Touring on road bikes.
 

How many of you tour on straight up road bikes. those light fenderless fast things on wheels :D

I am thinking of popping on some P clamps and a rack to my new road bike build, something i can take off when in the city. lol no matter how many and what kind of bike i build i just have to make it touring friendly. I am sure many of you feel the same way.

P-clamping carbon frames and forks is a bad idea, IMO. You probably want setup the bike for bike-packing.

I am not sure it is what you want on your carbon racing bike, but you can bond racks to it, and nothing bad will happen.

Even for flat out speed, a racing bike is not the ticket for touring. They are designed for fairly specific handling needs in racing, and the gearing is wrong for anything you are going to add bags to. Any bike is good enough for some kind of touring, don't stay home, but racing bikes are still not where it would be at.

using an aluminum frame/carbon fork... if i decide to go ahead it would only be the rear rack.

I've done quite a bit of touring with my aluminum Cannondale road bike (crit frame). Just have to be a little careful with the pannier positioning so my heels don't hit them. I've also toured with others who used coated P-clips on their carbon road bikes and haven't seen any problems.

But for those who don't like P-clips there are other options. Both Old Man Mountain and Tubus make hardware for their racks that use the rear quick-release for the lower attachments and either the brake or a clamp on the seatpost for the top one(s).

http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/80...ng-set-up.html

I cycled all over NZ on this
700x23c tyres were fine
It had eyelets however (i mounted the tops of the racks to the seat post bolt and the front brake bolt)

nice bike :D i built an ultegra tourer on a vintage frame a while back.

I am still debating weather i should put a rack on my new build or just do my treks longboard style, with a backpack and a ukelele lol (long treks reference)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=380521

It all depends upon what you call, "touring", but IMHO, a bonafide touring bike should come with both rack and fender mounts.

I personally haven't, but if it handles fine with the rack/bags, why not? I probably wouldn't run 700x25s(what I run on my "fast" bike), but rather 700x28-32s, but you could really put on some mileage if that were your goal. I can maintain a better pace on my fast bike than my touring bike without bags, so it stands to reason you could with bags too.

I do quite a bit of SAG with my road bike. With crank 50-34 and 12-27 cog set, and 23c tyres. I enjoy riding fast with other roadies. I'm seriously thinking of getting either aBianchi Vigorelli or a Cinelli Zydeco for light touring.

While it's been done successfully, I have a couple of touring bikes for the heavy stuff and or bad roads use. I feel confident that either of my road bikes can handle ~25 lb. of baggage, perhaps more. As a scratch touring bike available at a moment's notice for an overnight tour without camping, a CC or supported tour my distance roadie (aluminum frame/carbon fork) will work just fine. While I can simply strap cargo to the aero bars, it isn't ideal. I thought about a large saddle bag, but at that point the touring bike makes more sense.

Brad

500 miles and many more

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...0502mitour.jpg

Touring on road bicycles ...

Rowan and I did a short tour of Vancouver Island in 2011 on our titanium HASA bicycles. We stayed in hotels and at friends and relatives so we didn't have to carry much.

Photos here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka...7627943421118/


https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6214/...aa7426d6_z.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7218/...97e1c85c_z.jpg

I have and found it very suitable for the style of touring I did with it. I have a touring bike that sits mostly unused these days. Since I started packing very light I actually much prefer a road bike. For me I think the point where it started making sense was when I got below 20 pounds base gear weight. It is pretty easy to get to under 20 pounds and still be equipped for camping and cooking. For someone who is willing to go pretty minimal 10 pounds or less is possible.

I do prefer lower gearing than road bikes typically come with though.

Be careful with clamping anything to a CF frame. There are other options though. Racks that are attached at the skewer on the bottom and brake bolt on the top are one way to go.

Personally I don't see the fancy and expensive rack-less bikepacking bags as necessary. I think their advantages are often overstated. They are not always lighter than stuff sacks and a rack and are generally pretty expensive.

If you will be carrying a lot of gear (much over 30 pounds or so) you might consider a trailer.

nice scenery

Out here where Hundreds of Bikes ride the Pacific Coast, on tour, every summer .. a road bike, with a BoB Trailer in tow, is a common choice .

BOB Yak Bike Cargo Trailer | Bike Trailer


with the Extra Wheel .. another option , there the 3rd trailer wheel is just like the front on the bike so same tube and tire spare will work for all 3

they let you mount a Pannier pair on it, well behind the short, road bike chainstays that often interfere with a rack & panniers, on the bike itself.

Extrawheel Voyager Bike Trailer | Bike Trailer



either the only thing you change on the bike is the rear QR skewer.

Many times-- from a Peugeot PX10 , a true competition bike, to contemporary road bikes.

Circa 2004
You just have to pack a little lighter, about 20 lbs including camping gear, on the bikes. However, I did replace the 23 mm tires with 25 mm tires
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...37fea81124.jpg

.
The panniers are custom made, with a large amount of taper on the forward side for heel clearance; it is a curse to know how to sew.

Here is my 2 week touring rig. about 1,000 miles.
Sleeping bag, a piece of plastic, sandals and a spare sew-up tire with a bungee cord behind the seat. Large handlebar bag. Small backpack and cable lock over the shoulder.
I think I had a patch kit, spoke wrench, chain breaker and a brake tool. Not shown, Detto Pietro leather shoes with TA cleats. I lubed the chain with the small amount of leftover motor in cans I got out of the trash at gas stations. 1974.

Most of the newer Tubus racks (anything with "Evo" in the name) are not compatible with the Tubus quick release adapter. The only Tubus rack I am aware of that still does work with the QR adapter is the Cosmo.

My first tour, in the mid 80s, was on a high end department store bike that was a bit of a frankenbike.

I suspect it was made in Canadian Peugeot factory. The frame had the proper mounts for a rear rack but not the fork. But the wheels were Wolber Super Champion, 27 x 1 inch, brakes were centrepull, quickly upgraded to Koolstops.

So I bought a large handlebar bag, rear rack, big rear panniers and that was it.

I did flat out on the second day after bunny hopping railroad tracks after a long downhill. (yes my fault)

Next day, I found steel belted Michelin tires in the right size and never had an issue after that.

I'm too old to tour without a triple or compact double now, but back then I was fit enough, and I went light - light 2 person tent, light sleeping bag, couple changes of clothes, small camera.

I recently completed a 2500 mile tour on my carbon fiber Jamis Endura Sport. I had an amazing time. The rear rack mounts came with the bike, and I got my gear weight down to less than 20 pounds. I found that with a lighter bike and less gear, I had more energy to ride during the day and I was way less tired at night. I had to make some gearing modifications to help me up the hills, and a bit wider tires than the bike came with, but other than that, she was pretty much ready to go.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=380750