Touring Bicycle

[indyfabz]

You will have to tell me where these 30 mile long climbs in the Rockies are.

Cortez to Lizard Head Pass is about 60 miles of uphill to one degree or another, but certainly nothing like an average of 6%, much less 8%. In fact, unless my math is wrong, a 30 mile climb averaging 8% would giving you over 12,600' of climbing, with an average of 6% giving you about 9,540 of climbing. Isn't the highest road in CO a bit over 13,000'?

And I hear you about those short, steep hills. I rode across PA in September. A couple of days featured seemingly endless 1/4 to 1/2 miles ups and downs, and they were steep. Thanks to some bumpy roads, I often didn't bother to shift on the short descents. Just left it in the granny gear and waited for the bike to slow down while going up the next hill. I actually started to welcome longer, gentler climbs.

[Pat Lamb]

Its obvious you have never ridden in Kansas.  Believe it or not, Kansas is not flat.  The eastern third of the state is mostly rolling hills.  The western half is undulating.  1/4 to 1/2 mile long rises and then about the same declines.  Over and over and over and over.

I only remember one hill in Kansas that gave me problems, I think it was near Toronto Lake in the Black Hills between Chanute and Eureka on the TransAm.  Of course I was low on salt and water by the time I hit that ridge.

It would be generous to call the rises in the western half "hills."

IMHO, the point remains sound, that a cyclist from Kansas should probably buy lower gears to leave the state than he would need to stay in the state.  It's amazing how the definition of "normal" changes with location.

[LongTallEandM]

Just completed the TransAm on a Jamis Aurora Elite.   Love love love it.  Lighter 631 steel tubing, good components, disk brakes, rear rack, nice looks, great tires.  More bang for the buck than a Surly LHT (bought one of those used first, then sold it; liked the Aurora Elite SO much better). You can find them new sometimes on ebay, usually a previous model year.  I bought mine new on ebay 2 years ago for $1200.  Just be sure to confirm that the model year, gearing, etc. are what you want:  Jamis has gradually been dialing in the ideal touring components over the past few years.   Oh, and the paint job is smooth and incredibly durable (powdercoated?).  My bike has not a single chip or scratch after 7000 miles, including 4700 miles of loaded touring.  This despite plenty of fall overs onto metal posts, park benches etc.  Each time I thought, "oh well, so much for the nice paint job..."  But then I'd pick up the bike and not. a. nick.

[BobbyBear]

The hills Pat Lamb referred to in Kansas between Chanute and Eureka are not the Black Hills, they are the Flint Hills.  In the spring with the new grass they are beautiful, but they can be a challenge for bike riders.

[roadrunner]

If you're still in the market for a touring bike, I just got a whale of a deal ($718) on a 2014 Novara Randonee two weeks ago at the Tucson REI.  The 2015 model is almost twice that cost.  Have only put a couple of hundred miles on it, but it's a solid winner.  The Novara Safari was even a better deal at $533; I was temped, but already have one. 

Any REI store check other stores for such closeout bikes, if it doesn't have them.