Touring on a road bike!?

[Groovemachine86]

Hi all.

I've got a trek 1.2 which Ive equipped for touring, but I'm a bit concerned before I head for Europe about how much weight and general crap the road wheels can take. Only carrying around 15kg of gear but it is a road bike.
Any help from y'all is much appreciated!

James

 

[Paulus]

It should be fine. I would take the wheels to a bike shop and have them trued and the spokes tensioned though, just as a bit of insurance.

 

[DrQian]

Sorry for being so dim, but what does truing a wheel do? And why is it good to do before touring?

 

[FootSore]

Truing - Making the wheel straight so it doesn't wobble when spun round and also so it is a complete perfect circle.

The bike wheel is pre-stressed. The tight spokes hold everything in place. The striaghter and more perfect it is the stronger it is. So if there is a slight buckle in the wheel it is easier to get a bigger buckle in it.

If you imagine releasing all the spokes then the wheel would obviously fall apart. It is not a major job and should be around £10/wheel max. A loose spoke is just more likely to result in a failed wheel. 1/4 turn with a spoke key can improve it a lot.

By loading the bike up with equipment you are placing more stress on the wheel due to greater weight. Ensuring the wheel is as strong as it can be is just 'good practice'.

Similar 'good practice' could be applied to replacing the brake pads if worn and replacing the brake cables if they are a few seasons old. The extra load may just be too much for them to take. A few pounds spent now on maintenance could save a long push and/or crashed bike. Even if a snapped brake cable doesn't casue harm I prefer to change them in the comfort of my garage rather than at the side of the road, in the dark, when its raining and I'm late.

Couple of good videos on YouTube if you search wheel truing.

FootSore

 

[jimboalee]

No problems.

I'm sure there are riders 15kg heavier than you who ride those bikes.

Distribute the load evenly. Most on the rear but some on the front, either in front panniers or a handlebar bag.

You don't want the front wheel lifting when your heaving up the steep climbs.

 

[jimboalee]

Come to think about it, if a bike salesman was to tell me the bike I intended to buy couldn't do 200km per day for two weeks, I'd throw it back at him.

That includes the one at ASDA.

 

[GrahamG]

I'm with Jimbo - 15kg shouldn't pose too much of a problem but getting a local bike shop to look over the wheels (making sure spokes are evenly and well tensioned for strength) is worth the £10 or so they'll probably charge for it.

 

[FootSore]

James doesn't say it is a new bike so who knows what condition it is in and how it has been maintained.

My bike handles my 105kg weight OK. However if I was going to take it on holiday I would still check it over first. I've got an MTB with a child seat and trailer so can tow three kids and carry panniers. However I would check the brakes if I was going to enter a race with it.

I would say that it's not the overall weight but the increase in weight. The wheels may handle the current weight even though they are badly tensioned. The extra weight may tip them over the edge.

I don't know the French for excuse me have you got a spoke spanner.

Walking 20 miles to the nearest town may not be that much fun especially if it is Sunday and the bike shop doesn't open until Tuesday (my local one doesn't).

Sensible precautions that's all. He may want to up tyre size as well for a comfier ride.

 

[andym]

I don't know the French for excuse me have you got a spoke spanner.

Since you ask:

S'il vous plaît - est-ce qu'on a une clé à rayons?

(At least if Sheldon Brown is right).

In my experience bike shops in France are shut on Sundays and Mondays - look for a branch of Inter-Sport or Decathlon.

 

[PpPete]

Since you ask:

S'il vous plaît - est-ce qu'on a une clé à rayons?

(At least if Sheldon Brown is right).

In my experience bike shops in France are shut on Sundays and Mondays - look for a branch of Inter-Sport or Decathlon.

Grammar was never his forte.... surely that should be un clé ?

 

[John Ponting]

une clé for a key
un clé for an article

but what do I know - I learned my schoolboy French back in the (very) early '60s.