jimmuller 

Some pretty nice bikes here.

Names seem to have gone in and out of common usage so I'm not sure 'xactly what sports touring means. I take it to mean a bike good for (almost) everything, a bike you could take touring occasionally but mostly go on day rides for fun or transportation. Inotherwords what has also been called a sport bike. Granted carrying a load requires stability but otherwise most non-pure racers could do the trick. Back when I bought my first lightweight bike that meant almost any bike of decent quality that was affordable. No corncob FWs or finicky tubular tires. Just good performance in a reliable package. So I nominate this, classic and rideable:



It has carried different components though the years, currently has a Sugino Maxy crank and various alloy parts and wheels. But 38 years later it looked like this:


Its successor in the basement is this Gran Sport, also a go-anywhere bike, not as ubiquitous as the UO-8 but still classic though now wearing fenders and lights:

non-fixie 

I'm still trying to get my head around the definition of 'sports tourer' (is it like a 'sportif'?), but if it's calliper brakes, shortish chain stays, but with just enough room and eyelets for fenders, then these two should fit the bill.

Rob van Oel:



Jan de Reus:

jimmuller 

nf, very nice. Every other day brings forward a name I've never heard of. Those qualify for that!

nlerner asked I did one tour on the UO-8 on the Skyline Drive. Unfortunately it was aborted by torrential rain. All the other touring has been on our "sport-touring" tandem, but it has cantilevers so doesn't qualify.

bikemig 

@jimmuller and @non-fixie, those are beautiful bikes. The UO-8, UO-9, and UO-10 bikes are real classics as is the gran sport and non-fixie's Dutch bikes are amazing as well.

I think both of you got it right as to what a sports touring bike means but yeah the term doesn't have as specific a meaning as a touring or a racing bike. That's part of the reason why I started this thread is to see what BF members own and what do they think of the term. I defined loosely the term in the first post (the bike has to have eyelets and long reach brakes) as to exclude touring and racing bikes and leave open a lot of room for interpretation.

I always liked sports touring bikes but I've only recently picked on up. For a long time I had a road racing bike for road riding and a touring bike for touring. But lately I've been riding my sports touring more because I appreciate a little fatter tire and the versatility of a rack.

OldsCOOL

For me, sports touring means having a stretched wheelbase and eyelets on dropouts. But then, that is from a road racing perspective.

plonz 

+1. I think longer wheelbase is the biggest difference. Cantilevers and braze-ons on the bottom of the down tube, chain stays and forks are common as well.

OldsCOOL

Here is a pic of my (now sold) '80 Centurion Elite. Short top tube gave a sporty feel, yet a touch on the hefty side at 25# even with very nice components. I would miss it more if not for the new build on this '76 The Finest. Both with a hearty case of patina have found a way into my heart. The Elite had eyelets on the dropouts and carried the sport touring category from Centurion. These are rare bikes. Later came the RS designation.

dweenk

Looks better with wheels on it than it did hanging in the rafters.

Barrettscv 

I'd rather restore and ride a lightweight Sports Touring model than a limited production race model. The practical performance difference a race bike provides is insignificant to me.

The PX10 and the Grand Record will both take 700x32 tires with fenders.

simmonsgc

The one-year only Trek 640. As found, and in the queue for refurb.

OldsCOOL

Going to be a fun ride!

gomango

My 1980 McLean Perfect Pleasure also checks off all of the "sport tourer" boxes for me.

It has some many features that make it well suited for his application.

FWIW I swapped out more than a few goodies since this pic. These were taken the day I brought the bike home, but I'll update them at some point.

It now has a Nitto "Mark" bar, Nitto Pearl stem, Nitto s-83 seatpost, Compass Barlow Pass 700x38s, a Carradice Super C saddle bag and King cages.

I also went with Campy Super Record brake levers, nos hoods and Kool Stop brake pads. Topped it off with my favorite standby, a Brooks Swift.

Absolutely no danger of seeing another one of these on our "Sunday" rides this summer.

[IMG]Untitled by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

Untitled by gomango1849, on Flickr

Untitled by gomango1849, on Flickr

Untitled by gomango1849, on Flickr

Chris W.

My Centurion Pro-Tour. My favorite bike

55 ish "French Fit"
Phil hubs, Sun CR18 hoops, Pasela 32mm tires.
Brooks Saddle and bar tape.
Dia-Comp brakes.
Nitto Bars and stem
T.A. Chainset
Suntour Cyclone Mechs, shifters and freewheel.

Cheers,
Chris

https://IMG_20150926_171031497 by Chris Wilson, on Flickr

northbend 

When I visited Bruce Gordons' shop last spring after Eroica he measured the chainstay and said "yup, it's a sport tourer"..
Eroica Bike by NBend, on Flickr

gomango

Of course it is a sports tourer.

It's also one of the most handsome bikes I have ever seen.

obrentharris 

It's interesting to me that three American bikes; the Hollands, McLean, and Gordon, all have relatively shorter chainstays than most of the rest (although the Gordon's wheel is all the way back in the dropouts giving the illusion of slightly longer stays.)
Brent

northbend 

That was the only way I ciuld get those 34mm meats to fit inside the chainstays Brent.
It's like riding on a cloud though...

gomango

More sport than touring for me. I have a Bilenky tourer for a heavier load. I prefer shorter stays for everyday riding.

I gambled a bit on the ultra wide Compass 38s for the McLean. I didn't know how wide they would go with these rims. They may not work as they age, but I am in for a super sweet ride until the day that happens.

As for the Hollands, it was designed to ride with 28s and fenders. I already have my Croll with fenders, so I refuse to put fenders on a bike just for looks. I see way too many bikes with fenders for fenders sake.

As for longer stays, I'll eventually have a Mitch Pryor, Curt Goodrich or Dave Anderson build a 650b for me. I've ridden a friend's Weigle enough to know how comfortable they can be when built correctly.

In the meantime though, I am riding 90% gravel/trails nowadays.

A gravel bike that can handle BG Rock n Roads is my first priority. I have a BMC Monstercross frameset on order and I will use my Revelate bags on that most likely. We have several 300 mile gravel trips planned for this summer.

Yep, nice, huge 700x43s sound awesome.

jimmuller 

That's a nice bike. But wouldn't a 1983 of anything be one-year only? Just curious.

simmonsgc

Okey-dokey. Edited.

noglider 

This is a good idea for a thread. My love for sports tourers has returned.

Here is my 1971 Raleigh Super Course which I plan to keep ugly.



Here is my 1974 Raleigh International which is nearly finished after years of slow progress.

bikemig 

I'm thinking that your raleigh international is one of the more famous ongoing threads on BF. It would be a shame if you ever finished the project, .

noglider 

Famous, really? That's embarrassing. But you're right. When I finish it, @fender1 will have a heart attack.

Miele Man

Here's my MIELE UNO that I had Hugh Black of TRUE NORTH BICYCLES (Guelph, Ontario, Canada) add brazeons to to make it more suitable for touring. It's a sport touring frame that now has Campagnolo Mirage 9-speed brake/shifter levers and rear Mirage derailler. I'll post images of it with those later.

Hugh added the seatstay rack mounts, cantilever brake bosses and cantlever cable stop bridge. he also added a pair of bottle mounts to the underside of the downtube. I LOVE this bike.

#04a Miele Uno L.S. Rebuilt 4 Touring - Added Bottle Mount, Canti-brake Studs & Bridge by Miele Man, on Flickr

#04b Miele Uno L.S. Rebuilt 4 Touring - Added Bottle Mount, Canti-brake Studs & Bridge by Miele Man, on Flickr

#04g Miele Uno L.S. Rebuilt 4 Touring - Thermoses Keep Water Cold on Very Hot Days by Miele Man, on Flickr

#04f Miele Uno L.S. Rebuilt 4 Touring - Added Vintage MIELE Touring Saddle by Miele Man, on Flickr

#04e Miele Uno L.S. Rebuilt 4 Touring - Long Cage Shimano Acera Derailler by Miele Man, on Flickr

#04d Miele Uno L.S. Rebuilt 4 Touring - Shmano Triple Crankset by Miele Man, on Flickr

#04c Miele Uno L.S. Rebuilt 4 Touring - Bar-End ****ers, Brake Levers & Mirrors by Miele Man, on Flickr

Cheers

The Golden Boy 

1986 Trek 400 Elance.

This is the most beautiful bike I own. I looked for this bike for a long time and was so lucky to come across an example in my size that fits me so perfectly. The 1986 400 series bikes have a butted 531 main frame and Tange CrMo stays and fork. Essentially, that's pretty much what a 600 series bike had been in the previous few years.














This bike would have come with 700C wheels, but I REALLY wanted to use the tri-color 6400 brakes on this bike- the brakes didn't have enough reach, so I opted for 27" wheels. They work great- and I can fit 27 x 1 1/8" Paselas on here.

Because this is a next-to-entry level Trek- it is my first 531 framed bike- I get a big kick out of outfitting it with some of the finest parts available for it- I guess it's sort of kind of like built up as someone might have in 1992 or so.

SP-KC seatpost
Avocet Touring II saddle
Maillard 600 sealed rear and Maillard 700 hubs laced to 27" Matrix Safari rims
6400 Brakes and Levers- dual pivot in the front, single in the rear
Belleri touring handlebars
Suntour 6 sp Command Shifters
Suntour XC Pro front and rear derailleurs
Avocet (Ofmega) Touring Triple with drilled RINO rings and the 28 is a Campagnolo OR
SR SP155 pedals
Blackburn Cross Rack

It rides wonderfully. Putting a different wheelset on this bike made a huge difference. It's fun and comfortable bike to ride. The stays are 42.5cm, that's enough room to fit Cannondale panniers without any heel strike.