thinking of touring

[palinurus]

Agreed about the issue of camping. You can get away with minimal kit for a hotel/B&B tour. Two panniers is ample in a summer climate

Or a large saddlebag.

 

[palinurus]

Touring can be done on all sorts of bikes. If you have a specific idea of what kind of touring you want to do it's best to choose a bike to suit, but I tend to choose a tour to suit whichever bike I happen to have available at the time. I only go once a year at most so my bikes are generally bought for other uses.
I've done a short off-road hostel tour on a cross bike with a backpack. I've done camping with racks and panniers on an old steel MTB. I've done a B&B based tour with a lightly laden fixed gear bike.

And so on...

 

[Debade]

Started touring (USA) in 1993 with a road bike, handlebar bag and a credit card. One extra set of cloths and some repair stuff. These were one week 800k tours either self supported or in a group. Most were self supported. After learning it was something I wanted to do, I purchased the Trek 520 touring bike and associated racks and bags for camping.
It looks like you got some great advice on the forum. I strongly endorse Crazyguy as we post our trips there and learn from other people. I do not remember seeing WarmShowers which you may want to join in order to find places to stay and to host other cyclists. We have been members for years and have great experiences while hosting and being hosted. https://www.warmshowers.org/

 

[mikeruss]

Wow thanks for all the advice. I am thinking of road touring medium rides at first. I have a caravan tourer I would use as base and even better if I can get the wife involved. I have looked at the Edinburgh revolution country traveller.

 

[mcshroom]

Carnt beat butterfly bars for distance touring, dont cost alot, great for stoping sore wrists.

The problem I had when I tried butterfly bars was that the brake levers weren't in the place I would have liked them, they were a bit wide, and that they seemed to flex a bit when climbing hills. I found drop bars far more comfortable for long days in the saddle so have gone that way.

I know others who really like them though so as always YMMV.

 

[tournut]

The problem I had when I tried butterfly bars was that the brake levers weren't in the place I would have liked them, they were a bit wide, and that they seemed to flex a bit when climbing hills. I found drop bars far more comfortable for long days in the saddle so have gone that way.

I know others who really like them though so as always YMMV.

As iv allways said each to there own, which ever is better for the rider.

 

[mikeruss]

Btw the caravan tourer isn't a bike

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

We did my first tour on the only bikes we had that the time, our mountain bikes. It was a good way of working out what worked and what didn't and what we wanted and I wouldn't personally tour on either butterfly bars or drop bars. But it is each to their own and each person has a different style and a different requirement for touring and each individual needs to work out what they want.

Use what you have now and learn from that!

 

[Amanda P]

These guys have a website with loads of information and advice. (They'd quite like you to buy their book too, but you can learn a lot - and get a lot of inspiration - without doing that).

They also do a really excellent e-magazine from time to time, also highly inspiring, particularly the photography. Get it here.

(I have no connection with Andrew and Friedel other than as a satisfied reader of their stuff. Honest).

 

[Monsieur]

Dawes karakum. And it will last. Not build for speed but to tour with gear. And you get change out of grand to bye the gear to go with it. Good luck.

2nd hand Karakum - excellent bike for an excellent price

 

[MichaelW2]

A caravan-based tour is really a series of day-rides, for which a road bike is ideal.
You can easily carry a hostelling load on a roadbike using carradice saddlebag or a clamp-on rack, or an improvised roll/stuffsac/drybag. If your road-bike has rack eyelets, then use them. Bar bags are an additional way, esp good for all your valuables and a map.
Skillfull riders can tackle a surprising amount of off-road using 25mm tyres.

Use the bike you have. Try a weekend tour.

 

[andym]

Use the bike you have. Try a weekend tour.

I must admit I did wonder whether this was a 'help-me-justify-buying-a-new-bike' thread.

 

[StuartG]

You really have to decide what sort of touring you are going to do. I am a credit card tourer staying in cheap motels. I'm not strong so I keep everything very, very minimal. I don't do off road so my audax style bike is perfect with 23mm tyres. Obviously if you are camping you are going to have to get a proper tourer. Tourerz Meanz Dawz.

If not you can really do it on anything. I road to the Med on a Brompton M3L and a T-Bag carefully avoiding anything that looked like a contour line. I've seen a collection of gas pipes make John O'Groats ... its the will, not the bike that counts.

 

[mikeruss]

I am looking for advice on what looks like a great way to ride not justify me buying a new bike. I am interested in touring as a whole from the rides to the camping or hostel etc and obviously a bike. I fully intended to use my present bike to go on trips to see if I like the touring. Hope that's ok andym

 

[DanZac]

I did 3000 miles on my Roux Etape last year with no complaints what so ever. Not the lightest tourer out there, but does that matter when you've got a load of gear with you anyway and your not racing your touring. Well within your price range and had some good write ups in the press. I've never seen another one on the road mind so i may be wrong!
http://road.cc/content/review/82472-roux-etape-250-2013