a Giant Escape 3 size M recently and it was fine. Do the they have similar chainstays. Excuse these questions if they are stupid!

I mean do those two bikes have a similar chainstay.

Indeed, a beautiful bike. However, you may find the 420-430 mm chainstay is not suitable for fully loaded touring, not only for the heel clearance issue. As well, loading up the rear rack on a short chainstay would make the bike skittish/unstable. This could be mitigated somewhat by splitting the load between front and rear racks. But normally around a 450mm chainstay would be considered more suitable for heavy loads.

As well, the maximum 32c tires may be a bit narrow for carrying heavy loads, especially of the roads are not good.

I concur with fietsbob - it may work as a credit card tourer or with a trailer.

Jakobmckernan, From the Soma website "The Stanyan is our lugged road sport frame. This is a great choice for the century rider and credit card tourer who appreciates a more traditional look...". This implies that loads in excess of 25-30 lbs. (~13.5 kg) all in one spot are to be avoided. Most road race frames are capable of 20 lbs. (~9 kg) using a Carradice-like bag and a handle bar bag. Using a pair of medium sized panniers and perhaps a handle bar bag to spread the load should be okay, IMHO.

Brad

you lack a tape measure to know?

but have a computer to ask as if a stranger on the internet can measure it for you?

with out bothering,to do this yourself..

Fully loaded touring does not necessarily require a heavy load. This bike looks fine for fully loaded touring with 20 to 30 lbs of gear sensibly carried. Hook yourself up with some small rear panniers, some backpacking bags or a large Carradice saddlebag and your favourite handlebar bag and you will be all set.

Sweet sport tour bike heavily component tweaked to the sport side.

If the front dérailleur is clamp-on you can buy a perfectly -some brand- serviceable triple with BB for less then $200usd and shove it in there. (hopefully thats a mid cage dérailleur). The big problem is that rear wheel. Keeping everything all campag happy will be $$. When my campag rear hub died I went friction with the rear and left the front as brifter.

Hey all,

I decided against it in the end. Although it's a very pretty bike it would have been too much money and hassle to convert it properly.
I managed to get my hands on a Fuji Touring bike (2013) for my New Zealand tour. It's not the greatest in the world but it will do the job well i hope.

Thanks for all the help, i really appreciate it.

Fuji touring bikes have a good reputation. Enjoy your tour.

Brad