Topics

1

Gear Talk / Rear derailleur dilemma

« on: October 03, 2023, 07:39:02 pm »

I had an issue with my 2019 Masi Giramondo 700c, something was wrong with the frame that allowed it to flex almost a foot to either side in the rear when loaded, so Haro replaced the frame and fork under warranty, and did so hassle-free which pleasantly surprised me. 

They sent me the newest 2023 Giramondo frame and fork, but for some reason, it came with Microshift XCD rear derailleur which I think is a clutch design?

The front is the MS XLE derailleur.

To my question; is the MS XCD a better front derailleur than the Deore that my bike came with in 2019 for touring with loads?  OR should I skip both and get a Shimano Deore XT? 

I do know that when I'm under load the original rear Deore derailleur doesn't shift as well as it does with no load, not sure why that would be happening, but it could be due to the unusual amount of frame flex I was getting with the 2019 Giramondo.

And the other related question, is the MS XLE a better front derailleur than the Deore?  Or should I upgrade it to Deore XT?  I haven't had any issues with the original Deore, so I'm thinking that since the front isn't as critical as the rear either transfer the Deore to the new bike or leave the MS XLE on it instead.

I don't know anything about Microshift, nor do I know anything about a clutch derailleur, will a clutch derailleur work better when under load?

I want a derailleur that will last a very long time and shift good when under load.

Thanks for your all help.

2

General Discussion / cost per day to tour

« on: May 13, 2023, 04:42:54 pm »

Due to inflation, does anyone have any current information as to how much you spend a day road touring?  Don't include your bike, tent, etc., just day-to-day expenses.

Thanks

3

General Discussion / Adventure Cycling Touring People Question was changed

« on: May 24, 2021, 09:36:04 pm »

I have several questions regarding how a self contained ACA guided tours.

Do you pack your own food and drinks?  Or is that stuff carried in the support vehicle?

What is your total pack weight?

Do you carry a locking system?

How often during any particular day does the group stop during a ride to rest or whatever?

What time is wake up? and what time is bed time?

Upon waking how much time is given to eat, pack, use the shower etc before leaving? or does everyone shower the night before?

What time do you usually arrive at the next camp site?

What is the average speed on flat land?

Any other things I need to know about would be great, thanks guys!

4

General Discussion / Lube when long distance touring

« on: June 11, 2020, 09:54:41 pm »

I was wondering when you are touring long distance, is there a lube you use that you don't ever have to clean the chain except for a wipe down?

If not what lube do guys take?

How do you clean the chain on the road without carry chain cleaning fluid?

thanks

5

Gear Talk / Tires for Touring

« on: June 03, 2020, 09:53:18 pm »

I have a set of 700x45 Kenda Drumlins on my new touring bike, but those things are freaking heavy at 1600 grams a piece, so I was going to lighten the tires up by going with a set of Schwalbe Marathon Supremes, I heard a lot of good stuff about those tires, then I heard of another guy touring on Schwalbe Kojaks and said they were the best.  So while I was on the Schwalbe website I got into a chat with one of the reps, and he claims he does a lot of touring and he said that the Supremes and the Kojaks aren't made for touring but rather city commuting?!  Lots of people tour on those Supremes. 

So he said that the real touring tires are the Marathon Plus and the Marathon GT Tour.  He said that's the only tires he uses because their nearly flat proof and he doesn't want to spend his time fixing flats.

This is all new to me because I've heard of lot of people here on this forum that use the Supremes and haven't mentioned much about flats.  I told him I wasn't going to be carrying 90 or so pounds of gear but was going to try to keep the weight under 50 pounds, but he said nope get those two I mentioned above.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what that Schwalbe guy said?

6

General Discussion / Flats while touring

« on: May 08, 2020, 02:49:39 pm »

A question came up on another post here unrelated to the actual post question so I want to ask a direct question and see what experienced touring members say.

These questions are only for those who tour on mostly pavement, maybe some gravel if necessary, but no backcountry off road touring, also only those who have toured in America preferably, and not something wild like the roads in the Outback of Australia.

First question: On average, how many flats do you get while on a single tour?

Second question:  How many tubes do you carry with you if you are using tubed tires and not tubeless?

Third question:  How many spare tires do you carry?

Fourth question:  Do you patch your flats or replace the tube or both?

Fifth question:  Do you do anything to the tire to beef up the flat protection built into the tire like use flat liners, and or a thorn resistant tube, and or sealants?  Again only tube type tires not tubeless.

I would personally like to know so when I start doing long distance touring I'm prepared.  Right now I do short 2 to 3 days out type of touring and 2 to 3 days back.  I use Schwalbe Marathon tires, inside of that I use a Panaracer FlatAway Kevlar liner, and a regular tube with no sealant.  I then carry 1 spare tube, 1 spare tire, and a dozen patches and a tire boot patch.  So am I under prepared for a long journey touring in America in regards to tire protection?

Thanks for your responses. 

7

Gear Talk / Rene Herse Cycles tires

« on: April 13, 2020, 10:06:20 pm »

Has anyone did a loaded touring on either 700C x 44 Snoqualmie Pass TC Endurance, or 700C x 38 Barlow Pass TC Endurance?  If so how many miles was it good for?  Any flats? And how comfortable riding was it compared to other tires?  Would you tour on them again?  thanks.

8

General Discussion / Forged vs stamp steel rear dropouts

« on: September 27, 2019, 07:25:23 pm »

I had a car sideswipe me while on my touring bike that sent me into a curb and bent my fork on my very low miles almost new condition 85 Schwinn Le Tour Luxe and the fork is toast, but somehow the front wheel survived as well as me even after flipping over the handlebars and landing on concrete.  The dude took off of course, so much for the 3 foot Indiana law.

So now my question.  I am now looking at touring bikes.  I had my mind made up to get a Masi Giramondo 700c because it ticked all my boxes when others didn't, even had the best gearing for climbing steep grades loaded, and plenty of water bottle mounts...but then I discovered a problem and not sure if I want to pull the trigger now.  The rear dropouts are just plain stamped steel and not forged, I contacted Masi about it and they responded quickly and said their dropouts have never failed even when heavily loaded, of course they're going to say that!  So I'm wondering what some you think of this situation?

9

General Discussion / Salsa Vaya vs Masi Giramondo vs or?

« on: January 24, 2019, 07:19:22 pm »

I thought I would come to the experts in touring for this question.

I've done some touring, mostly short 1 to 4 day trips, but I want to do longer trips and decided to upgrade my current bike I use for touring which is a 85 Schwinn Le Tour Luxe, nothing wrong with the bike, but I decided I needed a sloping top tube and a fork that can handle 2 bottle cages, plus a frame that can handle 3 bottle cages, since water is something I put a premium on carrying.  Not sure if how much weight I will be carrying is important but just in case it is, I will be carrying 40 to 50 pounds on the rear, about 20 on the front including the water, and myself at 170.

So I think I narrowed it down to a Salsa Vaya Deore, or a Masi Giramondo 700c; both have the all the bottle cage mounts, both have sloping top tubes, both are steel, both are in my price bracket, both have wide range gears for climbing steep mountain roads with a load, both use bar end shifters which I prefer for simplicity, both have disk brakes which I DON'T prefer because they are not simple to fix on the road but they all come with them now.  I ruled out the Trek 520 because it had lower quality components than the two above and it cost more! 

Has anyone used either of those two bikes for touring and if so what are your impressions?

If anyone has any other suggestions I would be open to hear about it.

Also the disk brake issue; the Masi comes with TRP Spyre-C Dual Piston Mechanical Disc, 180mm Front with 160mm Rear Rotors; while the Salsa comes with Avid BB7 mechanical with 160mm front and rear, can the BB7 take a 180mm rotor on the front?  And which of the two brakes are better?  From what I've read everyone liked both about equally.  I'm also assuming from what I've read that mechanical disk are easier to maintain in the field vs hydraulic is this true?  I've never worked with disk brakes before so using these will be a learning experience in the maintenance department.

Thanks gang, appreciate any input.

10

General Discussion / Forged vs stamped dropouts

« on: January 24, 2019, 06:31:55 pm »

Almost all of my steel bikes have forged dropouts except one a cheap Giant Rincon, always thought forged was better than stamped steel, but then I ran into a problem looking for a touring bike.

I have to use this bike on a long cross country trip so I need, or would prefer, 3 bottle cage mounts on the frame and 2 on the fork so that sort of limits a lot of options, plus I want a sloping top tube which eliminates some more bikes.  I will be carrying about 50 pounds on the rear (probably closer to 40), 20 on the front, and of course myself at around 170, not sure if the weight stuff matters but maybe.

I was looking at several touring bikes the Kona Sutra, Masi Giramondo and the Salsa Marrakesh Deore, all three of them look like they don't have forged dropouts, the Salsa has a weird dropout called the Alternator but there is nothing in the description saying it's forged and I can't tell by looking at it. 

I'm leaning toward either the Masi or the Salsa, both tick all my boxes, the Kona almost ticks them all the boxes, the rest I saw ticked less boxes.

This question came up because some guy reviewing the Masi claimed he bent his rear dropouts because they were stamped and not forged, but anywhere I looked I did not see this complaint, so not sure if he was rough on the bike or what the heck happened.

Anyway any thoughts on why forged is better, or if it doesn't matter anymore would be appreciated.

11

Gear Talk / What lube to use for touring.

« on: December 29, 2014, 07:59:57 pm »

I'm in the planning stages for a tour across the US, and in that process something came to my mind.  When a person is touring they simply can't carry a bottle of chain cleaner and a chain cleaning machine do they?  if not then how do they clean their chain?  or do they?

Is there a special lube that stays clean that I'm not aware of?  Wax lubes stay clean but a person would have to reply it every day, is that what touring people do?  My experience with drip on wax lubes is that my chains get about 2/3rds LESS mileage on them before they are worn out, so replacing a chain once or twice going across country would be ridiculas too.

On my road bikes I currently use ProGold Xtreme but when it runs out I'm going to try Rock and Roll Gold, but either lube requires that I clean the chain every 150 to 200 miles, a bit impractical while touring.

Thanks for your thoughts.

12

GPS & Digital Data Discussion / Best GPS for touring

« on: November 27, 2014, 03:30:05 pm »

I've done a lot of reading on the various brands of gps's; and I live in the USA and only intend to tour in the USA maybe Canada. 

I was going to get the Garmin Edge Touring Plus but then started reading about how inaccurate it supposedly is, is this really the case? 

Then I started reading about the Magellan Cyclo 315 which on the surface seemed to have more detail about certain things like nearby bicycle shops, restaurants, and cyclo lanes that Garmin doesn't mention which I find odd since they both use the same OpenStreetMap.

I don't want spend a fortune on one of these things which from a cost standpoint the Garmin Edge Touring Plus is the better deal but if the accuracy is so bad I could get lost trying to get somewhere then what good is it?  The Magellan sounds better but it cost more which I'm will to stretch a wee bit if it will really make a difference.

So I'm hoping you guys can throw some light on this for me, thanks.

13

Gear Talk / Atlantis, Mercian or Bob Jackson

« on: September 04, 2005, 03:20:16 am »

I have been trying to decide between buying a Atlantis, Mercian or a Bob Jackson; all of these bikes would be for touring.  Can anyone give me any insight on these that could help me to eliminate at least one of the brands!