bike gear

I am beginning to put together plans for a cross country trip and have
a really basic question that probably doesn't have a good answer, but
I sure would like some opinions.

I live in Hawaii and have a 15 year old mountain bike that is in good
shape. Several questions arise

1. Buy new bike or upgrade existing bike?
2. Hawaii is extremely expensive to buy any type of sporting gear -
thoughts on waiting and buying new gear in San Diego?
3. I read tales of folks buying way too much gear and then having to
mail it home during trip. Ideas on minimal approach to buying /
carrying / stowing gear. My current bike is bare bones - no racks,
panniers, etc.

Thanks in advance

Tom

Tom Rush writes:

I am beginning to put together plans for a cross country trip and
have a really basic question that probably doesn't have a good
answer, but I sure would like some opinions.

I live in Hawaii and have a 15 year old mountain bike that is in
good shape. Several questions arise

1. Buy new bike or upgrade existing bike?

2. Hawaii is extremely expensive to buy any type of sporting gear -
thoughts on waiting and buying new gear in San Diego?

3. I read tales of folks buying way too much gear and then having to
mail it home during trip. Ideas on minimal approach to buying /
carrying / stowing gear. My current bike is bare bones - no
racks, panniers, etc.

The introduction to touring is a best done incrementally. Take a two
day trip and then one of four or so, to discover what YOU think you
need. From what I see reported in this forum, people have greatly
different ideas on equipment and baggage. However, I am fairly sure
that you will do far better on a road bicycle than MTB, especially one
with knobby tires. I see folks riding north along the California
coast, even though having been warned here that the prevailing winds
are southward, and they ride on sluggish knobby tires that impeded
their progress. "But we are in the mountains" is a common
explanation, or "Some campgrounds are soggy."

I don't like hauling equipment and prefer to eat and sleep well so I
travel light as is described in the reports at the URL below. The
checklist is only that, not a recipe for what you must take on a tour,
but I believe these are essential items. I no longer take travelers
checks for Europe, ATM's being ubiquitous.

http://www-math.science.unitn.it/Bik...king_List.html
http://tinyurl.com/adls

Jobst Brandt

In article , rusht8205
@yahoo.com says...
I am beginning to put together plans for a cross country trip and have
a really basic question that probably doesn't have a good answer, but
I sure would like some opinions.

I live in Hawaii and have a 15 year old mountain bike that is in good
shape. Several questions arise

1. Buy new bike or upgrade existing bike?

Buy a road bike, probably a touring model, depending on how you are
traveling (carrying camping gear vs staying in motels every night, etc).
A touring frame will have mounting points for racks both front and back,
extra water bottle braze-ons, a longer wheelbase which will give you
better heel clearance to your panniers, etc.

If you're doing "credit card" touring, you won't need as much storage,
but you will still want to carry things like snacks, rain gear, tools,
extra tubes, water, etc. A rack trunk will probably handle that stuff
without needing full panniers.


2. Hawaii is extremely expensive to buy any type of sporting gear -
thoughts on waiting and buying new gear in San Diego?
3. I read tales of folks buying way too much gear and then having to
mail it home during trip. Ideas on minimal approach to buying /
carrying / stowing gear. My current bike is bare bones - no racks,
panniers, etc.

Thanks in advance

Tom


--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).

Tom wrote:

I am beginning to put together plans for a cross country trip and have
a really basic question that probably doesn't have a good answer, but
I sure would like some opinions.

I live in Hawaii and have a 15 year old mountain bike that is in good
shape. Several questions arise

1. Buy new bike or upgrade existing bike?


Save yourself some money and hassle right away and keep your trusty old
steed. I have toured exclusively on my MTB and I wouldn't do it any
other way. If you have knobbies, get rid of them. You won't need them.
Put on a hybrid tire (often called town and country or some such -
minimal tread, ~1.25" width). Get a set of L-bend bar ends (not
ski-type), so you can move your hands around.

I don't think I'll ever go back to a road bike (rode one for 15 years
before I got an MTB).

My MTB has all the braze-ons needed to add a rear rack. Check to see if
you can mount a rear rack. Do you want to camp at all? I so, you
definitely want to mount a rear rack and get a set of panniers - heavy
duty and large capacity - with rain covers (or get Ortlieb waterproof
panniers). For credit card touring (no camping) - a smaller set of
panniers will do (as well as other solutions).

These days, Arkel makes what are probably the best touring panniers:
http://www.arkel-od.com/index_fl.html

2. Hawaii is extremely expensive to buy any type of sporting gear -


Look at mail order.

thoughts on waiting and buying new gear in San Diego?


I'd do my shopping first else you'll spend your precious touring time in
stores, shopping (ugh). At least know what you want and where to get it.
I think mail order will be as good as anything else.

3. I read tales of folks buying way too much gear and then having to
mail it home during trip. Ideas on minimal approach to buying /
carrying / stowing gear. My current bike is bare bones - no racks,
panniers, etc.


I think you'll need a rear rack. That's what I use. I've even added a
rack for front panniers for very long tours (what you sound like you're
planning). They are not at all necessary, though. I like having empty
space for loading up on food or beer and ice (at the end of the day -
before camp) if need be.

Here's my list:
http://cycletourist.com/Seattle_To_S...sco/#Checklist

One big choice is - do you want to cook? I could do without a stove.
Unless you need hot coffee first thing in the morning, you'll be fine
without bringing cooking gear. Cold breakfast and lunch - hot meal in a
restaurant once in awhile. That is the easiest, most efficient way to do go.

Like comfort? Don't get too small of a tent. You may spend some rainy
mornings hanging out in it.

Depending on the time of year and route, think about using a very
lightweight sleeping bag.

But then - you haven't mentioned. Are you camping or motel-ing?

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
Integrity is obvious.
The lack of it is common.
*****************************

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 19:46:02 GMT in rec.bicycles.rides,
wrote:

However, I am fairly sure
that you will do far better on a road bicycle than MTB, especially one
with knobby tires. I see folks riding north along the California
coast, even though having been warned here that the prevailing winds
are southward, and they ride on sluggish knobby tires that impeded
their progress.

they're silly to ride with knobbies! i've been touring on a
mountain bike for years, but then my trips have mostly been in
alaska & the yukon. because i'm camping solo in fairly wild
country, i'm usually carrying full panniers.

i do, however, use inverse tread tires like richey crossbites or
continental town & country. i keep them at the top of their
pressure range, about 65 lbs, unless i'm on singletrack for quite
a while. even at that pressure, the ride is much more
comfortable than most road bikes with my scott at-4 butterfly
handlebars (anybody know of a set for sale?).

on a touring bike with road tires, i used to average a flat a
day. with fat cross tires, i average one or two flats per year.
if they have kevlar belting, they are incredibly flat resistant.

my next bike will be a titanium mountain bike with a front shock
fork (roads up here can be pure hell) rigged with front & rear
racks.

i would suggest to the OP that he try touring in several
configurations for weekend trips on the bike he will be using,
even if it's just to camp on the other side of the island he's
on, and think about what it will be like riding at least 60 miles
a day with that load.

if he wants a new, lighter bike for the trip and can afford it, i
think he should buy one. he should ride it daily for several
months and get everything tweaked long before he leaves home.

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 18:41:16 GMT, Tom wrote:

Thanks for the info - couple of items I didn't include initially
1. I will be "moteling it" - rather than camping.
2. I ride a lot - couple of hundred miles a week, but no overnights.
3. I am 67 and retired - so time is not of the essence
4. Found a web site "Adventure Cycling" with maps. Looking at San
Diego to Texas to go to a 50th hi school reunion.

Thanks again for the info

Tom

wrote:

The introduction to touring is a best done incrementally.
Take a two
day trip and then one of four or so, to discover what YOU
think you
need.

I'm appending this to Jobst's message to note that Jobst's
pictures and travelogues of his European trips are certainly
worth perusing some winter evening.

In order to start the incremental process Jobst describes,
you certainly need not get a road bike. I would put some bar
ends on the mountain bike so you get some additional hand
positions, and put on high pressure slick tires (if you
don't have these already).

I did my first tour with a setup like this (400 miles, 5
days), and later did virtually the same route with a road
bike. It's certainly preferable to use a road bike, but you
can tour on a mountain bike. To my mind, this would be
preferable to buying a bike in California, and then riding
it to Texas without adequate time to get used to it. If you
are doing 200 miles some weeks on this bike, you are used to
it and feel confident in it. You will have a great story to
tell at your reunion of a glorious trip, no matter how long
it takes.


--
Mike Kruger
Too many people spend money they haven't earned
to buy things they don't want
to impress people they don't like. -Will Rogers

"Mike Kruger" writes:

wrote:
The introduction to touring is a best done incrementally. Take a
two day trip and then one of four or so, to discover what YOU think
you need.

I'm appending this to Jobst's message to note that Jobst's pictures
and travelogues of his European trips are certainly worth perusing
some winter evening.

They inspired me to go to the Alps. What a great ride!

http://www2.bitstream.net/~timmcn/alps2002-1.html

Jobst's and others' packing lists, also on the Trento bike site, are
very helpful starting points. Since I don't like to camp, I use a
list very similar to Jobst's.

In order to start the incremental process Jobst describes, you
certainly need not get a road bike. I would put some bar ends on the
mountain bike so you get some additional hand positions, and put on
high pressure slick tires (if you don't have these already).

I did my first tour with a setup like this (400 miles, 5 days), and
later did virtually the same route with a road bike. It's certainly
preferable to use a road bike, but you can tour on a mountain bike.
To my mind, this would be preferable to buying a bike in California,
and then riding it to Texas without adequate time to get used to
it. If you are doing 200 miles some weeks on this bike, you are used
to it and feel confident in it. You will have a great story to tell
at your reunion of a glorious trip, no matter how long it takes.

I'd agree with Mike. If you've got a bike that you are comnfortable
riding for similar mileages, and it's not likely to fall apart on you,
then ride it. I have one 26" wheeled bike, and with good road slicks
it feels as fast as my 700C wheeled bikes.

http://www2.bitstream.net/~timmcn/tour2000.html

IMHO it is best to use familiar equipment on tour. A tour is a
vacation, a fun thing, and the stress of an unfamiliar bike takes some
of the shine off of the experience. You shouldn't have to think about
the bik emuch at all while touring- you want to be thinking about
where you're riding, the people you meet and the experiences you have.

Go and do your tour, and have a great ride!

if you are doing the motel thing then you don't need anything other than
your credit card and a couple of water bottles. swap out your tires for a
set of slicks and let it roll. if you have cash to spare and want a new
bike use the trip as an excuse to buy one. that way you only fly one way
with the bike. since you will probably fly back out of the same airport you
fly into, have wherever you purchase a bike hold the original box and
packing material until your tour is done and then they can repack it in its
original box and back home you go with a nice vacation under your belt and a
new bike to boot.
pack nothing for the trip but a pair of shoes, shorts, jersey, jacket,
helmet and a pair of flip-flops. when you get hungry or tired just swipe
that card. that is the life.
michael
www.coolclimbing.com

"Tom" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 18:41:16 GMT, Tom wrote:

Thanks for the info - couple of items I didn't include initially
1. I will be "moteling it" - rather than camping.
2. I ride a lot - couple of hundred miles a week, but no overnights.
3. I am 67 and retired - so time is not of the essence
4. Found a web site "Adventure Cycling" with maps. Looking at San
Diego to Texas to go to a 50th hi school reunion.

Thanks again for the info

Tom

I use a TREK 520 touring bike with rather fat 700x35 tires, kevlar lined.
plus thorn resistant tubes.

Being an incompetent repairman, I carry only two extra tubes (+sometimes a
tire which I've never needed), a CO2 pump and 4 cartridges, tire irons. and
a tube repair kit. I've gone to shops along the way for certain repairs:
replacing a bulging tire; replacing a cracked rim; repairing a steering
assembly that I had overtightened come to mind. I haven't had to hitch-hike
yet, but that option is there for certain maintenance problems. Also I carry
a headlight (recently a Cat-eye Opticube) and an LED tail-light. I wear a
helmet with visor and open-fingered riding gloves; sometimes I take heavier
gloves as well, depending and place and time.

For clothes, I bring 2 pair of shorts, 3 tee-shirts, one warm shirt, 3 pair
of undershorts, 3 pair of socks, one pair of long pants, riding shoes,
shower clogs (which serve as backup shoes), a plastic raincoat, and a
reflector vest. All of the above except what I'm wearing fit in 4 gallon
sized freezer bags.

Toiletries are a toothbrush and paste, razor and shaving cream, a comb and
deoderant, plus a tube of 1% hydro-cortisone cream, and some tylenol.

Sundries include a log book, maps, pens, cell phone and charger, sometimes a
camera with room in the freezer bag they're in for postcards and small
gifts.

On a cross country trip from the west coast, I added a pup tent for
emergency use - actually used twice, and wished both nights that I had also
brought a sleeping bag. In more populated areas, I assume I can find a
motel. I've almost spent a night outside for failure to do so, but not
quite.

"Tom" wrote in message
...
I am beginning to put together plans for a cross country trip and have
a really basic question that probably doesn't have a good answer, but
I sure would like some opinions.

I live in Hawaii and have a 15 year old mountain bike that is in good
shape. Several questions arise

1. Buy new bike or upgrade existing bike?
2. Hawaii is extremely expensive to buy any type of sporting gear -
thoughts on waiting and buying new gear in San Diego?
3. I read tales of folks buying way too much gear and then having to
mail it home during trip. Ideas on minimal approach to buying /
carrying / stowing gear. My current bike is bare bones - no racks,
panniers, etc.

Thanks in advance

Tom