katiemac

I am considering purchasing a new bike this spring, and I was hoping I could get some suggestions. I am relatively new to cycling, and ride on both road and gravel/dirt paths. However, I am hoping to get into long-distance touring, so I am looking for an affordable bike that can handle that as well. I was originally looking at Trek's Neko S (Neko S - Trek Bicycle) because it would be great for my usual riding, but I'm not sure how good of a tour bike it would be. On the other hand, I was looking at the MEC 1971 (MEC Nineteen Seventy-One Bicycle (Unisex) - Mountain Equipment Co-op. Free Shipping Available) touring bike. Let me know what you all think!

bradtx

katiemac, Welcome to the forum.

The MEC looks like a very good choice. How much cargo weight do you think you'll carry on a tour?

Brad

pdlamb

I would think most any "standard" touring bike would work for you, and a fair few cross bikes as well. You'll probably end up with a slightly heavier bike to handle the dirt and gravel roads than you would if you were going to stay on pavement, but something in the 32-28 width will handle most roads (except for the sand traps).

The MEC bike you link to looks like it fits the bill. Other similar bikes include REI's Novara Randonee (or Safari if you're going to hit really rough dirt roads), Trek 520, Fuji Touring, and Surly Long Haul Trucker or Crosscheck. The Novara and Surly bikes feel a little heavier to me than the others, but YMMV.

Try to find any of these nearby so you can try them out. Plan on a good, long test ride of 3-5 miles or more. Pick the one you'd like to ride the best.

edthesped

I have used the Randonee as an allrounder for a couple of years and liked it a lot but wanted something a little less tank like. I went back and forth between a Salsa Vaya and the Specialized AWOL then ended up with the AWOL. Depending on the type of touring you plan on doing you might want to consider checking the Vaya and AWOL out. The Vaya is a really sweet handling bike that looks to be able to easily handle moderate touring loads. The AWOL is the same but isn't as quite responsive as the Vaya but can be fit with pretty much any road tire up to 2" 29'er tires so it's quite versatile.

tarwheel 

The geometry can vary quite a bit among different brands and models, so I would base your choice on the bike that would fit you best. Most touring bikes can handle larger tires, so I don't think you need a cross bike unless you want one for other reasons. One potential problem with cross bikes is that many (if not most) do not have longer chain stays like you find on almost all touring bikes. With shorter stays, you might have problems with your heels striking the panniers when loaded for touring.

I've got two touring bikes, a Soma Saga and Bob Jackson World Tour. The Saga sounds like a good match for your intended uses. Although designed for touring, it can handle tires at least 40 mm, although probably not that large with fenders. Mine easily fits 35 mm cyclocross tires with fenders. The Saga is available in disc-brake and cantilever versions.

The Salsa Vaya and Surly Longhaul Trucker would also be good matches, assuming the fits are right.

headloss 

You could get away with an easy tour (mostly flat, lots of places to pick up supplies) with the Neko. My personal feeling is that a front suspension fork adds nothing outside of mountain biking, a cromoly or carbon fiber fork with rack mounts would be a better choice.

Doug64

The MEC looks like a nice bike. However, I do not believe it has the appropriate gearing for a touring bike. The 50/39/30 crankset with an 11-27 rear cassette is a pretty common setup for road bikes, and is pretty high gears for hills and loaded touring. You can change the gearing, but it might be more economical to get a bike that is properly set up from the start. Depending on your riding style, a more appropriate range might look like: 44-48/32-36/26-22 with an 11-34 cassette.

LlamaBikes

You might also want to consider the MEC National too if you haven't already. Gearing would need to be changed for fully loaded touring though, just like the other MEC bike.

jargo432

Here's a few questions back at you.

1st, how much do you want to spend?

2nd, do you have a bike shop in your area? If so what brands of bikes do they carry? I can tell you having a great bike shop makes a ton of difference. Your bike will need tuning etc... and most bikes sold at a good bike shop comes with free tune ups for a good while.

3rd, Have you been measured to see what size you will need. Getting the right size is very important. Here again a bike shop can really help.

Good Luck

nun

One more recommendation for a Salsa, this time a Salsa Warbird. The Bianchi Volpe is also another great all-round bike and the Norco Search is interesting.

katiemac

Thanks for the warm welcome & all the recommendations! I'll definitely look into all of those options.

Here are some answers to a few questions that you guys asked me:
1) I am hoping to spend less that $1000
2) I have never been touring before, so any touring that I start out with will probably be fairly light
3) I am fairly close to both Trek & MEC stores, so I would be able to go in and get sized before making a purchase

The main reason that I liked the shocks on the Trek Neko S is because I've only ever owned a mountain bike and I've become very accustomed to the smooth ride over gravel. I know that shocks are a no-go for touring bikes, but is a bike without shocks going to be shaky over gravel? I borrowed a friend's bike once that didn't have shocks, and riding on gravel with it was absolutely awful.

Hydrate

Take a look at the Trek 520 Nice set up for touring great for gravel grinding put some clement mso xplor 40"s with about 40 psi you wont need shocks, close to your price range and your LBS carries Trek

headloss 

What kind of gravel are we talking? Front shocks are great with golfball sized ballast but for crushed limestone and packed gravel, it shouldn't make any difference. Tire width and wheel size make a bigger difference imho. A 37mm tire is going to be very smooth on any non-technical sort of path. A 23mm tire with an aluminum fork, on the other hand, could give you a jolt on fresh pavement.

Try to find an All City Space Horse to check out. Surly Straggler would be another good choice. Raleigh Roper is another nice choice. I'm not a big fan of Trek, as I feel they are overpriced for what you get.

This is a touring bike
https://www.mec.ca/product/5030-652/m...icycle-unisex/

nun

Shocks are required for tough off roading and mountain biking......you would not have them on an all rounder because they are useless on most surfaces and add a lot of weight to your bike. The bikes that have been recommended all have clearance for big tires that will give you cushioning on gravel and trail and be ok on the road, and you can always use a slicker less heavy tire on the road.

There are plenty of good bikes at the $1000 mark, but if you stretch to $1500 you will get a far better bike and have a lot more choice. Alternatively you could look on ebay and find a really nice bike for $1000

jargo432

If you already have a bike you might consider what I'm doing. I've got a MB but dreamed of having a Disc Trucker, so I'm building one. Each payday I buy something to add. Just one more payday and I'll have it finished. And the bonus... I'll know how everything works.

veganbikes

I would highly recommend the Disc Trucker (or LHT if discs aren't your thing). For the price I think it is a good solid touring bike, not completely cheap crap but not super high end. It is an entry level touring bike for someone serious about touring or riding a lot. It got me way more into bikes than I was and got me hooked on touring (phonics just wasn't doing it anymore)

MEC is funny on their listing for the National (their touring type bike) "top shelf Shimano components" = Tiagra? Dura-Ace is top shelf, Tiagra is fourth from the top shelf (unless you count Di2, Ui2 and Track) However if I were to buy a camping department store bike that seem like a decent enough bike for touring.

headloss 

LHT is a heavy beast... purpose built for touring and solid as a rock. I wouldn't personally want one as an everyday bike.

jargo432

Heavy Beast? Really? It doesn't seem that heavy to me. But then again I'm 6ft 210lbs.

headloss 

Even compared to my Trek 520, it feels heavy... relatively speaking. It's a fine touring bike, but it wouldn't be my first choice for a do-it-all (only) bike. It's a very well thought out bike with great components all around. Just trying to give some pros/cons.

staehpj1

Heavy vs light is about how much you carry. If anything that tends to go down with experience (at least until you have settled in to what works for you) and not be affected very much by trip length. My observation is that people who "have never been touring before" are the ones most likely to grossly over pack and to struggle as a result. At least that has been my observation.

Even if you go the motel and credit card route some riders manage to pack 30-40 or more pounds while others are self supporting and camping and cooking on 10-20 pounds of clothing and gear. So it has more to do with personal style that anything else. Especially in the beginning I recommend having a list and going over it again and again trimming the fat.

I think it is a good idea to actually figure out what you will be carrying first, then choosing what kind of bags (or trailer) you will need, and then choosing the bike.

pdlamb

Everybody has their own opinion, of course. My experience is that the wheel weight (and especially the tires) seems to determine the "feel" of a touring bike more than anything else. Put lighter tires on the LHT, it'll seem like a new bike. FWIW, most of the "stock" touring bikes seem to have relatively heavy tires on when delivered; I presume that's to meet a price point more than anything else.

mm718

Does anyone have any actual weight specs on the stock LHT? I really don't think it's that much heavier than other touring bikes, the 520 for example. The point about tires above is a good one. My LHT did come with heavier tires. It would be easy to cut that weight by a third or more with something like Vitoria Hypers. When you consider rotational weight, a less aggressive tread pattern and reduced rolling resistance--with something like the Hyper--this might make a significant change in the feel of the bike.

fietsbob

Depends on the price target .. a Heavy Reliable tire is money well spent If you are touring ..

In Shops It is easy to ask them to put a different tire on the Bike before you take it Home. (keep or trade back what it came with.. )




Trek 520 for 2015 comes in either a disc Or a Rim Braked frame type

The one linked to is a Cross-Commuter Bike .. you can put racks On It , I think I see the mounts .. double check or Have them fit the racks on it in the Shop.

staehpj1

Based purely on weights that LHT owners have posted I figured it to be about 3 pounds heavier than a Fuji Tour or a Windsor Tour. Maybe not the most reliable comparison though.

As far as feel goes... I have only been on one briefly, but it did indeed feel like a tank. Whether that is good or bad probably depends on what you are looking for, but it wouldn't be my personal choice as a do everything bike. I am kind of partial to sportier handling though so it may suit others just fine in that role.

mm718

Those bikes do look a bit lighter. I thought I saw someone list a stock 520 (58?) as weighing 29 lbs. My 58 LHT with rack and bottle cages was 31 lbs and change so those seem pretty close to me.

As far as handling, I guess I am just not that sensitive to these things. I tour with what is supposed to be the worst configuration for handling (rear panniers only) and a bike thought to have tank-like handling (LHT) and it feels just fine to me. When I compare the ride of my unloaded LHT to my road bike the only huge difference I notice is that the LHT has much slower acceleration.

In what touring situations do you think you benefit from nimble handling (or do you just like the feel)?