Road, touring or cross bike?

I need some help deciding on a new bike. Here's the story: I made a
deal with my wife. If I can lose 53# and my Clydesdale status, she
will buy me a new bike. I'm almost there and looking to save some $
by buying a closeout 2004 model. My limit is $1000 for a complete
bike. I would like 105 as the minimum component group. My question
is: do I buy a touring bike, road bike, cross bike? I've done quite
a bit of touring in the past on a mountain bike. In fact, that is my
"road" bike right now-an early 90s steel Fisher mtn bike with slicks.
It is heavy, slow, and the perfect bike for losing weight. Do I keep
it as my touring bike and buy a faster, lighter road bike? Or do I
buy a decent touring bike and use it for all of my road riding? Will
I notice the difference between a road bike and a bare touring bike,
especially at my size? If it matters, I've never ridden a "real" road
bike since I've been a mtn biker for 20 of my 42 years.

Secondly, can anyone recommend some models for me to check out? I
think I would prefer steel, due to its durability and longevity. I
plan on keeping the bike for a long time. I realize that fit will be
a big part of the decision but I'm just looking to narrow the field a
bit. The brands available locally a Trek, Specialized, Lemond,
KHS, Marin. I'd be willing to drive a bit if you have recommendations
other than these brands. If anyone can point me to a source that
breaks down bikes by steel, aluminum, etc., I would appreciate it. By
the way, I'll be using the bike primarily for fitness rides of 20-60
miles, but working up to a century ride. I'll also be doing 1 or 2
two week fully loaded tours/year.

Thanks for the help!

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article ,
Yellowstone Yeti wrote:
I need some help deciding on a new bike. Here's the story: I made a
deal with my wife. If I can lose 53# and my Clydesdale status, she
will buy me a new bike. I'm almost there and looking to save some $
by buying a closeout 2004 model. My limit is $1000 for a complete
bike. I would like 105 as the minimum component group. My question
is: do I buy a touring bike, road bike, cross bike? I've done quite
a bit of touring in the past on a mountain bike. In fact, that is my
"road" bike right now-an early 90s steel Fisher mtn bike with slicks.
It is heavy, slow, and the perfect bike for losing weight. Do I keep
it as my touring bike and buy a faster, lighter road bike? Or do I
buy a decent touring bike and use it for all of my road riding? Will
I notice the difference between a road bike and a bare touring bike,
especially at my size? If it matters, I've never ridden a "real" road
bike since I've been a mtn biker for 20 of my 42 years.

_ Unless you're racing, there is very little reason not to get a
touring bike. If you put skinny tires on a touring bike, you
probably won't notice much difference at all. Cross bikes are fun
if you ride dirt roads a lot, but their higher bb's and slightly
steeper angles make them less comfortable on long rides.


Secondly, can anyone recommend some models for me to check out? I
think I would prefer steel, due to its durability and longevity. I
plan on keeping the bike for a long time.

I would appreciate it. By
the way, I'll be using the bike primarily for fitness rides of 20-60
miles, but working up to a century ride. I'll also be doing 1 or 2
two week fully loaded tours/year.

_ I would look at Jamis and Fuji bikes for steel touring bikes
under $1000.

http://www.jamisbikes.com/

http://www.fujibikes.com/

_ Trek makes a fine touring bike called the 520, but you might
need to change the crankset for loaded touring.

_ If your Fischer has rigid forks and a reasonably high quality
frame, you might consider touring on your Fischer. I use my 88
Hoo Koo E Koo for just this purpose. Mtn bikes with rigid forks
from that era make very good rough road touring bikes and 26 inch
wheels can work very well for touring. Compare the geometry with
something like the Surly Long Haul Trucker in the smaller sizes.

http://www.surlybikes.com/longhaul.html

_ Booker C. Bense

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.2

iQCVAwUBQSuKDmTWTAjn5N/lAQH/iAQAk6mLTQvSCqdIM4B6yPosrJ3l4wyQ85GT
vxbHYCSdCg15lLRCCdN2UpnhAiZ2ZSCFWko6/1W+Ng15z25IYGgNnuxy+Z06bqcJ
vaAoiFqhJVar/HivZdD0hMADmKWz3k5hJm1FJ9kv1slGlDLFXkUzMxuo6v2GcQY 7
rkhZ3SWevS8=
=zkNw
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

I wouldn't worry about the steel vs aluminum thing too much. Everyone
I trust says the same basic thing: The conventional wisdom - aluminum
is lighter, harsher, more fragile, etc. - is based of 90's metallurgy.
Today, they can pretty much do anything with aluminum they can do with
steel and vice versa.

That said, you should buy a steel bike because they look sooo much
cooler than aluminum

On a similar note, I wouldn't worry too much about titles like
road/touring/cross etc. The distinctions are somewhat artificial. Just
figure out what you want to do and buy a bike that does that. So if
you are going to tour on the thing, it doesn't have to be marketed as
a touring bike, but it does have to have enough eyelets and whatnot to
let you attach fenders, racks, etc.

As for other brands to consider, take a look at Jamis as they have
some nice steel bikes. I'm not sure of the pricing, but one of their
steel road bikes or even a Coda might be for you.

My view is that if you are getting a bike mainly for fitness rides up
to 60 miles then a road frame will be the best way to go. Touring
frames are geat for touring but you will probably find them
unresponsive on single day rides. To me a cross frame has no purpose
other than puttering around town- for which they are great. But if you
want to do 50-60 mile rides you will want a lightweight responsive
frame.
As to brands -- there are so many good ones that you should find one
that fits and hits your price point. At $1000 you can get a good bike
with decent components but certainly not near top of the line. I
suggest finding a reputable LBS and going with what they carry so that
you can have good follow on service.

"gds" wrote in message
om...
My view is that if you are getting a bike mainly for fitness rides up
to 60 miles then a road frame will be the best way to go. Touring
frames are geat for touring but you will probably find them
unresponsive on single day rides. To me a cross frame has no purpose
other than puttering around town- for which they are great. But if you
want to do 50-60 mile rides you will want a lightweight responsive
frame.

What does (un)responsive mean?

Hello Yellowstone,
Just my 2 cents worth I have a Bianchi Volpe that I ride to work darn near
every day plus to weekend rides and some touring. It is loaded with lights
fenders racks and panniers and I LOVE this thing. I bought the bike in 2000
and have well over 15,000 miles on it now. Other than brake pads and tires
no real problems to speak of.
For what its worth

Jim
Riding in Dayton Ohio (yes even in the snow)

Yellowstone Yeti wrote:

My question
is: do I buy a touring bike, road bike, cross bike? I've done quite
a bit of touring in the past on a mountain bike. In fact, that is my
"road" bike right now-an early 90s steel Fisher mtn bike with slicks.
It is heavy, slow, and the perfect bike for losing weight. Do I keep
it as my touring bike and buy a faster, lighter road bike? Or do I
buy a decent touring bike and use it for all of my road riding? Will
I notice the difference between a road bike and a bare touring bike,
especially at my size?

I don't think you stated your size, but: I think the differences you'll
notice in a road bike (vs. touring bike) are twitchier handling and lack
of low gears.

A touring bike will probably feel more stable and relaxed in its
handling, but you may prefer the "sporty" response to steering inputs.
OTOH, I've ridden with folks that were always dodging left and right 6"
at a time, unintentionally. I think their hair-trigger bike geometry
might have been part of the cause. And remember that even if you like
that twitchiness at mile #5, you may hate it at mile #95.

The road bike won't be "faster." The touring bike will have the same
aerodynamics, and with the proper tires it'll have the same rolling
resistance, practically speaking. That's what effects your speed.

By
the way, I'll be using the bike primarily for fitness rides of 20-60
miles, but working up to a century ride. I'll also be doing 1 or 2
two week fully loaded tours/year.

To me, that would settle it. A touring bike is essentially as good as a
road bike for unloaded riding. A touring bike is unbeatable for loaded
touring.

Incidentally, I don't understand the current fashion of choosing a
cyclocross bike for, say, touring. Seems to me like it's just a fashion
thing. "Hey, I'm too cool for a touring bike. I got a macho bike
that's designed to be carried through the mud! But, er, I'm going
touring on it."


--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

(Yellowstone Yeti) wrote in message . com...
I need some help deciding on a new bike. Here's the story: I made a
deal with my wife. If I can lose 53# and my Clydesdale status, she
will buy me a new bike. I'm almost there and looking to save some $
by buying a closeout 2004 model. My limit is $1000 for a complete
bike. I would like 105 as the minimum component group. My question
is: do I buy a touring bike, road bike, cross bike? I've done quite
a bit of touring in the past on a mountain bike. In fact, that is my
"road" bike right now-an early 90s steel Fisher mtn bike with slicks.
It is heavy, slow, and the perfect bike for losing weight. Do I keep
it as my touring bike and buy a faster, lighter road bike? Or do I
buy a decent touring bike and use it for all of my road riding? Will
I notice the difference between a road bike and a bare touring bike,
especially at my size? If it matters, I've never ridden a "real" road
bike since I've been a mtn biker for 20 of my 42 years.

Secondly, can anyone recommend some models for me to check out? I
think I would prefer steel, due to its durability and longevity. I
plan on keeping the bike for a long time. I realize that fit will be
a big part of the decision but I'm just looking to narrow the field a
bit. The brands available locally a Trek, Specialized, Lemond,
KHS, Marin. I'd be willing to drive a bit if you have recommendations
other than these brands. If anyone can point me to a source that
breaks down bikes by steel, aluminum, etc., I would appreciate it. By
the way, I'll be using the bike primarily for fitness rides of 20-60
miles, but working up to a century ride. I'll also be doing 1 or 2
two week fully loaded tours/year.

Thanks for the help!


You can certainly keep your mtb for touring, but it shouldn't be hard
to get a bike that can do it all. All the brands in you mention make
perfectly fine road bikes around your price range, but only some are
suitable/adaptable for touring. They can be called "touring", "sport
touring", "cyclocross", whatever. If you want touring (triple) gears
and a steel frame you might look at:

Specialized Sequoia
Lemond Poprad
Jamis Aurora

It may be tough to get full 105 for under $1K, but I wouldn't get
fixated on the component group. Road riding is not as hard on
components as mountain biking so Tiagra will work fine. The major long
term failure point is the STI shifters, but there doesn't seem to be
any consensus that 105 or ultegra versions are significantly more
durable. The major things are the frame and the fit.

Cross/hybrid bikes are not ideal for the kind of riding you describe
(relatively long rides). Too much weight on the seat and too few hand
positions for long term comfort.

As a longtime mtb rider, you will probably not notice a dramatic
difference between a standard road bike and a more tour/sport oriented
road bike. Both will go faster and accelerate better what you are
riding now. But the touring-type bike will probably feel better at
mile 80.

Frank Krygowski wrote:
Yellowstone Yeti wrote:

My question
is: do I buy a touring bike, road bike, cross bike? I've done quite
a bit of touring in the past on a mountain bike. In fact, that is my
"road" bike right now-an early 90s steel Fisher mtn bike with slicks.
It is heavy, slow, and the perfect bike for losing weight. Do I keep
it as my touring bike and buy a faster, lighter road bike? Or do I
buy a decent touring bike and use it for all of my road riding? Will
I notice the difference between a road bike and a bare touring bike,
especially at my size?


I don't think you stated your size, but: I think the differences you'll
notice in a road bike (vs. touring bike) are twitchier handling and lack
of low gears.

He didn't state his size, per se, but he did mention that he was close
to a weight loss of 53# and his wife had mentioned "Clydesdale status,"
which implies to me that he's tall as well as big (but I could be wrong
there). As long as he's over about 5'6" he won't have any trouble
finding a touring bike that fits. (I mention that because while looking
at touring bikes for my husband, I noticed that few companies make
touring bikes small enough for *me*.)

the way, I'll be using the bike primarily for fitness rides of 20-60
miles, but working up to a century ride. I'll also be doing 1 or 2
two week fully loaded tours/year.


To me, that would settle it. A touring bike is essentially as good as a
road bike for unloaded riding. A touring bike is unbeatable for loaded
touring.

Even with my admittedly meager experience, I'd have to agree with Frank
on that one. I don't think YY will regret getting a touring bike if he
actually does do two week fully-loaded tours each year. He might very
well regret getting a road bike if he tries to do the same thing.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

Frank Krygowski wrote:
Incidentally, I don't understand the current fashion of choosing a
cyclocross bike for, say, touring. Seems to me like it's just a fashion
thing. "Hey, I'm too cool for a touring bike. I got a macho bike
that's designed to be carried through the mud! But, er, I'm going
touring on it."

well, in a number of cases (the trek 520 v x01, for example) their cyclocross
bikes come stock with brifters whereas their touring bikes come with barend
shifters.

i hate barend shifters.

i hate, hate, hate them.

but i digress.

but for the most part it probably is a fashion thing. not that there's
anything wrong with fashion.

boy has to look good.
--
david reuteler