How to buy a Touring bike

[vickster]

Bike (Titus Silk Road Ti) is on its way. Got the hydraulic brakes and the 1x gears I wanted but likely shouldn't have, plus a Ti frame.

It's a gravel set up with a rigid fork and lighter tyres but what I like about it, is I can change it over to a hardtail like this one.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWjcPVJN0EQ


More of an outfitting question now. Should I have it in bikepack mode (at additional cost) or get a pannier rack (steel on a Ti frame?). Bikepacking mode seems to be the usual choice.

I have silver Tortec ultralite racks on my two Ti bikes (assume they’re aluminium), you can get v spendy Ti racks though

 

[StuAff]

I have silver Tortec ultralite racks on my two Ti bikes (assume they’re aluminium), you can get v spendy Ti racks though

+. Got one of their Epic racks on the Tripster. Great bit of kit.

 

[Jameshow]

Congratulations on the new bike!

There's a reason I rarely contribute anything but the most general thoughts on these types of threads - that's not the type of bike I imagined based on what you were looking for at all. It just goes to show how malleable the terms "tourer" and "touring" are. Or maybe how little I know about bikes!
Just as a matter of interest, what's the wheelbase of that bike?


You should have it whatever way you want. Doesn't matter much what's usual if you don't enjoy it or prefer something else.

I think you'd struggle to carry 15kg in a bikepacking setup, though, so maybe time to refine the packing list. Never having done any bikepacking I imagine the constant precision packing and unpacking could be quite an adjustment for me after using panniers so long.

There are titanium racks available too. Probably cost more than my bike though .

Anyway, there's loads of time to have a think about it and figure out what works for you and bike.


In fairness, not necessarily. The OP has said previously they do B&B, not camping. Posters here like @chriswoody use a bikepacking setup and camp.

I believe there are now bikepacking panniers available.

A great advantage of panniers, especially rolltops like the ortliebs, is the ability to open up a pannier and throw a load of bread, buns, a bottle of vino and whatever else may be fancied for a picnic. I'm not so sure that a bikepacking setup would be as easy.
Another, in very hot parts of the world, is the ability to store a bottle of cold water for later in the day.

I was only giving my experience...

I always shop without a basket when touring otherwise I buy more than the panniers will hold.

And I usually get stuff way too early in the day so I'm carrying it for most of the day!!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I was only giving my experience...

And I mine,

I always shop without a basket when touring otherwise I buy more than the panniers will hold.

There's not many shops would appreciate me lugging around one of my smelly panniers on tour but it's common practice fo regular shopping.

And I usually get stuff way too early in the day so I'm carrying it for most of the day!!

That's the Touring Gods' way of telling us to find a nice place to stop, graze, chat to the locals, admire the view or read a book

 

[Emanresu]

In answer to my own question, how to buy a tourer, the answer would be "with difficulty".

The bike is for a specific purpose which is to complete London/Athens which I've been doing over last 4 years (take out Covid) in fortnightly trips. I started with a cheap Decathlon MTB which though clunky, was OK for the job as I had planned off-road routes. Have done beginning (London), middle (Rome) and end (Athens) but have a couple of sections in Italy and France to do.

2014 will be southern Italy with my roadie son so needed a lighter and more nimble bike for some off-road but mainly gravel/country roads. Finding one was difficult given that in the last 3 years my two local LBS have gone and Halfords is the nearest retailer. Trying slightly further out to the remaining independent LBS I've found that neither are interested in your business even though I was sorely tempted to get a Genesis Tour de Fer as it seems you have to buy what they have or buy online from the manufacture/assembler and take the risk.

So if your local LBS/retailer hasn't got what you want and you have to take a risk, then I've risked an Ebay purchase using my own judgement about the spec (1124 mm wheelbase to answer a question above)

Coming back to the fittings, I've opted for a Orteib rack to go with the panniers/trunkbag I already have. In future if I want to go bikepacking, I reckon I'd have to switch out the rigid front forks for suspension ones. Can't see doing bikepacking with no suspension.

The one thing I've committed to memory, apart from all the knowledge there is here, is to decide on your frame first as everything else hangs off that.

Off to plan a few routes and some pics of the journey so far.

 

[chriswoody]

In future if I want to go bikepacking, I reckon I'd have to switch out the rigid front forks for suspension ones. Can't see doing bikepacking with no suspension.

How come? I do appreciate a rigid bike off-road is never going to be super comfortable, but bikepacking won't generally make it worse. I've got a fully rigid, drop bar gravel bike that I've ridden well over a thousand kilometres on rough dirt tracks and all sorts, fully loaded up with soft bags. Here it is high in the Swiss Jura mountains, loaded up with full camping gear including tent sleeping bag etc..

I do run 47mm wide tires set up tubeless at about 30 PSI, which does increase the comfort, however, I've ridden it on some incredibly tough terrain with no problems. Having rigid forks gives you a few more options for mounting luggage, which a suspension fork doesn't have and I've had to re-think my whole packing approach with my Hardtail Mountain bike.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

In answer to my own question, how to buy a tourer, the answer would be "with difficulty".

Couldn't disagree more.

The bike is for a specific purpose which is to complete London/Athens which I've been doing over last 4 years (take out Covid) in fortnightly trips.

Can't help but think that this info would have served a better purpose in the first post.

In future if I want to go bikepacking, I reckon I'd have to switch out the rigid front forks for suspension ones. Can't see doing bikepacking with no suspension.

I'm with Chris on this.
I would have thought that the surfaces to be negotiated would have more influence than the types of bags I wanted to use?

I did look at changing my forks and it was not an easy thing to wrap my head around. Swapping rigid for suspension is even more head spinning. Chris' comment on suspension limiting packing options is bang on. Also consider the need for regular servicing of sus forks.

decide on your frame first as everything else hangs off that.

I'm not so sure on that but it's really a discussion for another day on another thread.

If I may......

...............so needed a lighter and more nimble bike for some off-road but mainly gravel/country roads.

I get a bit antsy when I read what people need to go on a bike adventure.

People have toured in wilder places than France & Italy and gone further on bikes that dealt with all kinds of conditions and surfaces far beyond their "normal use".

In terms of equipment, nobody needs anything other than a functioning bike to go off on a tour.

I add that here, not to be critical, but for anyone reading this thread now or in the future and thinking that a bit of a bike tour might be fun.

Bike touring doesn't have to be complicated.

I am so glad I was blissfully unaware of places like this when I headed off on my first adventures.

Off to plan a few routes and some pics of the journey so far.

Enjoy!
Hope the new bike brings you to wonderful places. And father son adventures are to be treasured.

And maybe consider a thread in the Travelogue section?

 

[chris667]

In terms of equipment, nobody needs anything other than a functioning bike to go off on a tour.

Exactly.

I look at threads like this and think there is a world of difference between someone who spends months or even years looking at bikes and someone like Heinz Stucke.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Exactly.

I look at threads like this and think there is a world of difference between someone who spends months or even years looking at bikes and someone like Heinz Stucke.

Some people like to set off on a whim, for others meticulous planning is all part of the fun. Some of us even leave out the cycling bit and just do the planning

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I look at threads like this and think there is a world of difference between someone who spends months or even years looking at bikes and someone like Heinz Stucke.

In all fairness, Heinz is way out on a limb for comparative purposes.

He also set off more than 50 years ago when the bike world was very, very different.

Also, pre internet. I very rarely Google a bike mentioned on a thread like this because if I do my browser will start throwing ads for similar at me. That kind of subtle influencing can be effective in changing our mindset over time. Satisfaction with what we have can become a want for something better and move on to a need for something better.

It's one thing to meet someone along the road with a great bike and discuss pros and cons. It's something altogether different to be slowly influenced over your morning coffee.
Call me a conspiracy theorist but nothing beats real world evaluation. We get that by doing.

(In the interests of transparency, when I decided that I wanted to get a bit more into touring it took less than 10 minutes to buy my bike, second hand. I had a checklist. Check, check, check. Done. A tent was carefully researched for months. And months. And I hated the damn thing. )

We're all different and that should be celebrated. At the moment, I'm reading Jenny Graham's book (First a coffee, then the world - great title!), a woman with a style about as opposite to mine as could be found. A great read! She's doing things (and distances) that I wouldn't even think about and have no intention of doing but there's pannier loads of inspiration in there. Ironic for a bikepacker.

Op is going to be completing (in a slightly roundabout way) a long distance route with his son. That's something to be celebrated. If you haven't seen the Heinz documentary on Netflix (?) I wonder if that's something that Heinz might miss. He didn't seem like the most content person in the world to me.

 

[Emanresu]

In terms of equipment, nobody needs anything other than a functioning bike to go off on a tour.

.... and can get to the end of the tour in one piece.

Call me a conspiracy theorist but nothing beats real world evaluation. We get that by doing.

I have worked in engineering for a company doing safety systems for aero engines. You can build functional parts that are 97% able to get there but what do you do about the 3%? Luckily we've never lost an engine yet but then it is over engineered. A bit like bike choices.

 

[chris667]

A bit like bike choices.

I think your analogy falls down somewhat in the field of bikes.

As a rule after a point, middle priced bike parts are far more durable than expensive ones.

Stucke's 3 speed hub was a Fitchel & Sachs, or maybe a Sturmey AW. Such hubs routinely manage 30,000 miles without servicing with owners who really aren't interested in them. You simply wouldn't get that from a modern drivetrain, they're designed by and for recreation.

 

[Jameshow]

.... and can get to the end of the tour in one piece.



I have worked in engineering for a company doing safety systems for aero engines. You can build functional parts that are 97% able to get there but what do you do about the 3%? Luckily we've never lost an engine yet but then it is over engineered. A bit like bike choices.

A tiagra / 105 + deore xt drivetrain is pretty robust ime.

I do hardly any maintenance apart from a spray of wd40 occasionally and they haven't missed a beat on my bikes. Ok down tube levers are obviously more reliably but who wants to lean down to change gear!🍿🍿🍿

 

[All uphill]

A tiagra / 105 + deore xt drivetrain is pretty robust ime.

I do hardly any maintenance apart from a spray of wd40 occasionally and they haven't missed a beat on my bikes. Ok down tube levers are obviously more reliably but who wants to lean down to change gear!🍿🍿🍿

Bar end shifters will be the next big thing. I'm having them on my next bike.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

and can get to the end of the tour in one piece.

There's no reason that a functioning bike wouldn't get to the end of a tour, especially if we are talking a fortnight.
Indeed, on a longer trip, it's less about the "bike" getting to the end and more about the availability of components along the way (and the skills or tools to fit them, if desired).

But in a way, that's the kernel of the thing, no? We face a constant drip of "what is the best?" and a need to have "the best", whatever that is.
There's nothing wrong with wanting the best but if a need for the best causes us to postpone (possibly for ever) a tour or limit one because we've spent the budget, then I think that it's not helpful.

On my adventures I've had to have the frame welded, dealt with a pringled wheel, a busted dynamo, and lord knows what else. Most of the "bad things" were actually quite fun or positive experiences - in the longer term. The biggest threat to the trip was a global pandemic. Ain't no planning for that!

An airplane engine suffering a failure of an essential part over the Atlantic is serious. A sheared off derailleur far less so. Of far more importance, in my book, is not to anticipate in advance every single thing that can go wrong but to develop the mentality and attitude to deal with the unexpected. (My sheared off derailleur gifted me a fiesta in a small town).

In the case of my tent (mentioned above) all the research I had done (free standing, very wind resistant, high level of waterproofness, inner & outer simultaneous erection, ability to erect inner only, green or grey, repairable) was undone in the first couple of weeks of real touring by a cat! I'd never thought to think of a cat climbing on my tent!

On a general discussion site I recently came across a discussion where someone asked if 3k was enough to "get started" in cycling. Some of the answers were horrifying. A reasonable response went along the lines of "second hand you could get started for 2k. I cycled to Spain on my first ever self supported tour on a very unsuitable bike (according to the experts) for that - and had change. The bike was free (a donation from a friend), my tent was a cheapy, 5kg Coleman tunnel and I had a set of new panniers. I could have bought my current bike and not broken that budget. Had I waited until I had the best the chances are I'd still be sitting in T-town lamenting the decline in CGOAB.

For inspiration for adventure and trusting in ourselves and our abilities, Thor Heyderdahl's account of his Kontiki voyage is the epitome of it. I read it during my aforementioned trip to Spain. One line telegrams of invitation were answered with even fewer words of acceptance. A never been done drift across the Pacific on a raft? Sign us up!

If we have to make a choice, spend the money on experiences, not things, is my strong opinion on the matter.