Touring bikes

My husband is not liking his hybrid and seriously thinking about getting a
more road-bike-shaped bike. He's decided that maybe a real touring bike
would be just the ticket -- he likes the idea of having the capability of
piling on racks and panniers and taking off on the open road.

Who am I to argue with him? I'm pleased as all heck that he's liking
riding enough to want a new bike.

So you guys that gots tourers -- what do you got, and what do you like
about it, and what do you recommend?

The TREK 520 is incredibly boring, hasn't changed in about 8 years, and
that's exactly what a lot of people who tour seem to like about it. It just
works, doesn't look flashy, and has possibly the best company behind it in
terms of a warranty. You might also look into a CycloCross bike for him, as
they're a bit sportier (slightly shorter wheelbase, a bit steeper angles,
which make it a bit more fun to ride when not loaded down) but still have
room for racks & fenders. Just ditch the stock off-roadish tires that come
on them.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
Meanwhile, there's this huge surplus of used hardware that just sits
around, unloved, and is perfect for the sort of use your husband would
put it to.

--snip--

But, de gustibus et cetera. Your husband may desire the motivation of a
really nice new bicycle. It is a scientific fact that shiny new bicycles
are faster than rusty old bicycles, even when all variables (weight,
gearing, de-rusting the drivetrain) are controlled for.

Hmmm. I need to talk to him, probably. He's not the sort that needs a
new toy to be shiny and new for him to be interested in it; we're
talking about a man who gets very excited about dusty old books. So
possibly a vintage bike would be interesting to him. And I bet the
techs at our favorite LBS would get enthusiastic about such an animal
(because we'd have to have them fix it up for us -- neither of us knows
a thing about bike tech other than Cleaning and Lubing The Chain Is A
Good Thing).

I'm deeply suspicious of Ebay though. I just can't get used to the idea
of a world-wide electronic garage sale cum flea market. Hmm, it's
Saturday, definitely worth looking in the Sunday paper classifieds...

Thanks for the idea. :-)

-km

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

Frank Krygowski wrote:
What you're going to hear is fifteen different versions of "I've got an
XXXXX bike, and it's great!!!" You won't hear many complaints.

As for my part: My wife and I have 1986 Cannondale ST-800, which was
'Dale's top of the line loaded touring bike back then. They're great!!!!

Heh. But that was the point. People also throw in comments about
things I hadn't thought about, or they'll also sometimes comment on
something they wish their bike had but doesn't, stuff like that.

You need to check our Adventure Cycling Association and their magazine.
Once a year they do an entire article on touring bikes. It's free of
the "I got an XXXX and it's great!!!!" stuff, and it'll tell you what to
look for.

Oh cool, I'll check that out. Thanks. :-)

-km

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

On Fri, 20 Aug 2004 21:30:27 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

the black rose wrote:
My husband is not liking his hybrid and seriously thinking about getting
a more road-bike-shaped bike. He's decided that maybe a real touring
bike would be just the ticket -- he likes the idea of having the
capability of piling on racks and panniers and taking off on the open road.

Who am I to argue with him? I'm pleased as all heck that he's liking
riding enough to want a new bike.

So you guys that gots tourers -- what do you got, and what do you like
about it, and what do you recommend?

What you're going to hear is fifteen different versions of "I've got an
XXXXX bike, and it's great!!!" You won't hear many complaints.

Frank's right about this, of course. I've got a Fuji tourer; if the
local LBSs stocked the Trek 520 or Cannondale tourers, I'd probably
have one of those. I've test ridden REI's Novara Randonee, but didn't
like it as much as the 520.

You need to check our Adventure Cycling Association and their magazine.
Once a year they do an entire article on touring bikes. It's free of
the "I got an XXXX and it's great!!!!" stuff, and it'll tell you what to
look for.

Check out http://www.adventurecycling.org/feat...sguide2004.cfm
-- they have a list of bikes at the bottom of the page.

BTW, while some claim a tourer is nowhere near as "sporty" as a "true
racing bike," just taking off loaded panniers make it much more
lively. So commute during the week, and it will sit up and beg to be
ridden on the weekend!

Pat

Email address works as is.

In article ,
(R15757) wrote:

My argument here is that brifteurs (STI/Ergo integrated brake-shifter
levers) are exceedingly useful if you're racing, but not terribly
important otherwise. They're nice, and if you like them, go for it, but
there isn't a significant advantage for touring, commuting, or even
training.

I don't agree--not having to take a
hand off the bars is a significant advantage
in heavy traffic.

In practice, I find it's a matter of habits. On a bicycle, there are
precious few hazards you can accelerate away from, so being in the
optimal gear is not a safety issue. With that understood, it becomes
clear that gear-changing is always a secondary concern, and you leave
the gears alone when your full attention should be on the road.

Since upshifts mean acceleration, they're almost always done in
circumstances where the way ahead is clear (if you're not sure if the
way ahead is clear, you shouldn't be upshifting, you should be braking).
For downshifts, the worst-case scenario where you get stuck in a
too-high gear is not a safety issue, it's a comfort-and-convenience
issue. Most of the time, you just stand and pedal until you can
downshift safely, or on rare occasions you might actually end up
"stalled" on a hill: at a dead stop in a gear too high to start off
again. In such a case, you swallow your pride, pull off, and shift down
at the side of the road. Note you could experience that same scenario
(though less often) on a brifteur bike.

Considering buying a track bike,
--

Once you are considering it,
it's already too late.

Nah. I'm really cheap. But my riding buddies are encouraging me.

--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

In article ,
the black rose wrote:

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
Meanwhile, there's this huge surplus of used hardware that just sits
around, unloved, and is perfect for the sort of use your husband would
put it to.

--snip--

But, de gustibus et cetera. Your husband may desire the motivation of a
really nice new bicycle. It is a scientific fact that shiny new bicycles
are faster than rusty old bicycles, even when all variables (weight,
gearing, de-rusting the drivetrain) are controlled for.

Hmmm. I need to talk to him, probably. He's not the sort that needs a
new toy to be shiny and new for him to be interested in it; we're
talking about a man who gets very excited about dusty old books. So
possibly a vintage bike would be interesting to him. And I bet the
techs at our favorite LBS would get enthusiastic about such an animal
(because we'd have to have them fix it up for us -- neither of us knows
a thing about bike tech other than Cleaning and Lubing The Chain Is A
Good Thing).

I'm deeply suspicious of Ebay though. I just can't get used to the idea
of a world-wide electronic garage sale cum flea market. Hmm, it's
Saturday, definitely worth looking in the Sunday paper classifieds...

eBay is not a good source for this sort of thing. The issue is that for
a bicycle, and especially a cheap bicycle, shipping costs will be a
significant proportion of the transaction price.

Classifieds are an acceptable resource, but I've had my very best luck
with aggressive garage sale trolling. Such shopping is highly
serendipitous, but most likely to produce a decent bike.

If you're comparing against bikes you can just buy at your LBS, keep in
mind that any bike you drag home will need at least a tune-up (lube,
adjustment, possibly some bearings), and replacing the chain, cables,
brake pads and freewheel cluster is a good idea. The tires may or may
not be in usable shape, and a lot of these bikes have crappy brakes. I
like to replace at least the front with a new brake, of which the
cheap-and-cheerful modernization is a Shimano RSX, or any fairly decent
recent dual-pivot brake. The low-end Dia-Compe brakes just seem to give
me great trouble, apparently because the brake body can flex too much or
something.

If there's a shop in your area that specializes in used bikes, they'll
probably have something, too. They cost more than garage sales, but you
don't have to visit 40 garage sales to find a bike you can use.

Finally, don't bother with a bike with steel wheels. Having aluminum
rims is just about the most consistent dividing line between really
terrible 20-year-old road bikes and rideable 20-year-old road bikes.

Thanks for the idea. :-)

Glad to be of service,
--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

In article ,
Ryan Cousineau writes:

or on rare occasions you might actually end up
"stalled" on a hill: at a dead stop in a gear too high to start off
again. In such a case, you swallow your pride, pull off, and shift down
at the side of the road.

I've gotten out of those by doing 0-turns. Not on busy streets,
though. In fact the last time was on a steepish, narrow
residential street -- I took a siding to let a schoolbus coming
down the hill get by.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
Considering buying a track bike,
--

Once you are considering it,
it's already too late.

Nah. I'm really cheap. But my riding buddies are encouraging me.

specialized langster, $440 street legal (ie, with brakes). anyone seen it?
my lbs doesn't stock 'em and specialized has no components listed. looks
like the front fork even has fender mounts but not the rear (eh?).
--
david reuteler

Ryan Cousineau wrote in part:

In practice, I find it's a matter of habits. On a bicycle, there are
precious few hazards you can accelerate away from, so being in the
optimal gear is not a safety issue. With that understood, it becomes
clear that gear-changing is always a secondary concern, and you leave
the gears alone when your full attention should be on the road.

True.

Since upshifts mean acceleration, they're almost always done in
circumstances where the way ahead is clear (if you're not sure if the
way ahead is clear, you shouldn't be upshifting, you should be braking).
For downshifts, the worst-case scenario where you get stuck in a
too-high gear is not a safety issue, it's a comfort-and-convenience
issue. ...snip

I think the comfort and convenience issues alone
make for a significant advantage for commuters and rec riders. But the safety
issues shouldn't be written
off. Eventually, having to take a hand off the bars
all the time to shift tends to become a factor in some
sort of incident. Not only does brifter shifting
keep both hands on the bars, it puts them on the
brake levers.

Considering buying a track bike,
--

Once you are considering it,
it's already too late.

Nah. I'm really cheap. But my riding buddies are encouraging me.

Track bikes are the weapon of choice
for cheap guys. Fixed gears are great
if you're too cheap to
buy brakes.

Robert

In article ,
(Milesahead57) writes:

Track bikes are the weapon of choice
for cheap guys. Fixed gears are great
if you're too cheap to
buy brakes.

I understand they have certain anti-theft qualities, too.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca