What in your mind makes perfect loaded touring bike?

wrote in message
...
What "features" in your mind make the perfect loaded
touring bike?

Is it upright or recumbent?

Converted mt bike?

Steel? Ti?

Does it fold? Or not fold?

Bottom line.... I'm wanting to take my first ever bike
tour next summer. I plan to spend the winter
researching and acquiring equipment

Recumbents look appealing to me since I'm 48 and things
"hurt" more than in past.... but have never had one and
"just don't know".

So....what YOU think makes good touring bike feature
wise?

P.S., I've crossposted this over to rec.bicycles.rides, where the touring
folks hang out, since I didn't see it posted over there.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

What "features" in your mind make the perfect loaded
touring bike?

Some of the things you mention below are matters of
personal preference and sources of flame fest otherwise.

What I do like is:
- having enough braze ons to carry water
bottles, racks, etc.
- wide range of gearing from low to high
- reasonable components for not too much
trouble on the road

Is it upright or recumbent?

Personal preference. I have two long wheelbase
recumbent touring bikes and two upright touring
bikes (and no automobile :-)). I'll ride both.
The uprights are easier to transport. I like
exercising different muscles so if I do a weekend
tour on one style of bike, I'll commute to work
on the other style.

Recumbents will collect some pretty strong
proponents who swear by them. I like my
recumbents fine, but also like variety.

Converted mt bike?

Haven't tried. Some claim that mountain bike
handle bars do not allow enough hand positions,
so they switch that out. One of my recumbents
has 26" wheels since this can be a more common
tire size.

Steel? Ti?

I dunno. One upright is Aluminum which is ok though
easier to ding and harder to weld (I have a broken
aluminum bike frame from tour in Australia). Others
are steel. Titanium is more expensive.

Does it fold? Or not fold?

My brother has toured on folding Dahon upright
bikes. Not quite durable enough for me even
with upgrading components.

Bottom line.... I'm wanting to take my first ever bike
tour next summer. I plan to spend the winter
researching and acquiring equipment

What are you riding now? How well does it work
if you do a 3-day mini tour? What are your
preferences. You may not need to wait for a
new bike to try some smaller scale touring
now...(though it is sometimes a fun excuse
for bike shopping :-)).

Recumbents look appealing to me since I'm 48 and things
"hurt" more than in past.... but have never had one and
"just don't know".

Do you have an ability to borrow or rent a recumbent
for a few days riding? There are more choices there
(e.g. under-seat steering vs above seat; long wheelbase
vs. short wheelbase vs. compact; ...)

People tour in all sorts of bikes - so there likely
won't be the perfect bike for everyone. Your
preferences need to come into play as well.

My other suggestion would be that whatever bike
you end up with, get it with plenty of advance
time before any long tour so you and the bike
can break each other in...nothing like starting
a long tour with a new unadjusted bike and
straining something on day two of the tour...

--mev, Mike Vermeulen

I just posted a report of my 2218 mile Key West - Milwaukee trip this past
April 21 - May 6. See the first page of that post for a list of what I took
along. The bike was a TREK 520 touring bike with 700x35 Bontrager tires
with kevlar lining. Not the fastest, but the most long-lasting and durable
tires I've been able to find.


"Claire Petersky" wrote in message
hlink.net...

wrote in message
...
What "features" in your mind make the perfect loaded
touring bike?

Is it upright or recumbent?

Converted mt bike?

Steel? Ti?

Does it fold? Or not fold?

Bottom line.... I'm wanting to take my first ever bike
tour next summer. I plan to spend the winter
researching and acquiring equipment

Recumbents look appealing to me since I'm 48 and things
"hurt" more than in past.... but have never had one and
"just don't know".

So....what YOU think makes good touring bike feature
wise?

P.S., I've crossposted this over to rec.bicycles.rides, where the touring
folks hang out, since I didn't see it posted over there.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Mike Vermeulen wrote:
My other suggestion would be that whatever bike
you end up with, get it with plenty of advance
time before any long tour so you and the bike
can break each other in...nothing like starting
a long tour with a new unadjusted bike and
straining something on day two of the tour...

Not to mention, if you do decide to go for a custom bike, some of the
makers will have six to nine month backlogs by the first of the year.
Kinda hard to ride the bike now that's being built in two months!

Pat

Mike Vermeulen wrote:

Do you have an ability to borrow or rent a recumbent

No I don't

I wish I did tho

The "perfect" touring bicycle is the one YOU LIKE. Could be a three speed.
Or, an old 10 speed. A Mtn bike, anything.

I have toured all over and met hundreds of bicycle tourists. I have seen so
many different bicycles it boggles the mind.

For me; I own three bicycles I have toured on. My old Trek touring bicycle
circa 1984. To me this is about the perfect touring bicycle. It has plenty
of low gears and is tough enough. But, one big problem. It has 27" wheels.
For the life of me, I still go nuts when I think that the bicycle industry
got away with changing the wheel size and not offering a "fix" for all the
27" wheel riders. I tried to put on a 700c wheel and the brake won't work.

Then, I decided to tour on a Mtn bike. So, I go out and buy a Bridgestone
MTN. Good bicycle, and I toured all over on it BUT: the Mtn is heavy.

A couple of years ago I see a Cannondale Touring bicycle on sale, end of
season deal. I must say the fact that the Cannondale is so light appealed
to my old body. What a beautiful bicycle. Light, fast, etc.

So, all three worked.

Oh, I forgot .. my first touring bicycle. A Schinn Top Touring 10 speed. I
thought this was the cat's meow. What a heavy lug. But, in its day it was
sweet.

Still, my favorite is the old 1984 Trek. This bicycle was built for touring
when touring was the "thing" to do. It is in my cellar. When I look at it
I actually get misty. The Trek carried me long and far, it introduced me to
some great people, allowed me to go to places.

---------------
"Claire Petersky" wrote in message
hlink.net...

wrote in message
...
What "features" in your mind make the perfect loaded
touring bike?

Is it upright or recumbent?

Converted mt bike?

Steel? Ti?

Does it fold? Or not fold?

Bottom line.... I'm wanting to take my first ever bike
tour next summer. I plan to spend the winter
researching and acquiring equipment

Recumbents look appealing to me since I'm 48 and things
"hurt" more than in past.... but have never had one and
"just don't know".

So....what YOU think makes good touring bike feature
wise?

P.S., I've crossposted this over to rec.bicycles.rides, where the touring
folks hang out, since I didn't see it posted over there.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

In article pVLGg.8508$cQ.5371@trndny07,
"Thomas Wentworth" wrote:

Still, my favorite is the old 1984 Trek. This bicycle was built for
touring when touring was the "thing" to do. It is in my cellar.
When I look at it I actually get misty. The Trek carried me long and
far, it introduced me to some great people, allowed me to go to
places.

It's an old friend, and that's what meeting old friends does. Cheers
for a great post.