A picture of my Trek 520 touring bike.
Click to enlarge.
As you've seen in the last few pages there are numerous types of bicycles that have been used for successful touring.
This page will discuss each of the types of bikes typically used for touring and then the pages that follow will consist of actual case studies of different people's bikes. Each of the bikes have successful tours behind them.
For the purposes of discussion I intend to focus on some of the common bicycle types that are used for fully loaded/self-contained bicycle touring. I have decided to focus on this type of touring because I believe that the requirements are more strict for this group then for the other types of touring especially when you consider the carrying capacity requirements needed by this group.
Upright/Diamond frame bicycles
A picture of my Trek 520 touring bike.
Click to enlarge.
Upright or diamond frame bicycles are the traditional type of bike that most people instantly think of when they hear the word bicycle. Examples of this type of bicycle include light weight racing bikes, mountain bikes and general purpose commuting bikes.
Many successful tours have been completed by these kind of bikes. When considering an upright bicycle for touring you usually want to consider the following in addition to the info contained on the common considerations page.:
The next few sections will discuss each of these areas.
Long chainstays
The chainstays are the two pieces of tubing that run from the seat post to the rear axle of the bike. The term long chainstays is used to describe having more space between the seat tube and the chainstays.
This is important for bikes that are going to use a rear rack and saddlebags (also called panniers). Longer chainstays allow you to have more room between the back of your foot when it's on the pedal and the front of your rear saddlebag. Few things are more irritating then striking the saddlebag with your foot each time the pedals turn! Overtime you would also wear a hole into the saddlebag.
There are workarounds to some degree. You can try to mount the saddlebags further back on the rack. Some racks even come with longer mounting hardware to make this easy to do. The downside is that the more weight you have behind the rear axel the more it affects bicycle handling especially climbing steep hills.
People with smaller feet apparently have less problems with this. (grin)
Handlebars
Having a variety of hand positions is one very important consideration to make when trying to select your handlebars. After a period of time your hands can become restless, numb or even painful unless you have different places to put them.
It's not just about having a different position but also about being able to change the angles of your hands as they approach the handlebars. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a problem that may affect cyclists. It is thought that hand position on the bike plays a large role in this.
Another thing to think about is your ability to see the world. You are on a bicycle tour after all and possibly you are hoping to see more then just the pavement in front of your face. One way to do this is to have your handlebars mounted higher up. A common guideline seems to be to aim for having the handlebars at the very least, level with the seat.
I would be neglectful if I didn't mention the issue of aerodynamics. At some point you will experience a day with strong winds. In what seems to be an application of Murphy's law your route takes you right into the wind!
In this situation it's nice to have a set of handlebars that allows you to get down lower from time to time. While you might not want to stay down low the entire time it's still nice to know that you have an option!
Many people use drop bars on their touring bikes for all the reasons I've mentioned above.
Common choices
When considering an upright or diamond frame bicycle common choices seem to include converting a mountain bike or purchasing a touring bike.
Touring bikes
Touring bicycles can be purchased new or used. Some bicycles that often receive mention are the following:
This list is by no means complete. As time passes I will continue to update the list with links to other bicycles that should be considered. If you know another bike that you feel should be in the list please place a message on the Mailing List or drop me a message.
Mountain bikes
Hoogie's converted Mountain bike.
Click to enlarge.
In the past ten years mountain bikes have been the best selling type of bicycle in North America. Despite the fact that only a very low percentage of these bikes are actually used offroad it's the perceived features of these bikes that made them such good sellers.
When sitting on the bike you have a more upright position so you can have a much better view of the road. The wider tires cushion against road shock and the frame is perceived as being much more capable of withstanding abuse.
WIth all these features it's not surprising that people have considered using a mountain bike to tour.
Surprisingly the easiest bikes to convert for fully loaded touring seem to be the ones that were popular from about 1990 to 1995. These bikes had the upright position, the sturdy frame and the wide tires but few came with front suspension shocks. The problem with front suspension shocks is that you need specialized racks to be able to carry front saddlebags on this type of bike. An alternative is to replace the suspension fork with an non-suspended fork especially one with mid-fork braze-ons.
Many mountain bike tourers complain about how awkward the bike feels when loaded. I suspect that the biggest cause of this is the need to load everything on the rear rack of the bike when you don't have the option to use front saddlebags. I experienced something similar during my first tour on my Trek 520. During that tour I did not have a front rack or front saddlebags yet so everything was loaded on the rear rack. Climbing hills was harder especially when the front wheel would lift off the ground from time to time on the steepest grades and the rear wheel certainly appeared to be carrying a lot of weight. From the descriptions this sounds like the same problem that a lot of mountain bike riders experience.
For those people who really like front racks and front suspension a company called Old Man Mountain make front racks that work with suspended forks.
Multi-rider bikes like tandems, triplets and quads
Another exciting way to tour as part of a group is to ride a multi-person bike like a tandem or triplet. These bikes still only have two wheels but instead of having only one rider, several riders are on the same bike at the same time.
These kind of bikes allow two or more people to work together on the same bike. This means that there's never a concern about keeping up with each other (and hopefully never a pressing need to get some "space" - grin).
Of course having two people on the same bike means that to some degree you are more limited in the amount of gear that can be carried. Although larger saddlebags are available you still end up with room for only four saddlebags on the bike, a handlebar bag and perhaps a trunk. Some people overcome this to some degree by towing a trailer as well.
Tandems have a reputation for being fast rides as well as giving people a real chance to test the strength of their relationship (grin). Still from what I've heard many people find riding multi-person bikes to be a very rewarding experience that adds an entire new element to the touring experience.
One additional tip that I've heard is a strong suggestion to get some sort of a lesson about how to ride a tandem or other multi-person bike before setting off on your first tour.
Recumbents
Wayne's recumbent touring bike.
Click to enlarge.
Recumbents have been used for many successful tours. Some of the perceived benefits include a more comfortable ride, a seating position that allows you to really see the scenery, greater visibility on the roads, and a better ability to handle headwinds with increased speed.
The most common disadvantage that I've heard has to do with hill climbing abilities. Apparently many recumbents are considered to have more difficulty climbing hills then upright bikes. Some of this could be due to not being able to stand up and really put your weight on the pedals when the hill gets steep. Another consideration would be your ability to balance the bike at low speed.
So many possible positives and a few potential negatives make this an option that should carefully be considered. Be aware that unlike upright bikes there are a huge number of recumbent designs and change is constant for this type of bike. This means that if one recumbent really doesn't work for you it's probably a good idea to check out a few more designs before deciding against a recumbent completely.
Folding bicycles
Jim's folder.
Click to enlarge.
One of the common concerns for tours that don't leave from the front door of your home is how to get the bike and all of your gear to the starting point. One option is to use a folding bicycle for your tour.
A folding bicycle can be easily stored away in a standard sized box that airlines will accept as normal checked baggage. This means that not only are you saving on potential extra fees for carrying your bike on an airplane but you usually also have the comfort of knowing that your bike is being carried just like any other luggage with less worries about the special handling (or lack thereof) that an oversized box or bike bag might receive.
Some bicycles come with a handy case that serves two functions. One of these functions is to carry the bike when travelling. Once at your destination the case turns into a trailer capable of carrying your gear behind the bike.
Some people are skeptical about the usefulness of these bikes on long tours. As is true with every other type of bicycle listed on this page as well as some that are not, folding bikes have been successfully used to cross major countries and continents.
Trikes
Jay's recumbent trike.
Click to enlarge.
A trike is a three wheeled bicycle. Many of the types used on tour are recumbents, either delta (two wheels at the back and a single wheel at the front) or tadpole (two wheels at the front and a single wheel at the back) type designs.
The addition of a third wheel is popularly believed to increase rolling resistance but in fact due to better weight distribution the rolling resistance of trikes is on par or better than two wheeled bicycles. Tire selection is critical though.
Another perceived disadvantage is the need to take up more space on the road and whilst it can lead to tense moments on narrow roads, the larger footprint can also provide better protection in busy traffic and the novelty value causes most road-users to give trikes more respect (and space) than upright bicycles.
Trikes have several advantages not least among them is the ability to install really low gearing on the bike. Since three wheels make balancing much easier it is possible to keep on pedalling with insanely low gears and eventually make your way up very steep hills.
Trikes have been used very successfully on long tours including a 317 day tour from North Carolina to Alaska and back again by Heidi Domeisen.
(With much appreciation and thanks to Grant Walker for helping me with the section on Trikes)
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