Originally Posted by
Jarrett2
I'd like to get into touring a bit in 2015. By touring, I mean ride 40-80 miles a day with overnight stops at hotels over the course of a long weekend or even a week possibly. No tents at this point. Just overnight stuff and clothes.
If possible, I'd like to use my regular road bike, a carbon fiber Specialized Roubaix. I'm wondering if that is advisable and if so, are there some temporary racks/bags/panniers I could put on and take off of my Roubaix for these trips? Not something that needs to be installed long term, but rather something I could install and remove as needed.
Are there such things?
And is touring with a (25mm tire) CF road bike advisable?
Unless you plan to schlep a lot of unnecessary stuff I see no reason that bike shouldn't work fine. I'd do a camping and cooking tour with that bike. I went coast to coast in feb-mar 2012 on a road bike carrying 14 pounds of camping and cooking gear. I camped and cooked much of the time, was fine with sub freezing overnight lows, and fit it all in a couple stuff sacks that I strapped on a rear. I have since trimmed the load even further. So going a few days staying in hotels should be pretty easily doable with less gear.
What will you be carrying? That will probably depend on what kind of off bike activities you expect to do (if any) and generally how minimal of an approach you are comfortable with. It will also depend on whether cold weather is possible. For me overnight stuff and clothes would easily fit in a handlebar bag or a modest sized seat bag. Heck I could get by with putting that stuff in a jersey pocket.
My advice is to first pick your gear and clothing. I advise being ruthless in trimming the list. Once you know what you will be carrying, then and only then figure out how to best carry it. Possible options are:
- Very small panniers on a rack that attaches to the rear skewer and the brake bolt or a special seat post clamp.
- A similar rack with a dry bag(s) strapped on.
- Rackless bikepacking bags like those sold by Relevate
- A seat bag like the Carradice ones
- Possibly a very small light backpack
- If packing heavier a rack and front panniers (on the back) should work OK
I wouldn't even consider taking enough to use regular full size panniers or a trailer for the kind of trip you describe unless you insist on packing really very heavy. Of the baggage I listed you can mix and match. For example with 12 pounds of camping and cooking gear and clothes I have split it equally between a bar roll, a seat bag, and a little backpack. That would be enough stuff for me to do a multi month trip camping and cooking. So you ought to be able to manage a hotel trip with that much or less if you are willing to pack carefully.
Remember that with a room, washing out your bike clothes in the sink every day is possible and you should be able to get them mostly dry or damp at worst. A hint is to wrap them in a towel and wring out the water.