The ultimate touring bike?

[Pale Rider]

This Tout Terrain Silk Road must be close to the ultimate in flat bar tourers.

Clever features include a custom rack for Ortlieb panniers, a steering lock to prevent the loaded bike flopping over on the stand, and dropouts which include the dynamo connection.

USB charging with a back up battery in the head tube should keep your gadgets fired up, and the reviewer reckons it has the stiffest wheels available, and a super stiff frame for carrying heavy loads.

What he doesn't say is the weight, which I reckon must be a lot even for a steel tourer.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImzNi8vzMJE

 

[Cycleops]

Seems a bit OTT even for a tourer but something like this appeals to money no object customer who wants the ultimate. Of course weight is going to suffer with these specs but pales into insignificance when fully loaded.

 

[MichaelW2]

Seems like the kind of spec that German global tourists demand. Not sure about the bars, I would want alt hand positions so maybe add clipons.
The talk about wheel size and tyre availability is worth noting:
Manufacturers are phasing out premium tyre support for 26" and increasing it for 27.5.
I'm not sure if the 27.5 fashion has reached small town bikeshops in less well developed places. You could almost always bank on something in 26" MTB. In my experience (from year or 2 ago) , decent commuter tyres in 27.5 are not available in normal bike shops, they are special order or mail order items.

 

[Pale Rider]

Seems like the kind of spec that German global tourists demand. Not sure about the bars, I would want alt hand positions so maybe add clipons.
The talk about wheel size and tyre availability is worth noting:
Manufacturers are phasing out premium tyre support for 26" and increasing it for 27.5.
I'm not sure if the 27.5 fashion has reached small town bikeshops in less well developed places. You could almost always bank on something in 26" MTB. In my experience (from year or 2 ago) , decent commuter tyres in 27.5 are not available in normal bike shops, they are special order or mail order items.

Not the best bike for getting fixed in the back of beyond.

Wheel failure would be a big nuisance because you have Herr Rohloff in the back and Herr Son up front.

I suppose for true off grid touring you would spec derailer gears.

Wheel size might not be a worry because if you had 650b you could fit a 26" wheel front or back.

A mate of mine does this in the winter because his studded tyres are 26".

No problems, although the lower bottom bracket means a pedal strike on corners is more likely.

 

[MichaelW2]

Would an emergency 26" wheel on 8 spd hub fit onto and work with a higher end high cog count touring bike? You would need v brake fittings in addition to disk mounts.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

AS much as anything, lovely as it is, riding a tour on something of that value would focus the mind in unwanted directions, constantly worrying about the bike & its security. 1990s MTB conversion FTW

 

[Oldhippy]

As above, beautiful thing but I'd be terrified of leaving it anywhere.

 

[Blue Hills]

Well it's very nice and impressive that they have gone to so much trouble.
But very unnecessary I think.
And I don't think integrating stuff is necessarily a good idea - that battery in the frame for instance - very small (yes I know it's only intended to be a buffer) and will probably be tricky/expensive to replace.
Those supposedly magical world-beating wheels - they are just wheels built using Andra rims - available to anyone.
Or you can use Sputniks.
The front wheel lock looks handy but there are pretty simple ways of achieving the same thing.
Belt drive? - one chap from here had to abandon/interrupt a world journey because of issues with one of those I think.
Hardly a problem to get a new 8 or 9 speed chain if you need one.
The rack built into the frame is a nice idea (Tout have been doing that for years) but the rack/fitting "dedicated" to ortliebs is pretty bonkers. Ortliebs are very adjustable and once set up for a bike you are not going to be tinkering with them mid-trip.

As for being tough/go anywhere, I think the best way of achieving that is by using a decent frame (needn't be expensive) with bits that are easy to replace if the worst should happen.
Yes and I too would be worried about it being knicked - and if you left any bags on it, even for a short nip into somewhere, the impressiveness of the package might encourage folk to think valuable stuff lurked in your bags. As in "what sort of person rides a bike like that"

So, basically, no.

Will be sticking to my tourer built from a bike that cost me £30 - it has Tubus racks, ortlieb panniers, Sputnik built wheels.
Pretty relaxed about leaving that anywhere.
Or if feeling posher, the Hewitt.
Anyone else, I'd advise checking out Spa.
You don't need to pay much over £1,000 for a top-class tourer, £2,000 tops, even now with companies continuously testing how much they can persuade folk to pay for a bike.

 

[Mike Ayling]

Ok, a lot of bike for 4,400 Euros
A Thorn Nomad possibly in the GBP 2,500 to 3,000 range.
I have two Thorn Rohloff bikes, aTouring Tandem and a Mercury, both with Rohloff and I will never have a derailleur bike again.
There have been relatively few instances of Rohloff hubs failing on tour and in all reported instances Rohloff came to the party very quickly with a repair or replacement hub. I have not read an account of Rohloff failure for quite a few years now.
I am not a fan of the drive belts and still believe in chains.
For that price you will be getting hand built wheels which are ulikely to fail.
You can tour on anything but if you can afford it get a great bike, there was someone asking for suggestions to spend 6,000 quid on a road bike recently!

Mike

 

[Vantage]

I think my view on what is lovely or beautiful may differ to some. That thing is fugly as a muppitfluffer.
I'm with @Blue Hills on this, too many 'niche' parts on there. A reliable tourer is one built with commonly available parts in case of breakages/failures.

 

[matticus]

I'm with @Blue Hills on this, too many 'niche' parts on there. A reliable tourer is one built with commonly available parts in case of breakages/failures.

Reliable parts aren't always the commonly available ones - there can be compromises. (e.g. in France there are more places to get a French car fixed than a Malaysian one; draw your own conclusions ... ;-) )

 

[Vantage]

Ah but I didn't say reliable parts. I said reliable tourer
A snapped chain is much easier to fix/replace than a snapped belt.
Roholf hubs as reliable as they are aren't all that common or easy to fix whereas your average everyday bike is equipped with freehub, cassette and dérailleurs. Available everywhere.

 

[matticus]

Yes yes, I know what you said :P

But would you REALLY want (e.g.) a 10kg hub that breaks every 100 miles, just because you know the next village can fix it (unless it's a weekend)?

 

[matticus]

Ah but I didn't say reliable parts. I said reliable tourer
A snapped chain is much easier to fix/replace than a snapped belt.

If you were snapping chains every 10 miles (maybe because you'd bought a duff batch, whatever), YOU might call that a reliable tourer; I know _I_ wouldn't!

 

[Vantage]

A 10kg hub that breaks every 100 miles and a chain that snaps every 10 miles?
What the hell are you riding?