Dream Bike for Touring

[gliding]

I own a Reliegh (25 Yrs old and VERY HEAVY) I am looking for new technology. If you were to buy your dream bike what would it be? Any suggestions?
Thanking you in advance for any help you can give.

[TwoWheeledExplorer]

I would get a Surly Long Haul Trucker frame, SRAM Force road components, WTB All-Terrainasaurus 38mm tires, WTB Road-V saddle, Jandd Expedition racks and panniers and 36-spoke wheels, maybe 42 if I could find them.

Or I would buy a Bianchi Volpe and put the Jandd racks on it! (still prefer the SRAM groupo, though)

Ride safe,
Hans

www.trailpatrol.org

(Edited to add brand name of new SRAM road components)

This message was edited by Trailpatrol on 6-10-06 @ 7:39 AM

[TheDaltonBoys]

Bike - Rivendall/Bruce Gordon or Independent Fabrication.....Recumbent Trike got it already...WizWheelz Tour. Enjoy the voyage.....Mark of the Dalton Boys

[cyclesafe]

I just set up my dream touring rig,

Co-Motion Americano with S&S couplers, SKS Chromoplast fenders, Arkel handlebar and seat bags, and BOB trailer.
 
  - Cro-Moly frame and fork
  - Chris King threadless headset
  - Ultegra STI shifter / brake levers*
  - FSA Platinum ISIS bottom bracket
  - RaceFace Turbine (46-34-24) crankset
  - Shimano Deore XT triple front derailleur
  - Shimano XTR 9spd rear derailleur
  - Shimano XT 11-34 9spd cassette
  - Avid BB7 mechanical disk brakes w/203 mm rotors*
  - Kalloy Seraph Microadjust seat post
  - Ritchey Pro stem
  - DT Hugi Hubs 36h
  - DT 14 gauge spokes
  - Velocity Dyad rims
  - Schwalbe Marathon XR 700x35mm*
  - Deda 215 Handlebars

* - not stock

Only 42 days before my next tour!

[tofubicycle]

Not so long ago I built up...

-Surly LHT Frame
-36h Phil Wood Rear Hub
-36h Schmidt Dynamo Front Hub
-14-16 guage Wheelsmith Spokes  
-Mavic EX721 Rims
-Phil Wood Stainless Bottom Bracket
-TA Zephyr Crankset, 48-38-22
-9s. Shimano XT Cassette, 13-25
-9s. XT Rear Der.
-Ultegra Front Der.
-9s. Dura Ace Bar-end Shifter (rear indexed, front friction)
-Paul Thumbies
-Jones H-Bar
-Shimano BL-R600 Brake Levers
-Paul Touring Cantilever Brakes
-Thompson Elite Road Stem
-Chris King NoThreadset
-Thompson Elite Seat Post
-Terry Liberator Ti Race Saddle
-Surly Nice Racks, Front & Rear
-Salsa Steel Bottle Cages
-Two Schmidt E6 Front Lights
-One Busch & Muller DIWA Tail Light
-Demension Rubberized Cork & Cinelli Cork Tape

Talk about HEAVY! I love it. Someday I may consider an Indy Fab touring frame but for now Surly more than does the job.

--
......... __ o
.........-\<,
......(O) (O)...........
...........................
i'd rather be biking.

[TheDaltonBoys]

Tofu/Cyclesafe - N-i-i-c-c-e.  Thanks also for being detail oriencted in listing componenents to include such things as H2O cages. I neglected Surly & Co-Motion in my reply....my apologies for they are fine companies...fine products.  enjoy the voyage....Mark of the Dalton Boys

[cyclesafe]

Tofu, sweet ride.  I'll bet your rig was a better deal than mine while being functionally equivalent.

[RussellSeaton]

Waterford (edit) or Mariposa.  Mariposa is known for randonneur bikes with specialized fittings so they shoudl be able to make up a wonderful loaded touring bike too.  Custom geometry so it would take 26" mountain bike wheels in my frame size.  If money were no object, the chromed, polished stainless steel lugs on every lug and fork crown.  S&S couplers for traveling.  Drop bars of course.  TTT Morphe bars.  Hubs would take Shimano splined cassettes.  9 speed Shimano 12-34 cassette.  Not sure I would go for Shimano bar end shifters or Campagnolo Ergo.  I'm not sure mixing brands between wheels and shifters/derailleurs works as well as some claim.  Crank would be TA Zephyr or Race Face Turbine.  These two cranks, and others I am sure, use 58mm bcd for the inner ring so they will take down to a 20 tooth cog.  Outer bcd is unimportant since I can find rings in 110, 94, or 130 mm bcd to get half step gearing such as 46-43, 45-42, or 42-39.  (edit) Or chuck the whole drivetrain issue and go with one of those Rohloff internal gear hubs.  Schmidt generator hub and two Schmidt E6 lights.  Gordon racks probably.  Cantilever brakes, not V brakes.  Brooks saddle of course.

But my current loaded touring bike is OK and rides fine.  There is something to be said for having a lower priced touring bike.  You don't care about it as much so you don't hesitate to ride it anywhere.  That's important on a tour.  It gives you more freedom if you're not restrained by your posessions.

This message was edited by RussellSeaton on 5-1-06 @ 10:25 AM

[cyclesafe]

Russell, I was thinking the same thing.  A Trek 520 or Cannondale T200 cost less than half of what the dreams bikes cost and they do the job just fine.  

An analogy would be someone buying a BMW 325 rather than a Honda Accord V6.  The former has the pizzazz, but the latter does the same job just as well.

[mike_khad1]

I just bought my dream touring bike - Burley Hudson - Sun Gold - added full fenders and a front rack and I'm ready to roll.
Burley Hudson

[cyclesafe]

I looked at this one, shoulda looked harder.  Another sweet ride, but we don't hear much about these.  I think this is because Burley's authorized retailers for their road/touring bicycles are few and far between.  As a stock bike, the Hudson would be ranked in cost between the Cannondate T2000 and the Americano. But ranked in value, the Hudson is  probably the best of all (not considering build-up's like Tofu's LRT)  Great choice!  I'd be interested in reading a review of this bike after you finish a tour!

Before setting out, I would consider replacing the aluminum rear rack with a steel one.  Mudflaps would be nice too.

http://phred.org/~alex/bikes/fendermudflap.html

[tofubicycle]

The LBS where I'm employed is a Burley dealer. I have test ridden the Hudson and it is a nice bike. You do pay a bit more for a Burley than you might for a similarly spec'd bicycle due to the fact that the frame was handbuilt by a worker owned cooperative -- but this is a good thing. The frame rides very nicely. As far as the component spec, I think it's a very well equipped bike. My complaints with stock componetry are based almost soley on personal preferences (not a fan of aluminum as a material for racks, not a fan of STI for touring rigs, etc...). IMHO, a very nice frame and a decent stock build.

--
......... __ o
.........-\<,
......(O) (O)...........
...........................
i'd rather be biking.

[cutsh]

Reply to "Cyclesafe"...

Amen to this outfit.  You rock.  See the whole world and no gear failures.

This message was edited by cutsh on 5-1-06 @ 5:44 PM

[DaveB]

Not sure I would go for Shimano bar end shifters or Campagnolo Ergo.  I'm not sure mixing brands between wheels and shifters/derailleurs works as well as some claim.

If you use a J-Tek adapter you can mix-and-match these at will with good results.  The problems occur when riders try to mix component manufactures directly.  Sometimes it works well, sometimes not so well and often, not at all.  

[mike_khad1]

Reply to Cyclesafe

I've gone on a two-day loaded tour on the burley and the bike handled great. I'm signed up for Cycle Oregon in September. If I survive I'll let you know how it handled mountains.