pakeboi

I've read that Surly's LHT/DT is considered a slow touring bike .
Which brand/models are considered fast touring bikes ?

headwind15

The brand with the strongest legs are the fastest.

sloar 

I had an older Trek 520, I think late 90's. It rode like a traditional road bike, I'm not sure how the newer 520's are.

andrewclaus

You actually can tour on a faster road bike if you can pare down the load, and if comfort is secondary to speed. One 2000 mile trip on a road bike convinced me that wasn't the best idea for me, but it works for others. I know a guy (in his seventies) who tours extensively on a CF frame while carrying minimal gear in a small backpack.

Tourist in MSN

When i was touring in Iceland, I met a couple that rode Ritchey Break Away bikes with bike packing gear, no racks. With Break Away bikes (the frame splits to pack the bike in a smaller case) and by packing light they only checked their bike cases, they carried the rest of their gear for a two week tour in their carry on bags on the plane.

I did not ask their permission to post photos on internet, so I cropped out their faces from photos.





There is no way that I would have wanted to pack that light for a two week trip in a place where it rains and gets windy cold, but it worked for them. I was carrying a lot more stuff on my slow bike.

djb

hit the nail in the head there monsieur.

and as stated, also the one with the lightest load. Most "touring bikes" that will be still be competent and not overstressed with a reasonable amount of touring load, tend to weigh in at the high 20s, close to 30lbs with pedals, bottle cages, racks, maybe fenders. So if you carry 25lbs of stuff on top of that, or 45lbs, this is always going to be the big factor in how fast one actually pedals along...

yesterday, I loaded up my bike for the first time in a long while, and man was it slow.

pakeboi

Sounds like you need a pair of "brand" new legs .

djb

and a tent that weighs half as much, a rain jacket that weighs a third as much, amongst other things----hey buddy, can you spare a nickel, I mean a grand?

indyfabz

How much touring have you done, OP?

saddlesores

the red ones, naturally!

pakeboi

If you’re up for packing light and travelling fast, you can’t go past the Diamondback Haanjo EXP.
https://www.cyclingabout.com/best-touring-bikes-2020/

Leebo

Fast? Is it a race? My bikepacking routes take me on dirt roads, bikepaths, single track and the occasional " off road/trail/ bushwacking. Only use pave to connect them. My Krampus with 3" tires is wicked fast. Never had another Krampus pass me. Is your goal to be head down on aerobars all day? Or sitting up taking in the sights and sounds that nature provides. The fast is up to the rider, really.

fietsbob

People tour on race bikes the race-tour TransAm most did.

one guy rode/drove a streamlined velomobile.

he had the aerodynamic advantage higher speed the greater the advantage but a weight disadvantage..

djb

now there you go, aerokings them things. Twice my wife and I have been on a quebec based organized large group trip and there's a guy who has come with his velomobile--coolest things ever, and I can attest that they kick ass on a straightaway or a slight downhill. He has passed me a few times and woooooooooooosh there he goes past!

Trakhak

Pakeboi's carbon Diamondback Haanjo EXP pick is probably what I'd go with, too (Pakeboi's link: Here Are The 12 Best Touring Bikes You Can Buy In 2020). But the writer notes that "my other lightweight bike of choice is the flat bar Salsa Journeyman"; aluminum, $800 cheaper. I'd be inclined to take either of those over a steel bike, especially for loaded touring, since I've never cared for the way heavily laden steel frames tend to wallow down the road, especially when pedaling out of the saddle.

AlanK

Any bike designed for full-on loaded touring is going to slower than other light or general purpose bikes. Since you mentioned that Surly LHT we can compare it with their Cross Check. The X-Check is more of a general-purpose/light touring bike so it will be faster and more nimble, this can't carry as much weight as the LHT. I'm more familiar with Kona bikes and the same is true of their Sutra and Rove models. The Sutra is a loaded touring bike that's probably a bit faster and nimbler than the LHT but not by much. The Rove is a faster, nimbler gravel/all-road model suitable for light touring and commuting.

So ultimately that's the trade-off. If you're only doing light touring and don't carry that much weight any number of reasonably fast bikes are suitable, but a loaded touring bike is going to be a little heavier and less nimble. There's no way around this trade-off.

pakeboi

Thank you AlanK for answering the question .
I realize for light touring almost any bike will do but I'm curious if there is a light touring bike(s) that dominates the category the way LHT/DT dominates touring bikes ?

tcs

Maybe a bike like the Specialized Turbo Creo SL Comp Carbon EVO or Trek Domane+ LT, with bike packing bags for minimalist gear.

AlanK

Probably not, though the LHT doesn't really 'dominate' the way it used to. For awhile it was very much the quintessential touring bike but it doesn't seem to be anymore and since there are several worthy models: The Kona Sutra, Salsa Marrakesh, REI Co-Op Adv models, and probably many other I can't think of right now.

indyfabz

VQ’s Le Grande Tour?

djb

Yup, we did it a bunch of times, saw the velomobile guy twice I think.
Wasn't it you who did it one year? Was a year we didn't do it, before we started I think, from memory of this coming up in the past.

indyfabz

Yup. 2008. Started and ended at some ski area in Tingwick. It rained every day while we were riding, except for the first day, when it didn't start raining until the evening. Stayed in Lac-Megentic for two nights. Before the tragedy. The cars of those who did not arrive to the start early had to park in a farm field. Most cars ended up sinking into the mud and had to be towed out by farm equipment. Couldn't wait to get out of Dodge when the event was over. Made it as far as Plattsburg, NY, and got a motel room. But the food was really good. Had duck the first night.

djb

that's right, I recall now some of those blah details. Yup, first one we did was after that. . VQ took a real beating this year financially because all of their events have been cancelled. Revenue down 65%. Did the little we could to support them simply because they've been so good for cycling over the decades. The organization played a part in my getting into touring over 30 years ago.

djb

me too, and I figure its an age/ experience thing. One tends to either not think, or put up with being miserable when one is younger, and or you haven't had unpleasant experiences yet to learn. I'm aware that there is clothing that works really well and is light, but a lot of it is super expensive and I feel realistically that a lot of them will not function like this for long, but will look and work great for a certain while...
i guess if i had money to throw around things would be fine, but I don't so I often just stick with what I presently have.

fietsbob

My last long tour included a lot of hanging out with the locals & took many Months..