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Bike Friday for a touring bike?
On Thu, 03 Jul 2003 15:39:55 -0500, Tim McNamara
wrote: In article , wrote: My thoughts are either a Bike Friday model.... or a Bruce Gordon BLT. Or maybe even a recumbent? Unless you really want to be able to fold the bike up for flying, go with the BLT. It's the best deal in touring bikes. Also check out the Rivendell Romulus. I just returned (late last evening) from a cycling trip in New England, thus the tardiness of this response. In our party of sixteen, three were on Bike Fridays. Other than the "fold 'em into a suitcase" feature I saw NO advantage to them. Even worse, one of the bikes' wheels was slightly damaged in shipment causing a series of flats. The party quickly ran out of 20" tubes and had to resort to patches to keep going. This is okay for some (like me), but the guy who kept flatting didn't share my faith in patches, thus he and his wife skipped our day on Martha's Vineyard. My girlfriend rode her Trek 520 (touring bike) and I rode my Fuji Touring Series. These were fine choices except for some of the rough roads around Watch Hill, RI. There we sort of wished we'd brought our mountain bikes. One of our group was on a brand new CoMotion equipped with S&S Couplers. Seems to me if you want a "packable" bike that's a reasonable choice for touring this would be a good way to go. BTW, thanks to the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen for inviting us (Naperville Bicycle Club, Illinois) to join their club ride out of Tiverton, RI. It was the best ride of the trip. jeverett3ATearthlinkDOTnet http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3 |
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#3
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Bike Friday for a touring bike?
I just returned (late last evening) from a cycling trip in New
England, thus the tardiness of this response. In our party of sixteen, three were on Bike Fridays. Other than the "fold 'em into a suitcase" feature I saw NO advantage to them. So.... are you saying that if you do NOT need the folding ability at all ..... to absolutely NOT buy a folder as a touring bike? |
#4
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Bike Friday for a touring bike?
Peter wrote in message ...
bikerider7 wrote: wrote in message . .. I've used my Bike Friday (now almost 10 years old) on a number of self-supported camping tours without any problems. All the components are standard Shimano (mine doesn't have the optional 3x7 Sachs/SRAM hub, but from what I've seen those are pretty durable devices) and the wheels are 20" - very widely available. (I notice you mentioned 16" tubes - do you have their recumbent model? My mistake, I misremembered as 16" when in fact it is their usual 20". However, I do not agree that 20" is so widely available (at least in the places that I normally go bike touring), but we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. As for the drive-train being "standard" my largest chainring is (again, if I recall correctly) 60-tooth. That is not what I consider standard. And yes, it is something that can break -- Southwest bent my chainring the last time I flew with the bike. Parts can be FedEx'd (or equivalent) quickly almost anywhere in the world these days. To each their own. I'd rather not put up with that kind of hassle when all I need is a tube or spoke. |
#5
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Bike Friday for a touring bike?
bikerider7 wrote:
Peter wrote in message ... bikerider7 wrote: wrote in message . .. I've used my Bike Friday (now almost 10 years old) on a number of self-supported camping tours without any problems. All the components are standard Shimano (mine doesn't have the optional 3x7 Sachs/SRAM hub, but from what I've seen those are pretty durable devices) and the wheels are 20" - very widely available. (I notice you mentioned 16" tubes - do you have their recumbent model? My mistake, I misremembered as 16" when in fact it is their usual 20". However, I do not agree that 20" is so widely available (at least in the places that I normally go bike touring), but we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. As for the drive-train being "standard" my largest chainring is (again, if I recall correctly) 60-tooth. That is not what I consider standard. And yes, it is something that can break -- Southwest bent my chainring the last time I flew with the bike. Not a very common occurrence though - and what would be the possible downside? You might be limited in your top few gears for a day or two using a 52 instead of your usual 60. Doesn't strike me as something that's going to make a big difference in any of my touring. Parts can be FedEx'd (or equivalent) quickly almost anywhere in the world these days. To each their own. I'd rather not put up with that kind of hassle when all I need is a tube or spoke. Those I pick up in any local bike shop - I find that there are far more of those that cater to kid's bikes/BMX and MTBs than to road bikes. [Tubes are not an issue anyway - almost any size can be made to work if you're careful with the installation. That includes 700c tubes in MTB or 20" tires and 20" tubes in 700c - it's not optimum but serviceable until you can get something better.] But if there's a serious problem I can call Green Gear at any time (24/7) and they'll discuss how to get me rolling again as quickly as possible including FedEx shipment of needed parts like a rear triangle. The other bike I use for touring is my Cannondale and I think I'd have a lot more trouble getting hold of someone there on Thanksgiving day to talk about a quick frame replacement. |
#6
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Bike Friday for a touring bike?
bikerider7 wrote:
Peter wrote in message news:YkEQa.53609$GL4.13943@rwcrnsc53... bikerider7 wrote: As for the drive-train being "standard" my largest chainring is (again, if I recall correctly) 60-tooth. That is not what I consider standard. And yes, it is something that can break -- Southwest bent my chainring the last time I flew with the bike. Not a very common occurrence though Well, my experience is that eventually, anything that can go wrong on tour will (especially where baggage handlers are involved). You might be limited in your top few gears for a day or two using a 52 instead of your usual 60. Doesn't strike me as something that's going to make a big difference in any of my touring. The 60 was bent so far that the 52 didn't have enough clearance either. I dunno, can an outer chainring be removed and the rest of the chainrings still be held together without a spacer? Since it happened on my trip back, I didn't really have to try that experiment... I don't understand your point here. I thought you were arguing that the BF owner would have a much more serious problem due to a bent chainring if he has a 60-tooth ring that's hard to find while someone with a regular bike would walk into an LBS and get a 52. I was just pointing out that switching the BF to a big ring of 52 for the day or two it might take to get a 60 shipped is not that big a deal for a typical bike tourist - the bike is still rideable but you'd be coasting on more of the downhills. The unconventional nature of a BF is not really a problem from the standpoint of finding replacement parts since almost all the components (incl. the crankset) are very conventional. And they further back you up with responsive customer support that goes beyond other bike companies with which I've dealt. But if there's a serious problem I can call Green Gear at any time (24/7) and they'll discuss how to get me rolling again as quickly as possible including FedEx shipment of needed parts like a rear triangle. The other bike I use for touring is my Cannondale and I think I'd have a lot more trouble getting hold of someone there on Thanksgiving day to talk about a quick frame replacement. Cannondale frames are very bulletproof. Only if you're using very slow bullets. There's no such thing as a bulletproof bikeframe and if you tried to make one it would weigh too much to be useful. I used an R500 for years of hard-core touring. So - I haven't had any problems either with my 14-year old R800, but I don't kid myself that it's somehow immune from being trashed by even a rather minor impact. I really don't know what the BF policy is on broken frames but I'm not sure that's something they would be able to Fed-Ex in 24 hrs (I can, however, buy a new Cannondale frame at lots of retail stores around the world). Try it on Thanksgiving day in some arbitrary small town in the US. I doubt if you'll even get through to their customer service department until the following Monday. And most small towns don't have bike shops, but they do get FedEx shipments. As well, BF frames are heavy, and that quick-release joint at the bottom bracket makes them flexy. But if people like BF's (and I know a lot of people that do), more power to them....my own experience (as you can tell) was rather negative. I can certainly understand that some people wouldn't choose BFs. But the reason you cited of difficulty finding parts while touring doesn't strike me as a valid one. I would recommend that tourers choose the 406 wheel size rather than 451 (both are labelled 20", but the 406 size is the common one for BMX bikes). |
#7
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Bike Friday for a touring bike?
Peter wrote in message . net...
bikerider7 wrote: Cannondale frames are very bulletproof. Only if you're using very slow bullets. There's no such thing as a bulletproof bikeframe and if you tried to make one it would weigh too much to be useful. Of course. But as far as frames go, my experience has been that the touring Cannondale frames can take a lot of abuse and that I'd be much more worried about the BF frame breaking. I really don't know what the BF policy is on broken frames but I'm not sure that's something they would be able to Fed-Ex in 24 hrs (I can, however, buy a new Cannondale frame at lots of retail stores around the world). Try it on Thanksgiving day in some arbitrary small town in the US. I doubt if you'll even get through to their customer service department until the following Monday. And most small towns don't have bike shops, but they do get FedEx shipments. Are you suggesting that BF would build a new frame over Thanksgiving break? They do have good customer service -- I'll give them that -- but it took 6 weeks for them to build my P.R. frame (and BTW, the frame they built me didn't come close to the measurements I had sent them...but their lack of quality control is another topic entirely). And as for Fed-Ex'ing parts, one can always order stuff from Bike-Nashbar, Colorado Cyclist, etc. |
#8
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Bike Friday for a touring bike?
Peter wrote in message news:fPYQa.58882$OZ2.10305@rwcrnsc54...
bikerider7 wrote: Are you suggesting that BF would build a new frame over Thanksgiving break? I'm not sure, but I did call them years ago on Thanksgiving day because of a problem with my rear triangle. I was expecting to leave a message on an answering machine and was surprised when I got a live response. He asked if I was in a hurry and I replied that there wasn't any rush at all - I was at home and had other bikes available. I still got a new rear triangle in less than a week. I presume it would have been even faster if I had indicated I was stuck in some small town in the middle of a bike tour. Interesting...your BF developed a problem in the rear triangle and that didn't concern you? Granted, I don't know the details of your particular situation but I know quite a lot of BF owners that had frame problems which to me is a really bad sign. They do have good customer service -- I'll give them that ... And as for Fed-Ex'ing parts, one can always order stuff from Bike-Nashbar, Colorado Cyclist, etc. And which of those have a 24/7 phone number with a service rep on call to discuss technical issues and repair/replacement options to get you back on the road as quickly as possible? No idea...I have only dealt with LBS's and since I always try to buy the most reliable, non-exotic stuff on the market, I have never had to make an emergency long distance call to a service rep (my BF being the exception of course). |
#9
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Bike Friday for a touring bike?
My mistake, I misremembered as 16" when in fact it is their usual 20". However, I do not agree that 20" is so widely available (at least in the places that I normally go bike touring), but we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. Are you telling me that people who tour on their bents (recumbents) are going to be out of luck when it comes to replacing their tires on the road?? Some bents use the same 406 tires that the Bike Friday bikes use too and that is where I got my replacement tires and tubes from. I have seen MANY PEOPLE tour on their bents for more than 1 year at a time and they don't seem to have any problems whatsoever finding replacement tires and tubes. As for the drive-train being "standard" my largest chainring is (again, if I recall correctly) 60-tooth. That is not what I consider standard. And yes, it is something that can break -- Southwest bent my chainring the last time I flew with the bike. They bent your chain ring and yet your front derailleur survived? Most recent Bike Fridays have a chain ring guard (a metal piece) that surrounds the chain ring, preventing the chain to bounce out during shifting and also probably provides some measure of protection from damage in airline luggage handling. If a regular bike gets damaged by the airlines with both derailleurs bent as well as the chain ring, you have no choice but to push your bike. With the Bike Friday and a Sachs 3x7 or a 3x9 hub, even if the rear derailleur got snapped off, all I have to do is shorten the chain to make it a single speed bike with a 7 or 9 speed internal hub still intact. You can at least tour with it until you find a bike shop that can sell me a rear derailleur and new chain! |
#10
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Bike Friday for a touring bike?
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