Long Distance Touring Bike

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

worldtourjon

New Member
Afternoon all
I'm going to be doing a cycle trip across the US next year sometime and I'm going to have to buy my bike out there. I was just wondering if there are any bikes at the minute you'd recommend as being good for this purpose? Just want to look at the specs and stuff and geek up cos I don't really have any clue, last thing I want after 9 months travelling and saving money is to get ripped off

Cheers
 

vorsprung

Veteran
Location
Devon
Surly Long Haul Trucker?

It's US made. I don't have one myself but most reports are that it does what it says on the tin
 

Jugular

Well-Known Member
Location
Manchester
Surly Long Haul Trucker is definitely my first thought. The other options I'd think of (mainly becuase they're US made) would be Rivendell, Van Nicholas or Airnimal.
 

HelenD123

Guru
Location
York
Jugular said:
Surly Long Haul Trucker is definitely my first thought. The other options I'd think of (mainly becuase they're US made) would be Rivendell, Van Nicholas or Airnimal.

Airnmal aren't made in the US. They've made in Cambridge (UK).

The Surly Long Haul Trucker seems to be a great value bike and I assume pretty widely available.
 
OP
OP
W

worldtourjon

New Member
Cheers I'll look into it I'm not tech minded at all, so long as it goes I'll ride it but given the expense and I might get stranded in hills have eyes territory I thought it best to look into.

I contacted a guy from a San Francisco bike shop and he said he had some ideas. Any ideas on basics? now given the distance I'd think as lightweight as possible but then at the same time the guy mentioned a heavier resiliant frame. Is it just the matter that the more you spend you maintain the same resiliance but it just gets lighter?
 

Jugular

Well-Known Member
Location
Manchester
The key is knowing what terrain you'll be cycling on. Rough stuff requires a more resilient bike. For a given resilience more money usually decreases weight but not quite so for touring bikes. Resilience is the key and is tested way beyond most other bikes. Sometimes the heavy cheap stuff is more resilient and just as worthwhile. Lightness is not as important if you're lugging 40kilos of gear, food and water around with you anyway.
 
OP
OP
W

worldtourjon

New Member
Well cycling across the whole US I'm going to assume I'm going to get a wide variety of different roads and paths. I would love to have a slim light bike, but its a good point I'll probably be carrying a heavy weight anyway so a few extra kilios on the bike won't make too much difference. Obviously price is going to be an issue, but also reliability, is there anything I should be looking out for in terms of quality (names, brands, materials etc.) I wouldn't even know about what gears would be good for me etc. so any advice would be good.

Also I'm going to try and go as light weight as possible, however I am concerned about water so I was thinking about a camal bag...good idea?

Finally it was mentioned to me that using a trailer to carry everything might be a good idea. I'm not a fan of it but bearing in mind I'm going to be carrying a tent + food, water, other travelling gear etc. is this plausable. Like I say I'm going to try be as light weight as possible so I'm going to try work with panniers (but they are quite small to live out of for 3 months)
 

upsidedown

Waiting for the great leap forward
Location
The middle bit
vorsprung said:
Surly Long Haul Trucker?

It's US made. I don't have one myself but most reports are that it does what it says on the tin


I do and it does.
Tough as old boots, i've commuted daily on mine for two years, then toured on it fully loaded, got home and carried on commuting without even washing it.
Done 7000 miles on the original chain, cassette and rings.
Fit a good strong rack and it'll do you fine.
 

Jugular

Well-Known Member
Location
Manchester
I'd suggest getting a Surly Long Haul Trucker. It's strong, well built, a good price for the quality and built in the US. It ticks all your boxes well.

You could easily live out of panniers for 3 months if you're prepared to give up some comforts and pay for good quality lightweight gear. Do some research on these forums most of your questions have been answered a good 100 times otherwise look up some of the excellent websites handing out advice. Perhaps it's worth focussing on the US based ones as they will be more pertinent. There are many but I don't have the web addresses to hand. Someone will be along to help I'm sure.

A sfor a camelbak I would advise against carrying anything on your back. it will get sweaty and there is little advantage over a bottle attached to the bike. The LHT will probably come with a number of bottle racks, you may be able to attach additional ones. Further if you're worried about supply, you could buy some ortlieb water bags or get a water filter if you're worried about getting clean water (check some backpacking sites for more advise on that).
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
Another vote for Surly LHT. You could also consider the Kona Sutra, Salsa Fargo, Trek Portland, but the Surly is your best continent-crossing bike and good value too.
 
HelenD123 said:
Airnmal aren't made in the US. They've made in Cambridge (UK).

Similarly, Van Nicholas are Dutch (although the frames are made in China) and pre-built bikes are assembled in Holland.
 

T-D

New Member
Location
aberdeen
Just throwing it out there but all the bikes you have listed so far are pretty premium bikes - very nice but also sstand to loose a fair chunk if you sell at the end.

I cycled for 4 months round new zealand on a kona jake cx bike with a tubus stainless steel rack - 2 panniers and a bar bag camping along the way.

Jake was 500 quid in country and it got thrashed - even did 2 mtb races on it and got abused by the locals for it.

Very comfortable to ride also.

Didnt loose that much relitive to the wear i put on it . Only used a set of brake pads in about 5k on the road - required a new drive train and tires when i sold it but still got 150 pounds for it.
 

Tim Bennet.

Entirely Average Member
Location
S of Kendal
You need to refine exactly what you plan to do. There are a million ways 'to cycle across America' and depending on the route and time of year, they will be very different experiences. Also going as 'lightweight as possible' includes everything from carrying just a platinum Amex card in a pocket to using high end camp gear so you can be self sufficient, but still as lightweight, as possible.

So read as much as you can and ask on websites where there are loads of people who have done the same trip. Then when you have a workable plan that's right for you, choosing a bike will be easy. But until you know what the trip involves it's pointless suggesting a bike - it's just people naming American made bikes (or not).
 
OP
OP
W

worldtourjon

New Member
Well some further constructive and not constructive comments there. I appreciate the lack of specificity, however I am starting from square one I wouldn't even know a brand or type of bike to look into.

For the record I'm reaching US in May sometime and going to do San Francisco to Boston, hopefully in about 3 months maybe longer taking my time to enjoy everything when I'm there under no rush (visa dependent)

I don't want to be biking in the late autum/winter so I'm hoping to be east coast by october really.

Again for the record when searching for similar trips etc, everything gets a bit techy and I'm looking for just basic tit bits, which has been good so far so thanks
 
Top Bottom