Using racing bike for touring

Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)?
If you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it succesful or
were there any problems?
I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for this purpose.
It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been advised that a
seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.

"Yvonne" wrote:
Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)?
If you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it succesful or
were there any problems?
I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for this purpose.
It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been advised that a
seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.

It can be done, but it's not a good idea. Carrying 35 pounds on a true
racing bike is pushing it. Touring bikes have longer seat stays for heel
clearance, and will accomodate wider tires.

In general, a touring bike works better for fast recreational riding than a
racing bike does for touring. A "sport touring" bike might be a better
choice for what you want.

Art Harris

Yvonne wrote:
Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)? If
you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it succesful or were
there any problems? I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for
this purpose. It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been
advised that a seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.



P-Clamps will attach a rack to your seat stays. Blackburn makes some
that have rubber coating to help protect the finish. An addition of some
front bag, like a handle bar bag would help put some of the weight up
front. A trailer might be a better solution. The best solutions is a
touring bicycle. I went through this migration. Each one works, but the
stability and ease of use of a touring bicycle is hard to beat. I found
the a true racing bicycle was not stable under load when going fast. I
also had significant challenges loading the gear on the rack and have my
heels not hit the panniers. With the extra load, I found I wanted wider
tires. I could only fit 25 mm tires, but I wanted 28 mm or more.



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Although I agree that a touring bike is better for routine touring use,
there is absolutely no need one can't tour on a racing bike.

The additional 35lbs to a bike will have no effect on the frame. Statements
like that are speculative, and not proven by any fact. The heel clearance is
an issue, but there are setups and panniers that will accomadate that
problem.

I recently went on a four day ride with six friends. We carried our own
equipment, about 30lbs each, and stayed in a motel each night. Riding was
about 90 miles per day accross all sorts of roads.

There were three Trek 5500's, one Seven, one Colnago, and one Spectrum.
Everyone carried there own weight, and other than the occasional flat, no
mechanical breakdowns.

The pannier of choice for those without eyelets was one by Old Man Mountain.
http://www.oldmanmountain.com/sherpa_rear_details.htm

It mounts through the axle. It does not put additional stress on the frame.

I touring bike with front and rear eyelets may allow for easier use of
fenders and racks, but a racing bike is not necessarily a fragile item that
is meant only to be raced.

I know people who take older Ti frames, that were state of the art when
made, and turn them into daily commute beater bikes.

In ten years, the Trek 5900's may be on e-bay for someone looking for a
beater frame.

"Yvonne" wrote in message
om...
Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)?
If you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it succesful or
were there any problems?
I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for this purpose.
It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been advised that a
seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.

I don't know about panniers on a light weight, but I've toured on
my Cannondale R1000 light bike pulling a BOB trailer. It can be
done, but the R1000 geometry, gearing, and low weight makes
it hard. It was very squirrelly especially when standing. Trying
to stand up on steeper grades (necessary with higher gearing)
made the whole works wobble dangerously, and high speed
descents were not safe especially on curves. Maybe panniers
work better on a lightweight bike. I finally broke down and
bought a real touring bike which handles the BOB and panniers
better. My preference on long extended tours are the latter.
Low rider front panniers add a lot of stability but also add a
lot of wind resistance.

Yvonne wrote:

Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)?
If you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it succesful or
were there any problems?
I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for this purpose.
It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been advised that a
seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.

The most common mechanical failure with bikes overloaded for touring is
spoke breakage in the rear wheel. For a load like this, I'd recommend a
pair of low-rider _front_ panniers. Most front wheels are way overbuilt
compared with rears, and it is very unusual to have any problems in front.

This also will provide more even weight distribution, and avoid issues
of heel clearance with the rear panniers.

There are a number of front racks/panniers that don't require braze ons.
It's also sometimes feasible to temporarily install a touring fork on
a racing bike for this purpose.

You might also use a seatpost rack for light/bulky stuff like a sleeping
bag.

Sheldon "Front Loading" Brown
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| Oh, my ways are strange ways and new ways and old ways, |
| And deep ways and steep ways and high ways and low, |
| I'm at home and at ease on a track that I know not, |
| And restless and lost on a road that I know. |
| --Henry Lawson, Australian poet. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 15:54:02 GMT, "MGS" may have said:

In ten years, the Trek 5900's may be on e-bay for someone looking for a
beater frame.

If they're still in one piece. While that particular frame might be,
there are plenty of current racing frames that will probably have
developed failures well before then. Bleeding-edge frames are no
longer built for long-term durability...and it's particularly hard to
say what any given carbon fiber frame's longevity will be since there
are so many variables involved. I would be amazed if the resins
reliably and consistently remained stable in actual usage environments
for ten years; some certainly will, but I have no doubt that many will
not.

On the other hand, as you point out, most all things come cheaply to
those willing to wait.


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Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something,
it's also possible that I'm busy.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

MGS wrote:
Although I agree that a touring bike is better for routine touring use,
there is absolutely no need one can't tour on a racing bike.

You can probably tour on a Razor scooter, too. The
differences are ones of degree. With a racing bike, nobody
is suggesting that you will have a frame failure. Here are
some common issues using a racing bike for touring:

-spoke breakage with lighter weight wheels
-heel clearance with panniers
-no clearance for fatter tires or fenders
-less stability with a heavy load
-high-speed shimmy with a heavy load
-less comfortable position for long distance riding
-shorter wheelbase means a harsher ride

We see a lot of cross-country tourists at our shop. Since
we are in Illinois, we typically see them somewhere in the
middle of the trip. So, we get to see a lot of what works
and what doesn't. We sell a lot of saddles (after a rider
finds that the saddle that was comfortable on 30 mile local
rides doesn't necessarily work for 80 miles a day for
several weeks).

We also sell a lot of replacement tires. By the time we see
folks, they don't care what the tire weighs as long as it is
durable and fairly flat-resistant. Fatter is better since
they generally last longer. We also do a lot of wheel
repair and rebuilding.

Todd Kuzma
Heron Bicycles
Tullio's Big Dog Cyclery
LaSalle, Il 815-223-1776
http://www.heronbicycles.com
http://www.tullios.com

"Commuter Cyclist" -an-address wrote in message
newsan.2003.11.23.19.28.37.138989@cyclist...
On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 01:33:15 -0800, Yvonne wrote:

Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)?
If you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it succesful or
were there any problems?
I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for this purpose.
It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been advised that a
seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.

My experience touring with a lightweight bike was that it wanted to
oscillate unless I kept my weight on it. Less load made it more stable,
but it wasn't as fun as a rock solid bike. No harm done, but nothing
would beat the heavier construction and conveniences of a real touring
bike (e.g. braze-ons front and back, relaxed geometry, better gearing and
so on).


This guy
http://www-math.science.unitn.it/Bik...3-0339_IMG.JPG
(large file) would disagree with you. Another photo shows two bikes with
this setup http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/f27.html
(btw, if I were to be gay, I'd be on that Bill Roberson guy ... ain't he
pretty?!)
FWIW, check out his pack list
http://www-math.science.unitn.it/Bik...king_List.html, all of
which goes into that transverse saddle bag, the type you can find here
http://rivendellbicycles.com/webalog/baggage_racks/

Saddlebag size can be an issue with smaller frames but you can also find
supports at the last link above.

I used to do a fair amount of fully loaded, unsupported, primitive camping
touring on full-fledged touring bikes. I haven't toured in quite a while
but, when I get around to it again, I'm going to take my road bike and
forget about sleeping on hard, cold ground after a long day in the saddle
lugging around all that camping gear.

Of course you might want to rethink if your road bike is a stupid-light
and/or stupid-short racer. Mine is neither (but technically a racer
nonetheless).

Robin Hubert

On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 01:33:15 +0000, Yvonne wrote:

Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)? If
you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it succesful or were
there any problems?
I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for this purpose.
It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been advised that a
seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.

There is no problem. I*have used two different racing bikes for touring,
with no trouble from the bike. You are not carrying that much weight, so
could use just rear panniers with maybe a front handlebar bag. That's
what I use.

I secure the rear rack to the frame with "P-clamps" from a hardware store.
The "P" is their shape, and the rack mounts attach to the leg. They even
come with rubber padding to protect the frame. BTW, they are meant to
hold cable, so look in the electrical section.

You need to be careful to get the panniers back far enough to avoid heel
contact, but that can be done. My stays are quite short and it works well
for me.

You will also want to get triple chainrings. The extra weight, even
35lbs, makes climbing much harder.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | "What am I on? I'm on my bike, six hours a day, busting my ass.
_`\(,_ | What are you on?" --Lance Armstrong
(_)/ (_) |