Another newbie question... (was: Why are expensive bikes better than cheap ones?)

After getting so much helpful information here
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...37aa56cf662b0c
I can't wait to buy a nice bike and get on the road. Yesterday I went
to the bike shop and almost bought a Marin Fairfax:
http://www.marinbikes.com/bicycles_2...s_fairfax.html
But after talking to the staff I got a little confused.

Mainly I will ride around the city, but next year I want to go on a
month-long road trip. I assumed that attaching front and rear racks and
going on the road with the extra 30 kg of weight would be OK. But the
shop staff told me that the bike is not suitable for this purpose. The
weight would be too heavy for the carbon fork and the thin tyres. And
besides I would not be able to attach a front rack.

My weight is only 70 kg so I don't understand why 100 kg would be a
problem for the bike. Does it mean that taller/heavier people would not
be able to ride the bike even without a load? I don't really believe
this point. But now I am worried that I won't find a front rack for
this bike. Here are some photos of the bike which I took at the store
yesterday:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63711030@N00/

Do you think I will find a suitable front rack for regular panniers
which I can attach to the bike? Do you see any problems with the extra
weight or with taking the bike on a long road trip?

Thank you so much for the help!

Regards,
Ken Aston

Ken Aston wrote:

My weight is only 70 kg so I don't understand why 100 kg would be a
problem for the bike.

My guess is that carbon fibre isn't strong enough for point attachments
as you would need for a rack.

How about changing the fork shortly before going on a road trip? Would
that be practical?

And the 28 spokes of the front wheel, can they carry the extra weight
over such a long distance?

I have just bought my bike and settled on the Trek 7500. One of the main
reasons is that I am going to put on front and rear panniers and want a
comfortable ride. Hopefully I will be happy with it - I rode one in store
but it had discs and from what I have found out about panniers it is best to
have V brakes as the racks fit easier. There is a Disc brake rack but I
prefer the V. So I have to wait a few weeks before it arrives. Maiden voyage
will be a 5 day bush trip west of Chillagoe
Why dont you just ask the bike store? If they cant help you out with that I
wouldnt buy from them as they must not know what they are talking about?
Why would you be carrying 30kgs Ken? I am 72kgs and will only carry between
15 and max of 17. Where on earth are you going touring? If you were going to
WA maybe you will need to carry 10lts of water but that still gives you
20kgs of other stuff! Basically wont you ride in one set of riding clothes,
have a spare set in your pannier, one pair of shoes on ya feet, very basic
toiletries, light tent, sleeping gear and small fuel stove? I am fairly new
to long distance cycling but I gasp at 30kgs I have all the gear though
as I bushwalk and I can confirm that a 13 day walk without any backup or
food drops is possible with 18kgs so maybe 30 is just way too much.
I would be seriously looking at you want to take. Knew someone who said they
carried a dozen eggs for 2 weeks LOL, would have passed many a shop during
that time huh?
Good luck bike hunting, fingers crossed mine is all I hope it will be
Kathy

On 2006-11-10, Ken Aston wrote:

After getting so much helpful information here
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...37aa56cf662b0c
I can't wait to buy a nice bike and get on the road. Yesterday I went
to the bike shop and almost bought a Marin Fairfax:
http://www.marinbikes.com/bicycles_2...s_fairfax.html
But after talking to the staff I got a little confused.

Mainly I will ride around the city, but next year I want to go on a
month-long road trip. I assumed that attaching front and rear racks and
going on the road with the extra 30 kg of weight would be OK. But the
shop staff told me that the bike is not suitable for this purpose. The
weight would be too heavy for the carbon fork and the thin tyres. And
besides I would not be able to attach a front rack.

Probably the number of spoke in the wheels, and a carbon fork is
unsuitable to attach a front rack to. I'd suggest something like a
Fuji Touring or a Mongoose Randoneur for that sort of riding.

IMHO carbon anything on a bike not solely used for racing is a bit
pointless. Mainly because you can never tell after the sort of minor
dingle any day-to-day use bike will have whether the carbon component
is going to fail at the next pot-hole or not.

Cheers

Joel

Going back a few years now the Fuji world touring bike had carbon forks
with the ability to attach front racks but the following year that
option was not available, so they probably had fork failure and
redesigned the front forks.

My road bike has a low spoke count wheel, 24 to be exact and I weigh
90kg and I'm thinking of replacing that wheel with maybe 32 or 36 spoke
hub and rim because it buckles fairly easily, expecially when carrying
panniers, the front is ok though but there is not much weight their. So
if you are carrying weight then the more spokes the better, at least
thats my way of thinking.


--
Dancier

On 11 Nov 2006 07:30:49 GMT, Joel Mayes wrote:

IMHO carbon anything on a bike not solely used for racing is a bit
pointless. Mainly because you can never tell after the sort of minor
dingle any day-to-day use bike will have whether the carbon component
is going to fail at the next pot-hole or not.

The only parts on my carbon frame/stem/cranks bike which have ever
been damaged by potholes were two back wheels, which contained no
carbon at all. I've ridden it nearly ever day for over two years, although
it's not my utility bike, and it's done over 32,000km.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

On 2006-11-10, Ken Aston (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
My weight is only 70 kg so I don't understand why 100 kg would be a
problem for the bike. Does it mean that taller/heavier people would not
be able to ride the bike even without a load? I don't really believe
this point. But now I am worried that I won't find a front rack for
this bike. Here are some photos of the bike which I took at the store
yesterday:

Think of the weight attached to the bike as unsprung mass. Each time
you hit a bump without the 30kg of panniers on the bike, there's 10kg
of bike that has to be jolted around -- hopefully the 70kg of "you"
has positioned yourself so that you don't get jolted also (although
you do act as a bit of a spring). When there is 30kg attached to the
bike, you now have 40kg being jolted over every little bump. That's
got to be stressful on carbon forks.

--
TimC
Memory fault -- core...uh...um...core... Oh dammit, I forget!

On Sun, 12 Nov 2006 00:10:44 +1100, Dancier
wrote:


Going back a few years now the Fuji world touring bike had carbon forks
with the ability to attach front racks but the following year that
option was not available, so they probably had fork failure and
redesigned the front forks.

My road bike has a low spoke count wheel, 24 to be exact and I weigh
90kg and I'm thinking of replacing that wheel with maybe 32 or 36 spoke
hub and rim because it buckles fairly easily, expecially when carrying
panniers, the front is ok though but there is not much weight their. So
if you are carrying weight then the more spokes the better, at least
thats my way of thinking.

Nice, I shall add spoke count to my list of things to check when I
purchase a bike.

The Real Andy wrote:

On Sun, 12 Nov 2006 00:10:44 +1100, Dancier
wrote:


Going back a few years now the Fuji world touring bike had carbon forks
with the ability to attach front racks but the following year that
option was not available, so they probably had fork failure and
redesigned the front forks.

My road bike has a low spoke count wheel, 24 to be exact and I weigh
90kg and I'm thinking of replacing that wheel with maybe 32 or 36 spoke
hub and rim because it buckles fairly easily, expecially when carrying
panniers, the front is ok though but there is not much weight their. So
if you are carrying weight then the more spokes the better, at least
thats my way of thinking.

Nice, I shall add spoke count to my list of things to check when I
purchase a bike.

I always carry spare spokes, even with 32 spoke wheels. Today I tested out
the new gear ratios on my bike by riding from Duncraig up to Kalamunda, and
one of the 32 spoke wheels managed to break a spoke when hitting a pothole
in the foothill region near Koongamia. The total weight (rider + bike +
backpack) would have been less than 90 kg. It was a rear spoke that broke,
but fortunately it was the non-drive side, which made changing the spoke
very easy.

BTW, for anyone in Perth, riding up Zig-Zag to Kalamunda is very pleasant,
and of course the views are great.

Cheers,

Vince