Davidson Titanium Road Bike

[dmeans2anend]

Hi There,

I could really use some advice on a purchasing a "used" bike for touring.  I have the opportunity to purchase a used 2008 Davidson Titanium Road Bike, custom built, that is exactly my size for a very good price.  I am wanting to buy the bike to do some self-supported bike touring trips that are either 3 - 7 days long to start.  Maybe even longer when I really get into it.  However, I am not sure if the "Davidson titanium Road Bike" could be converted to a good touring bike since I'm not sure if it has any eyelets for panniers, whether the geometry would be good for touring, and whether it has enough clearance to put on a fatter tire like a 700cc x 35.   

I presently have a wonderful Specialized Ruby Pro Carbon Road Bike that I love to ride and do ride it quite often.  However, I am wanting to get into bike touring and my carbon frame bike is not capable of carrying panniers or heavy loads.  Hence, I have been looking for another bike with titanium frame to lighten my load as much as possible so I can ride longer trips with high elevation gains on my tours.   For those that says it's not necessary to go the titanium route on a touring bike, I tell them that every pound that your pulling matters when you weigh only 107 pounds! 

Questions-
1)  Specifically, does anyone have experience with Davidson Titanium Road Bike being used as a "touring" bike?
2)  If the road bike doesn't have eyelets, are there any other way of getting panniers on?  I know Thule makes a Pack'n Pedal Tour Rack that attaches to almost any type of bike.

3) Any other consideration?

[RussSeaton]

I looked at the Davidson website.  Looks like very fine titanium bicycles.  Road bikes.  Maybe not "racing" bikes.  But definitely road bikes.  Not designed for racks or panniers.  You could attach a rear rack with P-clips on the seatstays easy enough.  Being titanium there should be no paint to scratch.  Not sure I would want to carry much weight.  Minimal gear.  Or use a big seatbag and a bag inside the main triangle.  Adventure Cycling sells these bags.  Go ultra light touring with minimal gear.  Doubt it would be much different than your carbon Specialized bike.  Just a bit tougher, scratch resistant due to being titanium.  If you want a second bike, get this one if it fits.  Looks good.

[RonK]

Nothing wrong with choosing titanium for a touring bike. I have one and it is a very capable tourer.
But like most road bikes the Davidson has short chain stays which is likely to result in heel strike when rear panniers are mounted.
Sure, you could make do for the occasional short tour, but if you are planning to become a regular long distance tourist best choose a bike with touring geometry.

[indyfabz]

thetouringstore.com has some solutions for attaching racks to frames without traditional attachment points.

[aggie]

I have a ti bike and it is extremely comfortable on a tour.  It has the eyelets to mount a rear rack.  I tow a trailer and prefer it to panniers. 

[Pat Lamb]

Have you considered getting that lovely titanium road bike and then pulling a trailer with it?

[dmeans2anend]

Thank you all for your wonderful feedback.  I really appreciate it! 

I have decided against purchasing the beautiful Davidson Ti road bike for several reason and to wait for another Ti bike that is more geared for touring or as a gravel grinder.  RussSeaton is right in that the Davidson Ti Road Bike wouldn't be much different than my Specialized Ruby Pro Carbon Bike.

1) I already have a great "racing" carbon road bike (15 lbs) and the geometry of the Ti bike is more of a racing bike than that of touring.  I do worry about the short chainstay for adding a pannier as RonK indicated.  Thanks for the suggestion of the P-Clips Russ.  I didn't realize such things existed so it was cool to learn about. 

2)  The Davidson is a great bike but I would prefer to tryout a different types of cycling beside road.  I like to get into either more touring or bike camping with a gravel grinder or mountain type of bike in order to do cross country trail rides.  So another racing road bike won't be suitable for my cycling goals.

3)  I already do a bit of ultralight wilderness backpacking so rather than buying another road bike, I have decided to try ultralight touring with my Specialized carbon bike and just purchase a larger seatbag like a Revelate.  I'll try that out a bit with minimal gear and credit card touring. 
Thanks RussSeaton.

4)  Thanks Pat for the suggestion of a trailer.... but I have to say, it sort of defeats the entire purpose of going with a Titanium bike to lighten the load and then having to drag a trailer behind.  I prefer to go the minimal and ultralight route for the pure joy of being more aerodynamic.

5)  It's going to be a huge change from being leader of the pack with my zippy carbon road bike to doing ultralight tours and going at half my normal road cycling speed with all the added weight I'll be carrying.  The positive is that I guess it'll force me to go at a more leisurely pace to do real sightseeing!   

6)  If any of you know of anyone wanting to sell their Small Titanium "Touring" Bike, please route them my way.  Cheers!

[joe_guilbeau]

Thank you all for your wonderful feedback.  I really appreciate it! 

5)  It's going to be a huge change from being leader of the pack with my zippy carbon road bike to doing ultralight tours and going at half my normal road cycling speed with all the added weight I'll be carrying.  The positive is that I guess it'll force me to go at a more leisurely pace to do real sightseeing!   

Check this out... might work for you

https://youtu.be/PxPELzChJXM

[dmeans2anend]

Thanks Joe for the link on the Tailfins. Really cool and love the design.  It's a bit expensive though.

Unfortunately, my current carbon frame bike has too much race geometry to ride with load comfortably even with a tailfins.  I wouldn't feel stable or comfortable enough for ling tours.

   

[DaveB]

I have a ti bike and it is extremely comfortable on a tour.  It has the eyelets to mount a rear rack.  I tow a trailer and prefer it to panniers.

There are indeed Ti bikes suitable for touring but they were purpose built for that use.  In the past Litespeed offered a suitable frame called the "Blue Ridge" but they don't anymore. 

I have a couple of Litespeed Ti road frames but they would be unsuitable as tourers.