BIG touring bike Photo Gallery

[miles2go]

***** The Fully Loaded Touring Bike Photo Gallery *****

In March FLT will be a year old.  This is a site dreamed up and created by me...  a long time cyclist, a long time tourer, a guy that has a 50-60 hour work week and little knowledge of web stuff.  However, I knew this would be embraced by the touring world so I taught myself what I needed to know and made it happen.

My goal was to have 100 bikes in one year.  The 100 bikes milestone was passed long ago and much to my surprise and enjoyment, word of this gallery quickly spread and continues to do so.

Sadly, not everyone can have his or her bike in FLT.  I just don't have the time and resources to take submissions from everyone that considers themselves a tourer.

There are bike-positioning restrictions to keep the collection about the bikes.   

There are image quality restrictions that maintain this as a high quality experience for visitors.

There are load restrictions which limit submissions to a volume manageable by me.

There are currently over 140 big clear photographs of touring bikes from around the world. 

Enjoy and pass this link on to your touring friends. 

***** The Fully Loaded Touring Bike Photo Gallery *****

Cheers,

[pmspirito]

THUMBS-UP THUMBS-UP. I MUSTA HIT THE WRONG KEY.

Great Job I really enjoyed the photos and then started reading the link journals. Thanks a lot. ;p

best wishes from the back of the pack,  Peter & Judy Spirito

This message was edited by pmspirito on 12-10-06 @ 5:27 PM

[Sailariel]

Great job! Enjoyed the pictures. Keep up the good work

[pmspirito]

I found it interesting that so few trailers were shown. Only a couple as I recall. Yet when the panniers vs trailers topic comes up the opinions seem to be about equal.

best wishes from the back of the pack,  Peter & Judy Spirito

[miles2go]

While I'm sure that was a light hearted jab at "trailer people" (I have two), I'll be quick to point out that the FLT gallery isn't a good barometer to judge the trailer to pannier ratio. Thankfully, it was never intended to be any kind of barometer. 

--

Thanks so much for the kind words.   Such comments have been my payment for bringing this gallery to life, aside from the fun and satisfaction that comes with being able to speak with so many *of us*.  FLT started as my meager gift to touring.  However, I only see myself as the facilitator and caretaker, thinking ownership is among all that enjoy what these photos bring to them.

It's been amazing to read how much FLT means to many that have emailed.  I never imagined doing this would bring dispatches from fellow tourers speaking of revelations, renewed motivation, awe in places they've never seen and so on. Many simply like watching what's coming in from across the pond, whichever side of the pond they're on.      

I have a number of new submissions to consider and should have time for posting them this afternoon.  Perhaps time to add a couple of additional links to contributor's pages as well. 

Cheers
 

[pmspirito]

I was serious about the trail/pannier comment. We live in South Florida and I do not recall ever seeing a touring cyclist with a trailer. We have seen lots with panniers.  However in the Adventure Cycling publications there quite a few trailers shown. And in forum discussions the trailer folk are well represented.  I just found it curious.

best wishes from the back of the pack,  Peter & Judy Spirito

[dlambert]

WOW.  Thanks for doing this.  Talk about inspirational for planned tours once the ice breaks up!

I'm planning a Portland-Fargo L&C/NT route this coming summer.  I've decided on the trailer option.  The only decision now is my new Specialized all-carbon Roubaix or the old, trusty Peugeot PX-10.  Both bikes are extremely comfortable for distance rides.  Comments to further confuse me would be welcome.

[pmspirito]

The opportunity to confuse :confuse: another is not to be passed by.  You NEED to ride a recumbent.  Better yet a recumbent trike. Ultra confort especially with the trike. And always a confortable seat in camp. Trikes can CRAWL up those loooong grades at 1,2,3 miles an hour without you falling over.  check out www.bentrideronline    

best wishes from the back of the pack,  Peter & Judy Spirito

[ptaylor]

Peter & Judy.

Your trailer comment is, I think very interesting. I think you see a lot of trailers in the ACA magazine because they feature quite a bit of off-road touring. Off-road, a Bob is the only way to go. Also I think the 'trailer people' are a vocal minority. The same is true of recumbent people. They are a vocal minority.

I own a Bob, a recumbent, an upright (2 1/2 actually if you count a tandem as 1/2) and panniers, so I'm not trying to knock any-body's personal preferences.

Paul

[pmspirito]

We've got a 2 wheel bent and a tadpole trike here in the garage. I have not done a solo tour yet.  I have done several week long supported tours. On the wide open road the trike and trailer seems the way to go.  But in town where you may want or need to walk the trike and stop and park the trike and trailer then they lose and the 2-wheeler with panniers wins out. Trailers always look well organized and seem convienent to operate out of. Decisions, decisions, decisions.  

best wishes from the back of the pack,  Peter & Judy Spirito

[miles2go]

I'm not going to bring this thread to the top every time a photo gets posted.  However, I just added 12 more touring related links that belong to the bike owners.  That's worth another trip to the links page.

Cheers,

[varider]

I don't know what it is about looking at loaded touring bike pictures but I'm mesmerized by them.  I thought I was the only one until I stumbled on your site.  I started doing a little touring myself last year after installing a rack on a new bike.  I had some old panniers and put them on the rack just to see if they fit.  BAM! just seeing them on the bike stirred something in me and a month or two later I was on a 4 day tour. 

Thanks for the site.  I'll look at it longingly during the dark, cold days of winter. 

[Macbeth]

 Yes the trailers vs. panniers thing is interesting. Here in Australia, a Bob is generally first choice, especially as there is loads of great dirt road/off road touring, you generally end up carrying a substantial amount of water and they just ride better for that......

 I sent you a pic of my set up from a recent trip - trailer, rear panniers and tent on top (definitely WAY more load than a lot of bikes with front panniers.... Poses an interesting question as to just how loaded 'Fully Loaded' is......

 My bosses Dad rode around Australia at the age of 72. 11 months, front and rear panniers AND a Bob (which carried a LOT of water). I'll try to find a pic......

[Shane]

***** The Fully Loaded Touring Bike Photo Gallery *****

To reduce your whole story to 2 words......

Bike Porn!!!

Great website mate

[tonythomson]

Must get some new glasses read this "Bike Porn!!!" as Bike Pom, thought McBeth was having a shot at us Brits 

Great site thanks - any one added up which is the favourite bike.  Kinda looks like the Surly LHT might be most popular - having just bought one and heading down under with it.