On Mar 28, 12:03*pm, landotter wrote:
On Mar 28, 10:34*am, wrote:





Woland99 wrote:
On Mar 27, 10:30 am, wrote:
I want to do some touring this summer.

Any help on deciding between the tow bikes above?

I was facing similar choice - wanted a touring bike and
at the end had to decide betw Surly LHT and Novarra Randonee.
For me Novarra Safari was out of a question - I wanted something
that would look like road bike. PLus I had Novarra Viaggio - I guess
you can call it earlier version of Safari and I was VERY unhappy
with that B-shaped handlebar.
I eventually went with Randonee for two reasons - all things being
about the same on both bikes Randonee had much better wheel and I
wanted durable bike. Plus I know everybody in the bike shop at local
REI and those guys are fantastic when it comes to service and repairs.

OK

My thoughts abt the Safari are that I may need to ride
down some pretty big gravel roads occasionally on a
tour.... as well as good paved roads. *I worry abt the
wheels and tires on the LHT or Novara randoneee

Both the LHT and Randonee come with too gimpy of a tire IMHO, but
that's easy to remedy. the LHT has super tough wheels with Deore hubs,
36 spokes, and nice Alex Adventurer rims--certainly I'd bring either
set up to tension before an extended tour. All three are good, solid
choices. The LHT is a little more traditional with choices like Sugino
cranks, bar-ends, square taper BB, regular bend bars,etc. No major
deal breakers.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

sorting everything out before leaving is best. everything has to go
right where it goes packwise. The mission is orbital.
Touring motels? light load? Conti TT's are OK for the rear but a 35mm
double wall rim, a CR-18 iza good idea. heavy camping loads needa
Pasela Messenger, Conti Contact on the rear with a TT front.
Gravel? If there's a loota dirt upahead then go for a 29er or MTB if
ura short dude. Drag dirt tires along at wider widths than road tires.
Sheldon Brown's website has a rim/tire width graph for switching.
Touring dirt suggest a slightly wider front than rear.
Longer chainstays are better for tracking. MTB give shorter
chainstays, the Monocog comes from cyclocross. Take a look at that
idea. The 29er is stocked with wide slicks for smooth surfaces as well
as Conti knobbies. Overall the 29er/MTB with longer stays may be a
better choice for touring than a traditional sports-tourer
I have a 29er going together for the Front Range, Glacier Conti Divide
and Trans Canada/Myrna Canyon road-a Monocog converted to 3/8 speeds
BUT the cheap asian import japanese sports tourer comes along.
See Pavelka? 'long distance touring' in World Catalog at your library
than tap other books hyperlink.
also many guides for your path. SEARCH: Bicycle Touring Kearny
Stock saddles? try a Specialized Minkow and definitely Spec thorn
proof tubes with a CO2 inflator.
The biggest deal is getting the size right. You want to barrel over
the top of the pedal stroke and not pressure the knee directly
downward while the tuberosities sit on a firm surface without having
inside thighs rub on saddle's sides.

see Campmor.com for polyester T shirts and poly/acrylic socks: keeps
warm when wet or cool when sweating-nooooooooooooooooo cotton. bring a
WalMart painters trap for roadside shelter and bottom tarp.