More touirng bike questions please?

On Apr 19, 4:42 pm, Brian Huntley wrote:

But 26" touring bikes DO have a lot of fans. My current bikes are all
700s but when I had 26"ers I never had problems getting 'touring' or
otherwise mostly slick tires. "City Slickers" were my favorites.

You're more likely to have a decent selection of 26" slicks at an
average mass market bike shop than wide 700c touring stuff last I
checked. I had a peek at a major chain a few days ago and they had one
nice looking Serfas tire in 35mm for 622mm rims and a dozen different
26" street tires. With the internet and kevlar beads, run 650B and
carry a spare with installation gnomes, it doesn't matter too much.

Brian Huntley wrote:

Oddly enough, you can take the front wheel off a 700c bike, too


well yeah I know

I guess what I meant didn't come thru well

I have a Mazda Protege....small car with no hauling
capacity

When you pop the wheel off a 26" bike.... the wheel and
frame just fit in better than say a 700c bike

26" wheels just help make the bike more compact in such
a situation

wrote:

Stick with a conventional frame. I've got a Friday NWT and a
Cannondale touring bike. The Friday's great for travel, but there's
no way I'd pick it for a long tour that didn't need the folding
feature.

How come? Why would you NOT use the Friday for long
tour?

On Apr 21, 11:23 am, wrote:
wrote:
Stick with a conventional frame. I've got a Friday NWT and a
Cannondale touring bike. The Friday's great for travel, but there's
no way I'd pick it for a long tour that didn't need the folding
feature.

How come? Why would you NOT use the Friday for long
tour?

As I said:

"The Cannondale rolls easier, carries loads easier, shifts
better (as mentioned in the other thread), accepts accessories more
easily, and doesn't try to topple over when I straddle it at a stop
light. (Top tubes are useful!) "

- Frank Krygowski

wrote:
Some more questions abt various touring bike options:

1. Brakes. Do all touring bike shave canti-lever? If
yes...why? Wouldn't something like V brakes used on mt
bikes work as well?


2. Folders. Is a folding touring bike inherently going
to make less sense...more trouble? Should one stick
with normal non-folding diamond frames?

You might look at one of the disassembleable diamond frame touring bikes
as well. Yellow Jersey sells a Panasonic frame. Dahon sells the
Tournado, see "http://www.dahon.com/us/tournado.htm".

You get some of the advantages of a folder, with none of the disadvantages.

3. Rim size. 700c vs 26"? is this a non -issue really?
Or some merit to using 26" rims for touring bikes?

It's only an issue in that you have a wider and cheaper selection of
700C road tires than 26" tires, but there are sufficient 26" tires to
make it not much of an issue. Usually the smaller frames will use 26"
while the larger frames 700C.

SMS wrote:

2. Folders. Is a folding touring bike inherently going
to make less sense...more trouble? Should one stick
with normal non-folding diamond frames?

You might look at one of the disassembleable diamond frame touring bikes
as well. Yellow Jersey sells a Panasonic frame. Dahon sells the
Tournado, see "http://www.dahon.com/us/tournado.htm".

I guess the thing that DOES attract me to the Bike
Friday folder is the ability to ride a long distance
somewhere and then have someone easily pick you up say
in a car or such.... just fold the bike up and out in
suitcase.

One of the tours I'm thinking abt doing is along the
Mississippi River route...starting from Hannibal Mo and
going to Destin Florida. My girlfriend is driving her
and her kids to Destin in July and we both live in
Hannibal MO. I could ride a Bike Friday from Hannibal
to Destin..... meet up with her in the Subaru.... fold
the bike back up in the suitcase....and easily ride
back home in the car.

Hi Frank and Everyone,
I am interested in your experiences with the BF NWT as I currently
have a passion for a folder. I can see that what you are saying about
the NWT makes sense. Do you have any experience or comments to make on
the BF Air models?
Cheers,
David Schlamowitz


On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:26:42 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Apr 18, 1:40 pm, wrote:
Some more questions abt various touring bike options:

1. Brakes. Do all touring bike shave canti-lever? If
yes...why? Wouldn't something like V brakes used on mt
bikes work as well?

Yes, but there's only one drop-bar brake lever on the market that will
operate V brakes correctly. For any other lever, you're stuck with
using a weird adaptor. Cantis are excellent. Use Kool-Stop pads.

2. Folders. Is a folding touring bike inherently going
to make less sense...more trouble? Should one stick
with normal non-folding diamond frames?

Stick with a conventional frame. I've got a Friday NWT and a
Cannondale touring bike. The Friday's great for travel, but there's
no way I'd pick it for a long tour that didn't need the folding
feature. The Cannondale rolls easier, carries loads easier, shifts
better (as mentioned in the other thread), accepts accessories more
easily, and doesn't try to topple over when I straddle it at a stop
light. (Top tubes are useful!)

- Frank Krygowski

On Apr 21, 1:16 pm, wrote:

I guess the thing that DOES attract me to the Bike
Friday folder is the ability to ride a long distance
somewhere and then have someone easily pick you up say
in a car or such.... just fold the bike up and out in
suitcase.

One of the tours I'm thinking abt doing is along the
Mississippi River route...starting from Hannibal Mo and
going to Destin Florida. My girlfriend is driving her
and her kids to Destin in July and we both live in
Hannibal MO. I could ride a Bike Friday from Hannibal
to Destin..... meet up with her in the Subaru.... fold
the bike back up in the suitcase....and easily ride
back home in the car.

Folding is handy, to be sure. But folding the Friday to fit in the
case is not a two-minute project. And I think that, with most cars,
you could do fine with a standard bike.

I have several friends with hatchbacks of various brands who just fold
the back seats down and slide the bike in.

And my wife and I own a Pontiac Vibe that has carried our Cannondales
upright inside. I easily made a front dropout clamp rack (the kind of
thing you use to hold bikes upright in the back of pickups)
http://www.bikerackshops.com/grouppickuptruck.html
It bolted to the backs of the flattened rear seats. There was room
for plenty of luggage around the bikes.

I've also gone on a long business trip with two other co-workers,
taking my bike along in the back seat, in a borrowed bike bag. Wheels
were removed and fit inside the bag.

Then, of course, there are many choices for racks to carry bikes on
the outside of the car. I've done that many, many times, including
for many trips cross country.

I've also traveled cross country and a bit overseas with the Bike
Fridays "quick folded" in the back of a hatchback or wagon. It's nice
to have them out of the weather, but they do take up a lot more room
than a suitcase. And putting them in the suitcase is a bit of a job -
20 minutes at the very least. If you did that, you won't be taking it
out to do a quick ride.

It's a really nice machine, but for the riding I do most often, I like
my regular road bikes better.

- Frank Krygowski

On Apr 21, 7:51 pm, wrote:
Hi Frank and Everyone,
I am interested in your experiences with the BF NWT as I currently
have a passion for a folder. I can see that what you are saying about
the NWT makes sense. Do you have any experience or comments to make on
the BF Air models?
Cheers,
David Schlamowitz

My only experience with an Air Friday was a quick (maybe 5 mile) test
ride. It was nimble and snappy, a fun ride. It's what convinced me
to get the New World Tourist. But I imagine the detriments I feel the
NWT has must exist in the AF as well.

I know people who use their Fridays as their #1 bike, so the benefit/
detriment balance is different for different people. And I wouldn't
want to give mine up. But for me, it's the #3 bike unless I'm
traveling.

- Frank Krygowski

wrote:

My only experience with an Air Friday was a quick (maybe 5 mile) test
ride. It was nimble and snappy, a fun ride. It's what convinced me
to get the New World Tourist. But I imagine the detriments I feel the
NWT has must exist in the AF as well.


What detriments are those?

I know people who use their Fridays as their #1 bike, so the benefit/
detriment balance is different for different people. And I wouldn't
want to give mine up. But for me, it's the #3 bike unless I'm
traveling.

Whats your number one and two bikes?