Asking too Much?

[tomchateau]

Hi,

My wife is in the market for a new bike and we are wondering if our bike expectations are unrealistic. 

We have done many multi-week unsupported bike tours in Europe (with rented bikes), and longer tours are on the horizon.  If touring was the only cycling we did then we would settle on a Trek 520 or LHT.  However, along with the anticipated long distance tours we also do a bunch of local riding.

Is long distance touring AND local riding too much to ask of one bike?   Would she be disappointed with the "heavy iron" of a touring bike when riding short local rides? Conversely, is a non-touring bike just not up to the rigours of long distance travel? 

Is there a touring bike that would also suffice as a bike she could use on weekends or should we be looking for two bikes?   As you may guess, money is an issue and we would prefer to only have to buy one bike.

                       Any/all opinions are Appreciated...Thx

[RonK]

Is long distance touring AND local riding too much to ask of one bike?   Would she be disappointed with the "heavy iron" of a touring bike when riding short local rides?

Many are very happy to using these bikes for commuting and local riding, but I was certainly disappointed with the unloaded performance the LHT I once owned.

My solution was to spec and build my own bike with a Sabbath titanium frame I sourced from the UK. I'm delighted with both the loaded and unloaded performance of this bike. It looks great too.

[DanE]

You might consider buying a second set of wheels for the touring bike. It should come with a sturdy set for touring but you might like a less heavy duty set with lighter rims and narrower tires for just doing local rides around the area. It would be cheaper than owning two bikes but increase the versatility. It would not make enough difference to keep up with the racing crowd however.

[johnsondasw]

I have wrestled with this problem for years.  I have toured with my carbon fiber Specialized Roubaix using a Burley Nomad trailer, but never for an extended tour.  It worked out fine. Now I'd like to try going light with the same bike and using a seat clamped rear bag that expands some and a front handlebar "roll" strapped on that includes the pad and sleeping bag.  Has anyone tried doing this on a CF bike? Just how much weight can a CF bike handle? I weigh in around 200, and want to get the gear down to around 20 #. I know the ultralite guys get their kit down to about 12 #, but the one I toured with once using that method had to eat all meals cold or in restaurants and I don't want to do that.

[John Nelson]

We are wondering if our bike expectations are unrealistic. 
...
Is long distance touring AND local riding too much to ask of one bike?

In general, yes.

But it depends on what you mean by "local riding." If local riding means going to the grocery store or farmers market, then your touring bike will be great. If local riding means a 50-mile club ride, then the touring bike won't do.

It also depends on your standards. If you want a bike that will be "sufficient," then almost any bike can do anything. But if you want a bike that is well-suited to the task, then you need two bikes.

It also depends on how much gear you take on longer tours. The more gear, the more you need a real touring bike.

Besides, two bikes is always better than one.

[RussSeaton]

I could not make two bikes work.  But you might be different.  For me, loaded touring is 4 panniers and a handlebar bag.  Maybe stuff on the rear rack too.  Heavy.  Local riding is fast 15-25 mph with friends.  If I work really hard I can keep the touring bike at 20 for awhile.  But not 25.  If local riding is easy 10-15 mph riding for short distances, then a loaded touring bike would be fine.  With any tires it would work fine.  Also depends on what kind of loaded touring you do.  If ultra lightweight, then a racing bike might work fine.  And be good for fast local riding too.  But if touring is carrying lots of panniers and tents and cooking, then ultra lightweight may not work and you need a loaded touring bike and wheels.

What you are describing is kind of like what pick-ups are undergoing.  Most pick-ups are driven in the city by city people.  Going to work and the grocery store and McDonalds.  So a pick-up with low profile tires and sway bars and a taut suspension is all the rage.  But this kind of truck "SUCKS" for actually doing what a pick-up is designed to do.  Haul weight.  And if you have a one ton or bigger pick-up that can haul and pull weight, then it "SUCKS" for going to the grocery store or to a bar.  The same kind of truck can sort of be made to do both.  But you have big compromises so its not ideal for anything.  I remember when my grandpa and uncles had pick-ups in the 1970s.  They had older basic pick-ups.  None of these sissy boy extended cabs and crew cab nonsense.  Just two doors and one seat in the pick-up.  They were used on the farm to haul animals or grain or other junk.  My grandpa and uncles all owned cars too.  The idea of driving the pick-up to town or the store was a foreign concept.  You drove the car for that.  The pick-up was for farm work only.  It was not a city truck.

[Pat Lamb]

I have to agree with the "it depends" answers.  If you want a 16 pound bike for "local riding" you'll surely be disappointed with a touring bike for the fast group local rides.

OTOH, let's say you're looking at a reasonably priced "local" road bike, maybe 24 pounds (at least in my size) and $1,000-$1,500.  My touring bike is 32 pounds with racks.  The frame weight is about a pound, maybe two.  The racks are about 2 pounds.  Swap out touring tires for lightweight tires, and you've saved another pound.  (Or follow Dan's advice and get a spare wheel set; you won't save much more weight, but you make the change much easier.)  If you're not touring or commuting, take off the fenders and save yet another pound.  Leave the cable and lock at home, one less pound.  You're down to the point where conditioning is much more important than weight-weenie ounce-counting.

The only difference then is the frame geometry.  Does your wife want a "quick" bike that she can steer like she's in a criterium?  If so, she'll want another bike.

Of course, if you get two bikes, when there's a mechanical problem you simply ride the other bike (until you have to fix both bikes at the same time).

[adventurepdx]

I think a lot of what the OP wants hinges on what "local rides" mean. Now if it means roadie style club rides as others speculate, then yeah, a traditional touring bike probably wouldn't be appropriate. But when I heard "local ride", I thought more commuting, or non-competitive recreational rides. For those, a touring bike would be fine. For many years my Long Haul Trucker was my good bike, so I used it for touring, commuting, and other recreational rides. And it worked fine for my needs. Sure, a lighter road bike would have been better for some of the long rides, but I didn't feel that hindered by my choice of the bike.

It's easy to overthink things and feel we need a specialized bike for every different thing we do. But sometimes a good general purpose bike can cover a lot of those bases.

[indyfabz]

I think a lot of what the OP wants hinges on what "local rides" mean. Now if it means roadie style club rides as others speculate, then yeah, a traditional touring bike probably wouldn't be appropriate. But when I heard "local ride", I thought more commuting, or non-competitive recreational rides. For those, a touring bike would be fine. For many years my Long Haul Trucker was my good bike, so I used it for touring, commuting, and other recreational rides. And it worked fine for my needs. Sure, a lighter road bike would have been better for some of the long rides, but I didn't feel that hindered by my choice of the bike.

Yep. In addition to using my LHT for self-contained touring, I use it for general transportation. In these parts, I am B road rider. I wouldn't take my LHT on a B club ride, but I have used it for C rides when "slumming it."

Another thing that has been left out is the type of touring. Credit card? Camping? Cooking? If going credit card style, you could go with something less than a full-bore touring bike.

[zzzz]

+1 to Ron K. I also have a custom Ti bike (Tom Kellogg/Spectrum Cycles) that I tour with and it's fast and agile enough that if I still raced would not hesitate to use it for that. But to Indyfabz's point, I travel very light (15-18 lbs), I think the handling would get funky if I had the more typical 25-30lbs back there. The other thing is a decent custom Ti frame and components is around 7k. Thats a lot and you can certainly buy a purpose built tourer & a road bike for that much money.

Alternativly, I'd look at a good steel 'cross frame. The gearings not bad, plenty of room for a larger width tire, there must be some out there that come with rack mounts, and there's not that much diffence in the ride/handling between a cross frame and a road bike.

pm

[tbessie]

As some above have said, a good cross bike could fit the bill; swap out the tires and you'd be good to go.

Something like the Surly Cross-Check (or the Traveler's Check if you want to pack it up small) would be good; a bit more up-market could be some of the "light touring" bikes and frames I've seen.  My first road bike was a Bianchi Eros, which bills itself as such - doesn't look like they make that anymore, but some of Bianchi's "all road" line seem similar.

My general long-ride bike (centuries, etc) is a Gunnar Sport, which is also billed as a light-touring frame.  They still make it, it might be just the kind of frame you want. I've always liked it (a bit more of an upright riding position than I like, the way it's set up, but that's good for touring).

http://gunnarbikes.com/site/bikes/sport/

- Tim

[tbessie]

...
Besides, two bikes is always better than one.

Indeed.  In a few weeks, I shall have 6...

1 Steel road bike for city use (old and abused, but still in good shape, the remnants of my 1st road bike)
1 Steel road bike for city use when the other bike is in the shop (overkill, but, ya know...)
1 Steel road bike for long rides and century events (better, lighter frame and higher quality parts than the others)
1 Steel high-end touring bike (Bruce Gordon), which I gave myself for my 50th birthday
1 Aluminum hybrid bike I bought to leave at my dad's house in France, to get around and for short tours while visiting
1 Steel touring bike (LHT) which I'm having S&S couplers put on, for taking with me on flights to tour elsewhere

If I were rich, I'd add two more:

1 Co-Motion Americano touring bike with S&S couplers
1 Custom Calfee carbon frame with top-of-the-line Campy parts on it for long, fast rides

Those bottom two would cost, altogether, about $18,000 so no time soon. ;-)