Touring bike gears

[PpPete]

With a light road bike, I would prefer a two wheeled trailer as they do not impose as much stress on the frame as a one wheeler.
Willem

Not sure if you are right about that. Surely a one wheel trailer would "follow" much more naturally ?
I've no personal experience, but met a German guy touring with a single wheel trailer, behind a full CF road bike. He said handling was WAY better than with panniers.

But 100% agree about using your MM experience & kit to minimise the weight.

 

[willem]

One wheelers follow better, but two wheelers keep themselves upright so there is no or much less torsion on the frame. So I think one wheelers like the BOB are better for hardtail mtb use, but two wheelers like the Radical Cyclone (I have an earlier version) are better for tandems and light road frames.
But ultimately, I think you don't need either: go ultralight with a large saddle bag or two front panniers on a light rear rack like the Tubus Fly. These trailers weigh at least some 6 kg, EMPTY, and they cost as much as a decent second hand proper touring bike.
Willem

 

[steve52]

i tried the trailer, and found 1. it interfeared with the rear derailer. 2. became unstable above 20/25 mph and down big hils at 3o plus it was a real night mare, lessons learnd and i love my full panierset

 

[Batmancaver]

Sorry for the delay in replying but been away for a few days.

Right the setup on my Milano is currently a 39/52 pair of chainrings and a 9 spd 12-23 cassette.
The BCD is 135mm and the crank length is 170mm.

Currently I cope fine with that gearing and regularly cycle 16 miles to and from work both ways of which involve a climb up a steep hill. However, I tend not to be carrying anything bigger than a Camelback Mule style pack. I'm currently still recuperating from a broken ankle and heel in March 2009 but I still managed to cycle from home to Chester and most of the way back recently, although I think that part of the reason for not making it all the way back was the four hours spent in Telfords in Chester. They sell great real ale for those who don't know it!!

I have already gone with the two wheeled trailer option. Mainly because I picked up a Carry Freedom Y-frame trailer for £100 on Fleabay. I used to have a Spokey Joe trailer for the kids when they where younger and I had no trouble with that following me. The only mishap I had with it was going on an off road route and I went round a bermed corner too fast ... that woke the boys up when they found themselves on their sides!

So ... what do you think I should alter?
Money is not a huge issue as long as it doesn't cost a fortune in replacements. My current shifters Campagnola Veloce' will work on a triple chainring so they don't need replacing anyway. The current driveset is getting worn out though and is in need of replacement and this seems a good opportunity to change for some better touring gears for the hills.

Cheers for the advise so far.
Karl

 

[b1bass]

My 2 cents worth- I've done some touring on a Ridgeback Velocity which is inexpensive and relatively basic (6061 aluminium). Wasn't so sure the frame would take all the weight of panniers so I got a trailer (extrawheel with 2x60 litre waterproof bags), I've used it two years running on long journeys and had no issues with the frame (or anything else). The Bob Yak seems to be the benchmark but I don't thing the price is justified and the trailer is a bit weighty- I highly recommend the extrawheel if a trailer is what you need but there is a trade off with control at speed and throwing the bike left to right when pedalling. I found myself adjusting my cycling style to accommodate the trailer, more sitting and slower down hills, but on the plus- I brought an airbed and the kitchen sink.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

I am planning a long distance bike ride for 2011 to raise money for a local wildlife charity and need some simple advice on my road bike.

[quotename='Batmancaver' timestamp='1290548447' post='1479341']
Right the setup on my Milano is currently a 39/52 pair of chainrings and a 9spd 12-23 cassette.
The BCD is 135mm and the crank length is 170mm.

So ... what do you think I should alter?

Money is not a huge issue as long as it doesn't cost a fortune in replacements. My current shifters Campagnola Veloce' will work on a triple chainring so they don't need replacing anyway. The current driveset is getting worn out though and is in need of replacement and this seems a good opportunity to change for some better touring gears for the hills.

[/quote]


IMHO, a "simple" advice or solution does not exist for your albeit reasonable request.

The challenge, as Frank mentioned earlier, is that you have Campag equipment. Campag makes super road equipment but they don't really cater for "mountain" requirements like Shimano does. Afaik the smallest Campag chainset inner ring is 30T, but the largest Campag rear sprocket is only 28T or 29T - all the low gearing suggestions in this thread earlier have smaller chain ring and larger cassette sprocket, and therefore are quite a bit lower than what Campag original equipment can give you.

Adding to that, mixing and matching components from different marques needs planning and care (for indexing to work shifter's cable pull, mech movement and sprocket pitch have to be self consistent, and cassette spline is rear wheel specific). The alternative is to replace the whole groupset and the rear wheel, but that will cost not much less than your bike when new.

To identify possibilities and mix and match options, I think answers are needed for the following questions:
1) How many speeds is your cassette? Presumably it is Campag?
2) Does your front shifter have microshifting (or is it primarily indexed with just a couple trim positions), and can the right shifter have multiple upshifts as well as downshifts in one sweep?
3) What are the model names (and if known year) of your front and rear mechs?
4) What is the model name (and if known year) of your chainset?
5) What is your downtube diameter?

Of course, at the end of the day the technical challenge also depends on how low you want your lowest gear to be. I suspect options will cost over £250 just on parts - I don’t know what qualifies as “a fortune in replacements” to you.

If any mod is reading it this thread should probably be moved to Knowhow.

 

[billflat12]

Trailers !! I have seen the fun some people have at them motorcycle barriers on cycle paths , better off with panniers , Looking outside the box there is a simple solution , When i had this with a 130bcd 39/52 shimano dura ace setup, I just bought a 2010 Ridgeback Velocity from my LBS ( very near the telford in chester ), it was half the cost of the conversion, + it handled fine with 4 panniers, camping gear etc. cranks are 48,38,28 + with an 8 speed mega range cassette it climbed like a mountain goat when loaded , only gripe was a cheap an nasty adjustable stem making it dangerous because it flexed so much , having another bike is the real bonus though , providing you have the storage of course.

 

[andym]

Karl

A triple chainset is one obvious possibility.

People can and do combine Campagnolo shifters with Shimano rear derailleurs - although you may need (IIRC- I may have got this wrong) a jtek shiftmate. This would allow you to fit a rear cassette with a bigger spread of gears - if you were prepared to change to a shimano compatible rear hub.

billflat - but yu could change the whole transmission for less than the cost of a new bike. Yeah it's a simple solution alright but...

 

[billflat12]

Just to clarify the economics an benefits of my earlier post.

Consider as it is just for occasional tours, basic all round hybrids may be heavier but make robust tourers, + basic components are more readily available should things go wrong, after all its not a race .
My earlier point was why downgrade a lightweight road bike to lug a heavy trailer if a basic inexpensive hybrid does the job better ?
Don,t know the costs involved with campy but changing my ok full dura-ace sti double setup for a new full dura-ace triple setup would defiantly be an expensive mistake.

These are current chain reaction prices.
Triple shift 300
Triple Chainset 330
Longer cage r/derail 90
Deore XT. MTB cassette 53
116 link Dura-Ace/XTR chain 22

£800 !! There,s the cost of a nice bike in here !! I won,t discuss on this forum what i paid for my ridgeback velocity. But as hybrids fall within a very competitive market area there are many similar spec. & very capable hybrids available for less.

The 13.5kg Dawes discovery 201 EQ ( comes complete with rack and mudguards ) £199 !!

http://www.bikes2udi....com/B2735.html

One thing i would stress," don't fall into the trap of a B.S.O." check the out likes of the above in your L.B.S etc.

 

[willem]

Now that you have chosen the trailer route your climbing weight is rather higher, so getting lower gears has become more difficult. As others have said, Campi does not make things easier.
Specialites TA do a triplerizer extra chainring that will turn a double into a triple. This chainring becomes the middle ring, and you will also need an inner one, plus an outer one if it is worn. You will need a longer bottom bracket, and of course this will not work with outboard bearing cranksets.
Willem

 

[Batmancaver]

Thanks for all the replies.

I never expected a 'simple' answer, that was a bit of a facetious comment on my behalf.

Well, I went out with the trailer the other day once the snow had melted and with a bit of weight on it for stability. It handled really well and followed the bike great. I only went along the prom and had no problem towing it back up the hill to home, but it's not a big hill.
What I think I will do is see how I get on with my training and see if I manage without any alterations to my bike as I do like it's set up for the general rides I do.
I don't see the point in splashing out on a new bike, no matter at what cost it is as I don't as yet do a huge amount of touring. If we start doing more, once my lads are older, then I will look into a tourer bike, until then I can wait.
Once it's nearer the time for my tour then I will go to my LBS and replace my drivetrain or look into some sort of alteration.

I'll let you know how I get along.

Cheers

Karl

P.S. What on earth is a B.S.O.?

 

[billflat12]

Bicycle Shaped Object , (poor quality) Things are rarely straightforward , depending on the milege comfort may play a big part too.

 

[Batmancaver]

Well after a very busy year I got very little touring done.
However, what I did decide was that there was no way that my Milano would suffice as a trailer towing tourer so I started keeping an eye out for a replacement.

The other month I eventually located one. Some guy was selling a 2010/2011 model tourer on Ebay, the pics showed it to be in great condition but unfortunately he said collection only and he lived in Norwich!!

Well not to be put out I contacted him to ask whether he would consider selling it if I arranged for a courier to collect and he would have to parcel the bike up. He agreed so I went to pay his Buy it now price of £550 which I thought was a fair price. Unfortunately somebody had placed a starting bid and the BIN offer was removed. Again not to be put off I decided to do my usual and to wait for the final seconds of the auction. That way I could see what others thought it was worth and if needs be I could put my offer in. Well with 15 seconds to go I bid £550.50 and managed to get the bike for £460. Arranging the courier only cost me £25 so boy was I happy.

So what did I get?
A very nice Ridgeback Voyage.
Here's the girl all loaded up and ready for a test ride.

More about that in another post soon, but she looks great, she fits me/I fit her great and she handles the miles wonderfully. I can see more tours being organised for next year and I'm already itching to load her up and cycle off already.