adeucegolf

Looking at picking up a 2012 Secteur as a touring/distance bike. How feasible is mounting rack/panniers on it? I think the gearing should be great. Looking at some 3-4 day tours. Any input appreciated.

WestPablo

I didn't notice any eyelets or mounts for fenders.

You'll need fenders for touring...

10 Wheels

Has the wrong gearing.

bikemig 

You can tour on pretty much any bike if you use a trailer but there is a lot wrong on this bike for touring. A triple is very helpful. So is the ability to run a bit fatter tire and fenders. You are not going that fast touring and it is fatiguing to ride skinny tires all day long. Get something plushy. It won't slow you down but it will make the day in the saddle easier.

For a "light" touring bike, get a cross bike with eyelets (I have set up my soma double cross for touring with a triple crank) or a road bike that takes "standard" reach brakes and has eyelets like this soma smoothie es, https://www.somafab.com/archives/product/es

Road bikes with standard reach brakes and eyelets are harder to find than a cross bike but very few if any cross bikes come stock with a triple. People will argue all day on the merits of a compact crank and a triple but for a bike that you intend to take pretty much anywhere, there is a lot to be said for a triple.

Btw, I lived in Lafayette many moons ago. There is some fun riding there and great, great food.

Edit: I just realized that Soma is now selling complete bikes and not just frame sets. That is cool and no doubt will help them compete with Surly which has long sold complete bikes in addition to framesets. You can talk to your dealer about a price on a complete Smoothie ES: https://www.somafab.com/archives/prod...mplete-bicycle. This is a sweet bike.

sstorkel

I've never understood this line of thinking. I, personally, ride thousands of miles a year without fenders. If you frequently ride in the rain fenders are nice to have, but far from a requirement in my book...

The biggest problems the OP is likely to face with the Secteur are the geometry and the gearing. Before my first tour, I was considering adding a handlebar bag and a Carradice saddlebag so I could use my Cervelo RS for credit card touring. Once I mounted the bags and added supplies, I found out that the added weight made the bike's handling less than ideal. I ended up building a bike around Nashbar's aluminum touring frame and was very happy that I did!

The other problem, as 10 Wheels has pointed out, is the gearing. A compact crank and a road triple (52/39/30) have similar gearing and neither one works well for hauling heavy loads up large hills. With a light load, a relatively flat route, and decent conditioning the stock gearing could work but a bike with a triple crank gives you more options. My touring bike is equipped with a triple crank and I have three that I swap in and out as necessary: a standard road triple (30/39/52), a mountain bike trekking crank (26/38/48), and a standard mountain bike crank (22/32/44). The road triple works for around town commuting, the trekking crank handles most touring duty, and the MTB triple gets used when dealing with heavy loads or lots of climbing.

WestPablo

If you've ever been caught in the rain while cycling, you'd understand the absolute need for fenders!

bikemig 

No. 1. I've toured with and without fenders. I know both work but I prefer fenders as they help keep you dry which is a big deal on a tour when your access to dry clothes is limited. Better for the OP to get a bike with eyelets and then he (or she) can make up his/her mind as to whether to run fenders or not.

indyfabz

Sez who? I have never toured with fenders and probably never will. And it's not like I haven't ridden in some rather wet places, like the PNW in late May.

indyfabz

No I wouldn't. I rode the S. Skagit Highway in WA in a pouring rain--twice. Crossed the North Cascades Highway in rain which turned to snow. Going to the Sun in heavy, wind-swept rain. The Adirondaks in a good, all-day rain. Sx miles at the onset of Hurricane Floyd. Those are just a few examles. Fenders would not have made one bit of difference from a keeping me dry standpoint. I was getting wet from what was falling from the sky no matter what.

etw

You can check out

https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/campa...e-pack-n-pedal

Their new system can be mounted without any mounts. I have been told that it can even be used on a carbon bike.

Thule Pack 'n Pedal Tour Rack

fietsbob

More a Gran Tour styled race bike .. but if that is what you think is what you want to tour on,
and do mostly unladen organized century rides

Oregon Coast, People tour thru here on all sorts of bikes ... even those type..

BoB trailers make up for bikes that dont take panniers ..
all you need is change the QR skewer.


And mudguards for race-bikes
https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=4351

staehpj1

Fenders are an option, but not a necessity. I have ridden thousands of miles in the rain without them. I have ridden thousands of miles of muddy single track on my mountain bike without them. I have toured with and without them and have decided that I'd just as soon go without regardless of the locale or weather.

So, use them if you want and don't if you don't. They definitely are not a necessity.

Edit: Just to add... I am not one to take a day off if on tour when it rains. And I think anyone who has done much multi week or multi month touring has probably been rained on.

staehpj1

Regarding the suitability of the Secteur, unless you plan to use a trailer it will not be suitable for heavier loads IMO. How suitable it is depends to a large extent on how light you will pack. It is definitely possible to pack light enough for this bike to make sense without a trailer. Using a big saddle bag is one way, using bikepacking style rackless bags is another, and using a light rack supported by the skewers and the brake bolt is another. I'd skip panniers in any case with this bike.

I have found that a stuff sack on a minimal rear rack along with a bar roll or handlebar bag works well for me. I typically supplement that with a small backpack. Total gear weight being something like 15 pounds is what I have done recently, but figure I can go lighter if I want/need to. That allows for camping and cooking. I split the load more or less evenly between the three places.

There are lots of options for light loads and I personally would not choose this bike for touring with anything beyond a light load, but folks manage with a trailer and a heavier load.

MassiveD

As others have said it is perfect, since any bike can be used, except everything is wrong. A reasonable mind experiment is to look at a bike and ask yourself what you would change if you had an unlimited budget, or other facilities. Even when I look at an LHT, I can't think of anything I would keep. And a cross bike, you have to be kidding, unless you light touring looks like a cross race. At least with an LHT a lot of stuff is in the right category.

WestPablo

+1

Well then, that explains everything...

You don't mind having dirt and mud splashes going up and down your back!

Fenders aren't really made to keep you dry...

Their genuine purpose, is to keep most of the mud and road crap from cycling onto your person

staehpj1

FWIW, I would find the Secteur more suitable than an LHT or any other dedicated touring bike for my current style of packing and touring. I think if the OP is able to get by on less than 20 pounds of gear it would be a fine bike to tour on.

My guess is that it is unlikely that the OP will pack that light, but who knows? If he packs much heavier, while not my preference I know of quite a few people that happily tour with similar bikes with a lot of gear and a trailer.

indyfabz

Um..I travel with a tarp under my tent, both of which are on the rear rack. They are situated in line with the bike, not perpendicular to it. They block road spray and thus no dirt and mud splashes up and down my back. That explains it.

berner

I have a Secteur and like it just fine for light touring of 3 or 4 days. I have done short tours with camping gear and a total of 25 lbs. with food and water and including rack and panniers. Everything was carried on the rear rack with just a few sundry items in a handlebar bag. The bike is a triple with a 26T chainwheel and a 30T lowest cog in the back. This gearing works well with any hills in my area. Bike handling with this weight was fine and predictable. I actually think I could do much longer tours with little weight increase.

Chris Pringle

A friend here has that same exact bike -- a Specialized Secteur. I was quite skeptical last year when told me he was using it for a 3-day tour. So, he installed a rear rack and went on a 3-day credit card tour with another friend. They ate in restaurants, convenience stores and spent the nights in hotels, hence the idea of "credit card" touring. As far as main accessories, he installed a rear rack, one of those Topeak trunk bags and a Brooks saddle. His bike ended up looking like the one on the pic below. Upon his return, he said the bike performed well. As someone mentioned, you'll need to be watchful of the weight when packing.

If you're still in the market and foresee doing several tours (w/ heavier loads), I would suggest looking for a more suitable touring bike. But if your preference is for livelier rides most of the time and simply install a rack for one or two short light tours a year, I think that bike shouldn't disappoint. YMMV.

nun

Whether a particular bike will work for touring really depends on how and where it will be used. I would say the Secteur would be a fine touring bike for light loads on roads. The baggage style should be one that does not rely on racks; so handlebar bag and saddlebag or bikepacking bags. I would avoid a trailer because it just adds weight and bother.

Doug64

It isn't the rear wheel that concerns me the most.

On one tour part of our route took us over 400 miles of this type of road, and a lot of it was in the rain. I'll opt for the minimal weight penalty on my touring bikes. My road bikes are another story.


A lot of that mud is going to end up on the cranks, in the cable guides beneath the BB, and on the riders feet without fenders.
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The cranks, chain, and downtube are relatively clean for riding the better part of the day on wet, muddy roads. There was a lot of dust on the roads and the trucking company using the road was doing dust abatement by watering down the roads. I'm not sure which was worse, dust or mud

staehpj1

FWIW: I find that I carry exactly the same stuff on a multi month tour as I would on a 3 day tour. I really can't imagine the two involving a much different gear list or setup. At least that is my take on it. It may be different depending on your personal choices, but I really don't see any reason it needs to be.